Written by Tom Wiltshire Published: 5 January 2023 Updated: 5 January 2023

Overview

Don’t adjust your set. The Subaru Solterra electric car may have a different face and different badges, but look beyond that and you’ll see that this is really a re-badged Toyota bZ4X. The two Japanese companies partnered in the development of this model, but Toyota’s hand was much larger, and so the Solterra feels more like a Toyota than it does a Subaru.

Still, it gives Subaru what it’s been missing – a fully-electric vehicle. As a mid-sized SUV, the Solterra’s rivals are numerous – everything from the Kia EV6 to the Ford Mustang Mach-E and the Tesla Model Y. One thing’s for sure, the Solterra will attract a different kind of people to Subaru than cars such as the Outback or Forester.

With proven Toyota technology but sold through Subaru’s friendly, local dealers, the Solterra could prove an excellent way into the world of electric motoring. But neither brand has made an EV before – where some other brands have nearly a decade of form at this point. Does Subaru’s approach work here?

What’s it like inside?

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Apart from the badges, the Solterra’s interior is identical to that of the Toyota bZ4X. That means you get a solidly-built and rather interestingly-styled dashboard, though perhaps lacking a bit of the styling flair you get with cars like the Hyundai Ioniq 5.

It’s based around a high-set centre console that contains a wireless phone charging pad as well as a big, 12.3-inch infotainment touchscreen. This is Toyota’s latest infotainment system and it works well, with a high-definition and responsive screen plus Apple CarPlay and Android Auto functionality – though rather annoyingly, the latter works through a wired connection only, leaving the cables to trail across the centre console.

The driver’s display is set high above the steering wheel, so you look over it rather than through it in a similar vein to Peugeot’s i-Cockpit. Unlike Peugeot, you do at least get a round, normal-sized steering wheel. The display itself doesn’t show too much information, and we wish you got at least a percentage of remaining battery instead of a vague gauge. What’s there is fairly clear, though.

The Solterra has plenty of space in the front, especially for the front passenger who can sit further forward than normal due to the lack of glovebox. Rear seat space is generous too, though slightly narrow for three adults. As for the boot, it’s sadly only average – the listed capacity of 452 litres seems okay, but it’s a fairly shallow space beneath the parcel shelf and the aggressively sloping rear window means it’s not too good for bulkier objects.

Comfort

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The Solterra is a fairly comfortable car, though we’d like a little more adjustment in the seats. The driver’s seat in particular has quite a short base, so those with long legs will find they lack under-thigh support. They’re supportive laterally, though, and the interesting seat fabrics are quite grippy.

Safety

The Subaru shares its Euro NCAP rating with the mechanically identical Toyota bZ4X, and therefore scored the full five-star rating when it was tested in 2022. That included impressive performances across the board, particularly a score of 91% in the ‘Safety Assist’ category.

All models come with an impressive brace of safety equipment, including adaptive cruise control, autonomous emergency braking that can detect pedestrians and cyclists, blind-spot monitoring, and traffic sign monitoring to name a few.

A 360-degree camera is standard, as is a digital rear-view mirror, so it’s easy to keep an eye on what’s happening around the car. The one piece of safety equipment we don’t like is the driver attention monitor, which is over-sensitive – it’ll beep to alert you even if you’re quite legitimately looking across the car at a sliproad, for example.

What’s it like to drive?

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Toyota offers the bZ4X as a 204hp, front-wheel drive model, but the Solterra shares its powertrain with the AWD bZ4X – meaning a total of 214hp split equally across the front and rear axles.

While the Solterra’s modest power output means it lacks the epic acceleration of some of its rivals such as the Tesla Model Y, it’s still quick off the mark and comfortable up to motorway speeds.

As for handling, the Solterra isn’t particularly sporty – instead, it feels very solid and reassuring. The steering has an appreciable amount of heft to it and the car feels stable in the corners, helped by the reassurance of that AWD system. Ride comfort is excellent, too, with the edge taken off even the sharpest imperfection and limited body movement in the bends.

Range and charging

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We tested the Solterra in winter – in cold, but not freezing temperatures – and were left very disappointed with the range. With a listed WLTP range of 257 miles from the top-spec Touring model, we’d hoped for over 200 miles from a full charge in the real world but instead we saw around 170 miles. That translates to efficiency of just 2.4m/kWh, which is very poor indeed – and that only got worse if we turned the climate control on. Something of an essential in winter!

We’ll test the Solterra again when temperatures are higher and hope for a better result – but at the moment we can’t recommend this as a long-distance EV when the range is so poor.

The Solterra can charge at up to 150kW from a suitably fast station, or 7kW at home – there’s no capacity for faster 11kW charging from a three-phase supply, though.

Ownership costs and maintenance

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The Solterra’s poor range means charging is more expensive than it should be. If topping up from pricey public chargers, you can expect running costs in excess of what a petrol or a diesel car would cost. Even charging at home is about on parity with a combustion-engined rival, unless you take advantage of an EV-specific tariff with low night rates.

Even then, the Solterra will cost more to charge up than a more efficient EV, such as a Kia EV6.

Other running costs should be low – road tax is free, of course, and the Solterra won’t pay London’s congestion charge. Subaru servicing is also usually reasonably priced.

And, while Subaru’s legendary reliability may not apply to a vehicle it doesn’t build itself… the Solterra is made by Toyota which, from a dependability standpoint, really is the next best thing. It’s a shame, however, that the Solterra only gets Subaru’s standard three-year warranty, with a further eight-year/100,000 mile cover for the battery. The Toyota bZ4X is covered under Toyota’s 10-year ‘Relax’ warranty and the battery is warranted for more than 600,000 miles.

What models and trims are available?

Just two trim levels here – ‘Limited’ and ‘Touring’. They’re very similar to each other.

All cars get adaptive LED headlights, auto wipers, privacy glass, heated front and rear seats and steering wheel, keyless entry, a 7.0-inch digital instrument cluster and 12.3-inch infotainment screen, powered tailgate, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, sat-nav, and a full swathe of safety equipment.

Upgrading to ‘Touring’ spec nets you larger, 20-inch alloy wheels, leather upholstery, wireless smartphone charging, a panoramic glass roof  and a Harman Kardon sound system.