Road test: Subaru’s first electric vehicle a solid start
Subaru enters the electric fray with the Toyota-based Solterra, after a few years’ wait, writes Nile Bijoux.
Subaru’s first electric vehicle is here, hot on the heels of Toyota’s first EV, the bZ4X. If you’ve been keeping up, you’ll know the Solterra and the bZ4X are closely related, but there are a few key differences in the two that set them apart.
By that I really do mean a few – the cars are fundamentally the same. Both share the same e-TNGA platform and the same 71.4kWh battery. Subaru offers only AWD Solterras, which means a pair of motors generating 160kW/336Nm, while Toyota has a FWD entry model.
The similarities are across the looks as well. Both SUVs have a low-slung body, slim LED headlight clusters, an enclosed grille, a sloping boot and almost identical interiors. You can tell the Subaru apart by its C-shaped daytime running lights which are mirrors at the back, round foglights mounted down by the lower grille,
I drove the Touring model at the local launch a few weeks ago, and found it was very similar to the all-wheel drive bZ4X we currently had as a long-term tester at the time. Funny that.
This one is the entry model, just called Solterra, and it costs $79,990. Once upon a time that would have netted you a tasty government rebate, but no longer. It’s still relatively good value though, considering the AWD bZ4X is $82,990.
The base model gets 18-inch wheels, a 10-way powered driver’s seat, front seat heaters, a powered tailgate, wireless Apple CarPlay/Android Auto with a six-speaker audio system and a cloth interior.
Upgrading to the Touring gets you 20-inch alloys, wireless phone charging, memory driver and passenger seats with heated rear seats, leather upholstery, a panoramic sunroof, a Harman/Kardon audio system and park assist.
Honestly, you don’t miss all that much in the Solterra. The audio system is great, and you still get the same lovely new Toyota infotainment system. Subaru’s cloth seats are made from the StarTex fabric, also found in the Forester and Outback, which is designed to be dirt and water-resistant. The sunroof would be nice, though ...
Considering the powertrain of both
Solterras is identical, the base drives exactly the same as the Touring. Low-speed thrust is plentiful, all of those Newton metres hitting from zero in typical electric fashion.
The cloth seats in this Solterra are wellcushioned, although I noticed the driver’s seat had a horizontal bar that could be felt under acceleration. I’m not sure if it’s a defect in this specific seat or something all Solterras have, however.
The squished steering wheel is interesting, it’s not quite as small as you’d find on a Peugeot but it’s a lot smaller than the bZ4X’s wheel. That means it feels like it takes more spins to go from lock to lock than the Toyota, but it also means you can actually see the entirety of the digital dash, which is mounted close to the windscreen to partly negate the need for a head-up display. I wish the screen binnacle was connected to the steering wheel adjustment mechanism like a Mini, so that it also moved when you adjust the wheel.
I also wish there were a few more differences in the drive experience. Subaru offers a ‘Sport’ mode alongside Eco and Normal, but all it really does is sharpen the throttle response.
Peak power is the same, so if you flatten the throttle in both models from standstill you’ll find they are, by and large, the same. It would be nice if the Solterra felt a bit different to drive, but that will likely come with the next of Subaru’s eight upcoming EVs due by 2028.
For day-to-day driving, there are regen paddles behind the wheel to adjust how the regenerative effect of the brakes. Subaru’s S-Pedal is here too, which instantly maxes the regen. It’s not full one-pedal driving though, you still need to apply the brakes when coming to a stop.
The brakes are great. They aren’t the most forceful or bitey, but they’re one of the few offerings that just feel like brakes without any annoying mushy feeling at the start of the pedal travel that other EVs can suffer from.
That smaller steering wheel does feel a bit better when threading through corners, and the suspension is well sorted for our bumpier roads.
Range is good too, with 400km exactly showing when I picked it up. It ticked down appropriately too, without any big drops. Energy consumption is around 17.5kWh/100km.
Subaru is pitching the Solterra as a genuine go-anywhere sort of vehicle, with 210mm of ground clearance to go with its all-wheel drive and X-Mode systems. It’ll happily bounce around rougher patches of farmland, as you’d expect from a Subaru. By the way, Toyota claims ground clearance of 177mm for the bZ4X.
Like pretty much every other car these days, the Solterra has a suite of active safety features, most of which work well. They’re the same as Toyota’s, so you get lane-keep assist, adaptive cruise control, driver monitoring, pre-collision braking, a 360-degree camera and rear cross-traffic alert.
For the most part, the systems work well. But they do get a bit loud, especially the driver monitoring camera.
So while the Solterra isn’t quite perfect, it’s a great start. If Toyota relinquishes a bit of control over the electricals and lets Subaru give the Solterra a more unique tune, it could be even better.
Perhaps the pricing is a bit on the high side, considering the BYD Atto 3 and MG ZS EV both sit in the $50k area (not to mention the soon-to-be-priced Omoda E5), but the quality of the vehicle is a solid notch above those, and it has Subaru’s all-wheel drive capability to boot.