Subaru is up and operating within the hotly contested EV market.
The Solterra is its first electrical automotive, and has been co-developed with Toyota. That’s why it appears very, very carefully associated to the bZ4X – beneath the pores and skin, the pair are the identical.
There are some variations between the twins, although. Together with distinctive styling up entrance, even the bottom Solterra will get all-wheel drive in Australia.
Subaru has additionally fitted gear like blind-spot monitoring to its most cost-effective EV, one thing Toyota hasn’t.
The Solterra might want to do greater than outpoint its sibling if it’s to get Subaru off to a operating begin within the EV wars.
It’ll additionally want to face out among the many a crowd together with the best-selling Tesla Mannequin Y, the retro-futuristic Hyundai Ioniq 5, and the Ford Mustang Mach-E. Does it have what it takes?
How does the Subaru Solterra evaluate?
View an in depth breakdown of the Subaru Solterra towards equally sized automobiles.
Subaru
Solterra
How a lot does the Subaru Solterra price?
The bottom Solterra is dearer than the bottom Toyota bZ4X, but it surely does have AWD and equipment similar to blind-spot monitoring – which the electrical Toyota misses out on.
| Mannequin | Value earlier than on-road prices |
|---|---|
| 2024 Subaru Solterra AWD | $69,990 |
| 2024 Subaru Solterra AWD Touring | $76,990 |
To see how the Subaru Solterra compares with its rivals, use our comparability device.
What’s the Subaru Solterra like on the within?
Save for the squared-off steering wheel, the Solterra is equivalent to a bZ4X inside.
The huge, flat central tunnel rises dramatically as much as meet the dashboard, and the steering wheel is a sq., nearly Peugeot-ish unit sitting on a cool pod under a high-set digital instrument binnacle. Throw within the slim dashboard and low scuttle, and it’s a pleasant place to spend time.
The driving force and passenger sit in comfy seats packing loads of adjustment. The material trim on the bottom mannequin doesn’t look significantly high-end, but it surely’s beautiful and heat on chilly Melbourne mornings and really feels fairly premium.
Leaving out a wi-fi cellphone charger within the base mannequin doesn’t really feel acceptable in what’s meant to be a expertise chief, although. The manually adjusted passenger seat is prone to be a non-issue for homeowners, but it surely additionally feels extra Impreza than $70k electrical hero.
There’s loads of house for large our bodies with the electrically adjustable driver’s seat set down low, and I used to be capable of see the instrument binnacle over the low-set steering wheel because of its odd form. It feels a bit bizarre as you go it by your fingers in tight areas, but it surely does resolve an issue.
The 12.3-inch touchscreen infotainment system is excellent. It’s fairly to have a look at, responds rapidly to inputs, and has a easy sufficient construction that homeowners stepping out of vehicles that includes a lot older tech gained’t really feel too misplaced.
It’s value noting although it’s a Toyota system, which suggests it doesn’t look or really feel something like what you get in a brand new Outback or Impreza. Wi-fi smartphone mirroring is welcome, given the one USB ports that helps wired mirroring is an older, slower USB-A port.
The driving force’s show is utilitarian, providing a transparent learn in your velocity, vary, and power consumption… however nothing extra. It really works, it’s not distracting, but it surely’s not precisely particular both.
There are twin cupholders on the base of the central tunnel, and an enormous house under that floating tunnel in which you’ll retailer issues. There’s additionally a deep bin beneath the padded central armrest – however a traditional glovebox beneath the passenger aspect of the dashboard is a notable omission.
Toyota instructed us on the bZ4X launch it had to decide on between becoming a glovebox or a extra environment friendly, radiator-style heater beneath the dashboard, and it opted for the latter. Given this is identical automotive, the identical rationale applies.
Rear seat house is a blended bag. Legroom is superb, with room for my lanky 6’7 body behind a full-sized grownup’s seating place. In contrast to a Mannequin Y, the lithium-ion battery beneath the ground doesn’t drive you into a clumsy knees-up place.
Headroom isn’t all that flash, nonetheless. Between the sloping roofline and the raised rear bench, tall passengers will really feel as if they’re pressed proper up into the headlining.
Reclining the backrest (as much as 6.0 levels) doesn’t actually assist, as a result of there’s a chunky structural beam operating throughout the roof behind the rear headrests.
Central passengers are perched on a raised part, and must compete with a slight hump in the course of the ground.
It’s odd given the platform underpinning the Solterra is supposedly a devoted electrical setup, and most EVs have a flat ground.
