Lots to admire but Solterra lacks towing capacity and range to be a working farm car
Subaru’s new electric SUV is roomy, rugged and comfy but is better suited to being a second farm vehicle, writes Alistair Chambers
Subaru has a long history of making strong cars for the rural market, and after a quiet few years, they have brought the Solterra electric SUV to the market.
It is a shared platform with the Toyota BZ4x, but while the Toyota comes in two-wheel-drive and four-wheel-drive, the Subaru stays 4WD only, sticking to their rugged heritage.
As you walk up to the Solterra it is only the most serious car nerd that can spot differences from the Toyota, but that’s not a bad thing as they are both robustly handsome beasts.
Inside, the cabin is well appointed and has masses of room, amazing shoulder width between driver and passenger and plenty of leg room in the back for six-footers.
The boot is sizeable and could easily hold three bags of ration with room left for a roll of baler twine.
Subarus of the past like the Forester have been a real hit among the farming community because of their award-winning reliability, offroad ability and on-road driveability.
The Solterra comes with some off-road modes and even the muckiest of fields were no issue to the smart X Mode, which allows you to choose between differing depths of muck or snow, depending on where in the world you are trying to get stuck.
I found it more than capable and it had enough clearance (211mm) so that I never heard the worrisome grinding of components on the ground.
The one area where the Subaru doesn’t meet the criteria to be a working farm car in the disappointing towing capacity of 750kg. This means it is better suited to being the second car on the farm.
On the road the Solterra is very comfortable, with all the interior mod cons you could need.
Driving is a pleasure in Subaru’s first EV, whether on laneways or motorways.
The claimed range is 400-odd km; I drove it before Christmas during one of the colder weeks and the range loss was unimpressive, with 340km being the most I ever saw on the clock.
It may seem like I’m being a bit hard on this new Subaru, which is a very good car with hints of the heritage that proceeds it.
But if you want an SUV for the farm, stick with fossil fuel if you are loyal to Subaru, or look elsewhere if you are determined to go electric.
The Solterra starts at €51,495.