Electric Subaru Solterra will disappoint caravan enthusiasts | Car

For years, Toyota saw nothing in the electric car phenomenon, the Japanese focused entirely on the development of hybrids. Until it turned out that there is no escaping the EV, the world’s largest car manufacturer still gave in. The first model, the BZ4X, has been developed by Toyota in collaboration with Subaru. That is to say: Toyota mainly focused on the electric powertrain and Subaru took care of, among other things, the 4×4 technology.

Because Subaru has stood for intransigence, quality, SUVs and four-wheel drive for decades. And so the Solterra must also be able to prove itself in these fields. If we dive into the concept of quality, a striking figure stands out. No less than 97 percent of all Subaru’s delivered in Europe over the past ten years are still driving.

If we look at the concept of SUV, something else stands out: 95 percent of Subaru’s delivered in Europe are SUV-like. And then another figure, which relates to four-wheel drive; the Japanese car manufacturer has now sold twenty million cars equipped with all-wheel drive.

The Solterra is also unyielding, at least for an electric car. Subaru supplies it with four-wheel drive as standard. The newcomer impresses with its handling capabilities in difficult terrain. Power comes from the 218 hp strong powertrain. But despite its relatively large car height (1950 kilos), there is little chance of scraping the belly on the ground, thanks to 21 cm of ground clearance. And you don’t want that either, since the entire bottom of the Solterra is filled with battery cells: in total for 71.4 kWh.

Subaru therefore uses the Solterra (which stands for sun and earth) as an electric semi-terrain vehicle. That is why the car has a descent system, which ensures that Subaru neatly maintains the pre-programmed speed during a steep hill descent. You descend with a maximum of nine kilometers per hour, or a minimum of four. In this way, as a driver, you can keep your attention accurately when steering.

Any irregularities, which can cause damage to the underside, meet a sturdy protective plate at the front and rear. And if you find it exciting to wade through a large puddle with the Solterra, after all it remains an electric car, then know that many submersibles that do their work under the surface of the world’s seas have electric propulsion. In short, the Solterra’s electric powertrain is well protected against wetness.

A missed opportunity is the lack of solar panels in the roof of the Solterra. The electric Subaru is designed as a car for adventurers. Such people like to camp in nature, where charging points are usually not available. To gain some energy, a car roof that converts sunlight into energy wouldn’t hurt. Unfortunately, for such technology you have to go to the Dutch Lightyear and Toyota, among others.

Then there is certainly the possibility to tie a large caravan behind the Solterra? The Subaru consumer is certainly often a caravan enthusiast in the Netherlands. No, not that. Our car editors drove a model from the pre-series, which was not even registered yet. The towing weight has yet to be determined, but is said to not exceed 750 kilograms. Sufficient for a bicycle carrier or estate bin, but forget about carrying a caravan.

With its 200 hp total power, which goes to the wheels via two electric motors, the Solterra makes excellent progress. The car is smooth, but not earth-shatteringly fast, as you experience with some other EVs. Pleasant is the solid build quality and the robust feeling that the chassis gives to its occupants. Everything feels solid, without you immediately experiencing the tuning of the suspension as hard.

Moreover, the chassis engineers have managed to mask the car weight of 1950 kilos (normal for an electric car). The steering is a bit on the light side and the fans of ‘one-pedal driving’ will not really get their money’s worth in the Solterra. Yes, you can influence the degree of regeneration of the drivetrain by means of paddles behind the wheel. In the firmest position, the Solterra brakes reasonably on the electric motor, which then has a dynamo function, but really only driving on the accelerator pedal and hardly using the brake pedal is not included.

As far as the loading capacity is concerned, the Solterra makes little impression. With an AC charger, the charging point that you have at home or at work, the Subaru does not go further than 6.6 kW. And that is no longer of this time. Almost every modern electric car scores 11 kW and thus charges almost twice as fast. On a fast charger, the Subaru does better with 150 kW, with which you score about 300 kilometers of driving range in half an hour.

Based on the factory value, the Solterra would go about 400 kilometers on a full battery. Day-to-day practice probably takes some of that away. But with this value, the Solterra is quite in step with its peers. Which are those? Think of the Volkswagen ID.4, the Skoda Enyaq, the two Koreans Kia EV6 and Hyundai Ioniq 5, but also the electric Ford Mustang, the Tesla Model Y (towing weight 1600 kilos) and the electric models from Volvo and Polestar. So a lot of competition, with seriously good cars in between, which sometimes get further on a full battery, and always charge faster on an AC charger.

On the other hand, serious off-road capability is not offered by the competitive field. Although it certainly impresses with its interior space. With a length of 4.69 meters you will experience a sea of ​​freedom of movement in the back. The flap and doors open nice and wide, so that the accessibility is more than for each other.

The interior is of course the same as that of its twin brother, the Toyota BZ4X. Chunky buttons won’t let you search for controls while you’re driving. Typically such a signature point of Subaru. Safety is in more things than good electronic systems. In addition, the seating position is good, you sit on fine furniture. Unfortunately, Subaru does not want to disclose the exact starting price (yet). For the time being, Subaru Nederland only indicates a target price of 55,000 euros.