A fold-down central armrest, air vents, and twin USB-C ports function again there. ISOFIX factors are current on the outboard rear seats, as does a trio of prime tether factors for baby seats.
Claimed boot house is down on what you get in a Subaru Forester (498L), and also you don’t get a spare wheel.
| Dimensions | Subaru Solterra AWD |
|---|---|
| Size | 4690mm |
| Width | 1860mm |
| Top | 1650mm |
| Wheelbase | 2850mm |
| Weight | 2015kg |
| Boot house (seats up) | 410L |
To see how the Subaru Solterra compares with its rivals, use our comparability device.
What’s beneath the bonnet?
In contrast to within the associated Toyota bZ4X, there’s no front-wheel drive model of the Solterra on supply in Australia.
| Mannequin | Subaru Solterra AWD |
|---|---|
| Drivetrain | Twin electrical motors |
| System energy | 160kW |
| System torque | 337Nm |
| Pushed wheels | All-wheel drive |
| Battery | 71.4kWh lithium-ion |
| Tare mass | 2015kg-2060kg |
| Claimed vary | 485km (NEDC) |
| Vitality consumption (claimed) | 14.1kWh/100km |
| Vitality consumption (noticed) | 16.2kWh/100km (blended commuting) |
| Most DC charging price | 150kW |
| Charging time (10-80 per cent) | half-hour (approx.) |
| Most AC charging price | 11kW |
| Charging time (0-100 per cent) | 6.5 hours (approx) |
| Towing capability | 750kg (braked, unbraked) |
To see how the Subaru Solterra compares with its rivals, use our comparability device.
How does the Subaru Solterra drive?
Clean, quiet, and fast sufficient – the Solterra is inoffensive.
There’s little or no groundbreaking about it, however that has a attraction of its personal. Anybody hopping out of a Forester or an XV/Crosstrek might want to regulate to the way in which it delivers its efficiency, however the studying curve is shallower right here than in a Mannequin Y, for instance.
Put your foot down and it picks up easily off the road, with no scrabbling for grip because of the usual all-wheel drive system.
You get silent thrust, which is sufficient to gently squeeze you again in your seat – however not sufficient to make the common Impreza driver suppose they’ve by accident stepped on the hyperdrive button.
The AWD drivetrain packs extra of a punch than the bottom FWD on supply within the bZ4X, and is meaningfully extra responsive than the hard-working boxer engines in most Subaru fashions, but it surely’s additionally fairly tame by EV requirements.
Journey high quality is strong round city, properly absorbing potholes, velocity humps, and roads broken by heavy rains.
Regardless of its 2.0-tonne kerb weight, it doesn’t smack or slap into sharp bumps like some rivals. It’s properly managed, which isn’t at all times the case in heavy electrical vehicles.
Regenerative braking (which harvests power by turning the electrical motor right into a dynamo to sluggish the automotive, somewhat than utilizing the brakes) may be very mild within the default setting, and even in its extra aggressive mode necessitates you utilize the brake pedal.
That’ll make homeowners hopping out of petrol or hybrid vehicles really feel at residence, however does imply you don’t get to get pleasure from one-pedal driving like is obtainable in a Tesla or Hyundai Ioniq 5 – the choice for much more aggressive regen could be welcome.
At increased speeds, the Solterra settles properly right into a cruise. Journey high quality stays glorious at 100km/h on common Australian highways, and the suspension has been well tuned to successfully maintain the automotive’s 2.0-tonne mass in test.
It’s properly managed over huge nation crests, and doesn’t bounce or bob round like a ship by huge dips within the highway.
We just lately discovered the Hyundai Kona Electrical, for instance, struggled to maintain itself in test on our high-speed take a look at highway at Lang Lang; the bZ4X we drove there didn’t get out of form in the identical method, regardless of its hefty kerb weight.
There’s even a little bit of enjoyable available on sweeping roads, offered you retain the very fact it is a huge, heavy automotive in thoughts. One of many downsides of going electrical nonetheless, is the very fact there’s no petrol engine to drown out highway noise at increased speeds.
You discover highway roar from the coarse-chip highways frequent in rural Australia at 100km/h extra right here than in a RAV4, which can have drivers upping the stereo quantity by one or two notches.
The upside although, is you might have loads of punch beneath your proper foot to overhaul at freeway speeds – that means you don’t want a run-up to go vans on undivided nation highways, which is a standard criticism within the Forester or non-turbo Outback.
