The 2024 Subaru Solterra marks a significant milestone for Subaru, introducing its first all-electric vehicle to a competitive market. As a compact SUV, the Solterra closely resembles its Toyota bZ4X counterpart, blending familiar Subaru traits with electric innovation.
While it offers a well-rounded package and stays true to Subaru’s all-wheel-drive heritage, the Solterra faces stiff competition from other electric SUVs that boast superior driving ranges, faster charging capabilities, and more competitive pricing. This article delves into the Solterra’s features, performance, and overall value, providing a comprehensive look at Subaru’s cautious yet promising entry into the EV landscape.
Subaru’s inaugural venture into the electric vehicle market, the 2024 Subaru Solterra, is a compact SUV that does not particularly distinguish itself, either from its sibling, the Toyota bZ4X, or in terms of driving range and charging speed. Despite this, it remains a reasonably well-rounded choice in the EV segment.
When stacked against other electric SUVs, the Solterra and the bZ4X have their appeals, but many rivals offer better driving ranges and more affordable starting prices, along with faster charging capabilities.
Subaru made its tentative entry into the electric vehicle market with the 2023 Solterra. Unlike bolder moves by competitors such as Ford with the Mustang Mach-E and Hyundai with the Ioniq 5, Subaru’s approach is more conservative. The Solterra is largely a badge-engineered version of the Toyota bZ4X, Toyota’s first widely available EV.
The Solterra stands out as an anomaly in Subaru’s lineup, even more so than the Subaru BRZ, another joint venture with Toyota. While the BRZ sports Subaru’s characteristic boxer engine, the Solterra mimics the bZ4X closely, with subtle differentiators like a Subaru-style grille, flat-finish wheel-arch moldings, unique wheels, and distinctive badging.
Staying true to Subaru’s all-wheel-drive tradition, the Solterra offers AWD exclusively, unlike the bZ4X, which comes in both FWD and AWD versions. Subaru promotes the Solterra’s off-road capabilities, highlighting its 8.3-inch ground clearance and X-Mode functions, which include hill descent control and Snow/Dirt and Deep Snow/Mud drive modes.
During a week-long family vacation in Southern California, I tested the 2024 Subaru Solterra Touring. Although I didn’t venture off-road or use a DC fast charger, the Solterra showcased its capabilities in daily family activities. For a deeper dive, refer to our review of the 2023 bZ4X.
The Solterra is available in three trims: Premium, Limited, and Touring. The base Premium trim includes features like keyless entry and start, dual-zone climate control, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, and heated front seats. New for 2024 are front cross-traffic alert and a hands-free traffic jam assist system, which operates up to 25 mph.
The Limited trim adds a power liftgate, heated rear seats, a Harman Kardon audio system, a wireless charging pad, synthetic leather upholstery, and a 12.3-inch touchscreen. The Touring trim includes a panoramic moonroof, ventilated front seats, additional interior lighting, and a rearview camera mirror for an unobstructed rear view.
Powered by dual 80-kilowatt motors and a 72.8-kilowatt-hour battery, the Solterra delivers 215 horsepower and 249 pounds-feet of torque. This setup offers zippy acceleration typical of electric vehicles, with driver-selectable settings for regenerative braking.
The Solterra’s EPA-estimated range is 227 miles for the Premium trim and 222 miles for the Limited and Touring trims. My test vehicle aligned with these figures, though these numbers are modest compared to competitors like the Ford Mustang Mach-E and Tesla Model Y, which offer ranges of 300 and 310 miles, respectively.
For 2024, Subaru claims improved DC fast-charging performance, reducing the time from 10% to 80% to as little as 35 minutes. This improvement is still behind some competitors, such as the Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Kia EV6, which can achieve similar charges in less than 20 minutes under ideal conditions.
The Solterra’s interior mimics the bZ4X’s, with a high-mounted digital gauge cluster and a unique “squircle” steering wheel for better visibility and legroom. Some design choices, like the absence of a glove box and rear window wiper, may irk drivers. Additionally, the wireless device charger’s central placement in the console takes up significant space.
The climate-control panel combines physical controls and capacitive-touch buttons, though the ventilated front seats were less effective than expected.
The Solterra offers good occupant space and a generous cargo area, despite its angled rear roofline. The seats are comfortable, and the ride quality is decent, though tire noise can be intrusive on certain surfaces.
Starting at $46,340 for the Premium trim, $49,840 for the Limited, and $53,340 for the Touring, the Solterra is competitively priced among electric AWD SUVs. While it serves as a solid entry into the EV market, future Subaru EVs, like a potential electric WRX STI, are highly anticipated.
In conclusion, the 2024 Subaru Solterra marks a cautious but competent entry into the electric vehicle market, with room for improvement in driving range and charging speed to better compete with its rivals.
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