2024 Subaru Solterra: We Found the One Area Where This EV Excels

Victoria, British Columbia—Along with the nearly identical Toyota bZ4X, the Subaru Solterra is one of the least impressive electric SUVs on the market from a technology standpoint. And don’t get us started on the design. Following a rough start in terms of sales, things could only get better this year (41-percent increase after six months), and the updated 2024 model should keep the momentum going.

On sale since the spring, the latest Solterra tries to shift the focus away from typical EV considerations such as range and charging speeds by emphasizing Subaru’s reputation for safety and all-terrain, all-weather performance. Oh, and let’s not forget that the company is now offering a $5,000 discount and interest rates as low as 0.99 percent (compared with up to 6.99 percent with other Subaru models), aiming to drive up interest among potential buyers.

• Also: Three More Subaru Electric SUVs Coming With Toyota’s Help, Crosstrek Hybrid to Return
• Also: 2024 Subaru Solterra Gets Flatter Steering Wheel, Faster DC Charging

A Call to Adventure

A few days before announcing that it had reached the halfway point its goal of 10,000 trees planted as part of the Leave No Trace Canada Pledge, Subaru invited members of the Canadian automotive media to Victoria and Goldstream Provincial Park in British Columbia to promote its conservational efforts surrounding the Adventure On Parks program. But rather than putting us behind the wheel of a vehicle that truly resonates with adventure, say the fully redesigned 2025 Forester or the new Crosstrek Wilderness, they chose the Solterra.

You know, it’s pretty hard to go on adventures across the country with only 359 km of range. And it’s not like there are tons of public chargers in the wide-open spaces and remote locations that Subaru drivers love to explore. As a matter of fact, the drive event we attended wasn’t set up to test the endurance and charging capability of the Solterra’s 72.8kWh battery. What you need to know is that DC charging sessions are no longer limited to 1-2 a day and that the charging time to go from 10-80 percent has been reduced from just under an hour to 35 minutes (maximum 150 kW). Amen. What’s more, thanks to an upgraded battery conditioning system, the Solterra is expected to charge at temperatures below freezing significantly faster than before. We’ll need to check that out this upcoming winter.

For what it’s worth, we recorded energy consumption slightly below the combined rating of 20.5 kWh posted by Natural Resources Canada—in fairly ideal conditions and without getting too crazy with the throttle. That means we would have been able to travel a bit longer than officially advertised. However, another thing you should know is that the driver display tends to over-estimate real-world range, as is the case with the bZ4X.

Smooth But Slow Sailing

For sure, the Subaru Solterra’s lack of muscle (215 horsepower) is a big letdown when compared with other AWD-equipped electric SUVs. While the 248 lb-ft of torque enable quick enough sprints off the line, especially in Power mode, you need to put the pedal to the metal first, and the dual motors quickly reach their limit. For the average Joe, there’s arguably nothing wrong with 0-100 km/h acceleration in 6.9 seconds. However, drivers with even the faintest sporty aspirations will go home sad.

On the road, the Solterra proves smooth and quiet, but body roll in sharper corners and S-turns can be annoying. The brakes do a solid job, and for 2024 Subaru has added paddles on the steering wheel to easily adjust regenerative braking force (four settings). That’s something you won’t find in the bZ4X, by the way, although the Korean rivals have them. The most aggressive setting is supposed to enable one-pedal driving, but that’s not quite true based on our experience.

Speaking of the steering wheel, it now has a flatter design and no longer hides key information for most drivers, such as the state of charge percentage. Depending on your body size, however, you might still need to compromise on steering wheel adjustment and/or seat height.

Another change for 2024 is standard low-profile roof rails on all Solterra models. Inside, cargo space is 674 litres versus 784 litres in the bZ4X, but make no mistake: the trunk is the same in both vehicles. It’s just that Toyota’s figure includes space under the cargo floor. The reclining angle of the rear seatbacks has been increased to accommodate longer items when the seats are folded flat, resulting in 1,798 litres of total cargo room (only the Volkswagen ID.4 is better in that department).

Confidence in Off-Road Motion

As mentioned earlier, Subaru emphasizes its reputation for safety and all-terrain, all-weather performance in a bid to stand out from competitors. On one hand, the 2024 Solterra managed to earn a Top Safety Pick+ award from U.S. Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), joining the Hyundai IONIQ 5 as the only two electric SUVs to receive the highest accolade.

Granted, visibility is not nearly as good as in most other Subaru vehicles, but a 360-degree camera system is available as part of the Luxury and Technology packages, while the company’s EyeSight driver-assistance system doesn’t lack anything, not even automatic emergency braking in reverse. It even comes with features not yet found on other Subarus. For example, the Solterra allows hands-free operation at speeds up to 40 km/h with only driver supervision, including stop-and-go traffic. The driver attention monitoring system, newly standard for 2024, proves effective without being intrusive.

The point of bringing us to Victoria, B.C. was also to highlight the Solterra’s off-road skills—not on dirt or gravel roads you would usually find away from the city, but rather in tight, sometimes rocky trails with a couple of steep inclines thrown into the mix. The session was far too short, alas, but it did reveal some interesting things.

First, while the relatively long front overhang limits the approach angle, the Solterra definitely benefits from having 210 mm of ground clearance when tackling obstacles. No other electric SUV in the segment can match that, not even the recently announced IONIQ 5 XRT, let alone the Ford Mustang Mach-E Rally. Come winter, the extra room under the floor is a blessing when driving in deep snow.

Then there’s Subaru’s symmetrical AWD system, complete with dual X-Mode featuring Snow/Dirt and Deep Snow/Mud drive modes. We appreciated having Hill Descent Control for maintaining a constant speed on steep downhills, but even more impressive was the new Grip Control feature. This one determines road surface conditions and automatically maintains a constant speed between 2-10 km/h. There are five different settings to choose from, controlled by a toggle switch on the console. The system made short work of an abrupt ascent even though the ground was fairly loose and slippery. How many EV drivers really need that sort of thing? Now that’s a topic for another day.

How Much?

The 2024 Subaru Solterra is priced from $56,495. Including the various fees, $5,000 discount from the manufacturer, applicable taxes and government incentives, the actual cost for a base model can be as low as $50,208. And as mentioned up top, you can lease a Solterra at just 0.99 percent. The sales numbers at the end of the year will naturally reflect that.

Incidentally, production of the 2025 Solterra will begin in December and units will start to arrive in dealerships in the early months of 2025. Expect minimal revisions following the 2024 model’s numerous updates. Not doing the Solterra any favours, the popular IONIQ 5 and Kia EV6 will be largely refreshed for 2025 including a bigger battery for longer range.

Staying at Subaru, alternatives to consider include the upcoming 2026 Forester Hybrid along with a new Crosstrek Hybrid (non-PHEV this time).