The driving force assists are glorious, though they do feel and look a bit completely different to the camera-based EyeSight methods within the broader Subaru vary.
The adaptive cruise is clean and sensible, the lane-keeping help solely intervenes when it’s truly vital, and the lane-centring doesn’t wish to rip the wheel out of your fingers. Subaru contains blind-spot monitoring within the base mannequin, which Toyota doesn’t.
Our launch drive of the Solterra included a stint on a fairly rugged hearth path, which isn’t significantly frequent within the EV world.
Together with distinctive tuning to the throttle and traction management, you’re capable of set the Solterra in X-Mode. The graphic and identify are pure Subaru, and even Toyota admitted Subaru’s experience was key to creating the system work.
Set your velocity, and it’ll keep it on difficult surfaces – and it labored over some unfastened, rocky tracks. Likewise hill descent management.
Motor management is superb, with nearly no slipping or scrabbling from the tyres, and the 212mm of floor clearance on supply is on a par with a Subaru Outback. Will homeowners ever truly do that? Unlikely – however the possibility is there…
What do you get?
There are simply two trim ranges accessible, and the AWD is the bottom mannequin.
Solterra AWD highlights:
- 18-inch alloy wheels
- Tyre restore equipment
- Rear privateness glass
- 2kW AC charging cable
- Energy-folding exterior mirrors
- Automated self-levelling LED headlights
- Adaptive high-beam
- Puddle lights
- Rain-sensing wipers
- Energy tailgate
- Keyless entry, begin
- Digital parking brake
- Twin-zone local weather management
- Tilt, telescopic steering wheel adjustment
- 12.3-inch touchscreen infotainment system
- Satellite tv for pc navigation
- Wi-fi Apple CarPlay, Android Auto
- 7.0-inch digital cluster
- 6-speaker sound system
- DAB+ digital radio
- 2 x entrance USB-C retailers
- 1 x entrance USB-A outlet
- 2 x rear USB-C outpets
- Digital rear-view mirror
- Leather-based-wrapped steering wheel
- Heated steering wheel
- Fabric upholstery
- 8-way energy driver’s seat
- Heated entrance seats
- Heated outboard rear seats
- Reclining rear bench
Is the Subaru Solterra secure?
The Solterra has a five-star ANCAP security score, based mostly on testing performed by Euro NCAP on the bZ4X in 2022.
It obtained an grownup occupant safety score of 88 per cent, a toddler occupant safety score of 88 per cent, a weak highway consumer safety score of 79 per cent, and a security help score of 93 per cent.
Commonplace security gear contains:
- Adaptive cruise management
- Autonomous emergency braking
- Blind-spot monitoring
- Driver consideration monitoring
- Emergency Steering Help
- Lane Tracing Help (lane centring)
- Parking Help Brake
- Rear cross-traffic alert
- Protected Exit Help
- Encompass-view digital camera
- Site visitors signal recognition
- Tyre strain monitoring
- Entrance and rear parking sensors
- Entrance, front-side, curtain and front-centre airbags
How a lot does the Subaru Solterra price to run?
The Solterra is backed by a five-year, unlimited-kilometre car guarantee; plus an eight-year or 160,000km battery guarantee.
Subaru is providing free servicing for the primary 5 years or 75,000km – with intervals of 12 months or 15,000km. There’s additionally 5 years of roadside help.
The corporate is providing a selection of both an Ocular LTE single-phase 7kW Kind 2 wallbox for $2250 together with set up, or a three-phase 22kW unit for $2645.
CarExpert’s Tackle the Subaru Solterra
The Solterra, just like the associated bZ4X, isn’t going to blow you away with its new-age design or drive.
It can, nonetheless, make anybody on the lookout for their first electrical automotive having hopped out of a Forester really feel fairly comfy. If solely Subaru had tuned in a Boxer startup noise…
There’s polish to the way in which it drives, the inside blends easy-to-use components from the Toyota world with a contemporary and fascinating format, and the rear seats make it a sensible sufficient household automotive. We’d love a bit extra boot house, although.
The Solterra does have some extent of distinction from the associated bZ4X, and that’s the very fact it’s provided with AWD on the base degree.
It’s a nod to the normal Subaru purchaser, and makes the Solterra a compelling various to its Toyota twin if you happen to’re interested in their no-nonsense model of electrical motoring.
It’s the variant I might purchase, given not one of the gear on the Touring is important.
Simply beware, there are extra thrilling choices on the market if you’d like the electrical revolution to feel and look a bit extra… revolutionary.
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