One to AVOID? 2023 Subaru Solterra review / Electrifying

I got mine 3 months ago and haven't seen the inside of a gas station since. No oil change, no leaky fluids, no noise (heaven driving it) charging takes a little time but it's perfect for me. Basically I am in love with my new Solterra

I am pleased with my Solterra. I charge it every two days on my home charger, not a problem. This is my 9th Subaru. We have several charging locations in LA CA soon not a problem

Nice & balanced review. Reminder to North American viewers, in the US & Canada, the Solterra & AWD bZ4X get a different battery. Top DC fast charge speed is 100 kW versus 150 kW in Europe or Japan. There are reports of serious charging and range issues in cold weather (worse than typical EVs). Buyers in Canada or Northern US, unless used exclusively for short commutes, be wary of the Solterra or AWD bZ4X!

"Just not good enough". Took the words right out of my mouth.

Loving my 2023 Solterra Limited. Was hoping to pick up the premium trim which is about 4K cheaper but wasn’t available. I knew about the sub par reviews, but after driving it myself I choose the Solterra over the other competitors in this EV class. At the end of the day it is quality, reliability, and safety that sold me.

I think this was an utterly charming and wonderful, incisive review. You didn't hold back on your opinions or try to make excuses for the car. And writing from Australia, where range (anxiety) is a concern - the UK is less than 4% the size of Oz - the relatively short distance between charges will see many (including me) reject what is otherwise a good - but not great - car. Would I buy an Outback XT over this and pocket what will be substantial savings? (The projected price of the Solterra is around 1/3 more than the XT.) Every time. I have a naturally aspirated Outback, and it's great and will not replace it with a "good" car.

We've been delighted with our two 3.6 litre Subaru Outbacks since 2010 (a 2010 model, then a 2019) and as we get ready to move into EV mode I was looking at Subaru again. The range in this Solterra though is too small at present to interest me. Living in Sydney but with 2 destinations of 400-450 kms we often travel we'll want an EV with a useable 600+kms range with A/C engaged (ie still 500+kms when the battery has lost some of its oomph). I really want a Subaru again since we have developed such confidence in the brand and the Outbacks' cruising attributes have been undeniable - reliability, all day comfort, very nice ground clearance and total sure-footedness. Looks like we'll be waiting till something like a more energy intensive lithium/Sulphur battery replaces current battery technology. The Solterra at present seems like an decent adventure vehicle stuck with city and highway duty due to range limitation

Seems to me both Subaru and Toyota (and Mazda, and Honda and so forth) fell asleep at the wheel and just woke up to the realization that they now have several years of catching up to do compared to the competition. That said, I hope they are good students and copy the homework of their better peers. :)

Is there something that would instantly put you off buying a car? Yes anything to do with Toyota after their shenanigans trying to slow the uptake of electric vehicles! Oh and those blinking bongs, both those you mentioned especially. Who wants something shouting at you when you're reversing and who wants to be bing bonging for your neighbours when you come in late at night?! Useful review, cheers Wooky. 👍😁

I live in Australia and a Suburu fan and have been waiting for the Soltera release. I'm very worried about the range as it seems from the Canadian experience that range and efficiency are not up to scratch. We have long distances and still a low number of charging stations in this country and plenty of rough roads. I love the ground clearance it seems to be at least 50 mm or 2 inches better than the rest in the field. But rang Range range in this country. There is still no release date or specs released in Australia much to my disappointement.

Love my Subaru Solterra!! Beautifully car and ready for any road conditions! The battery could be better but it works great for me!

I worked in intensive cares and operating theatres. I had a special interest in the ergonomics of monitors and alarms. It is essential to make the full use of the auditary spectrum. Grraded for urgency...'here is something I woulds like to bring to your attention' through to 'stop everything'. Then there were efforts to differentiate classes of alarms such as those related to the patients physiology or the breathing machine. It was difficult to get different companies to agree, but that was the intent. As a comment below suggests, too many similar alarms leads to all being ignored or the message buried n the noise. Great review BTW

You, sir, are a spectacular host. Funny, and informative. I enjoyed watching this the whole way through. Many thanks!

As someone who usually drives manual I really appreciated the annoying reversing beep in my partner’s Prius cos it meant I wasn’t gonna accidentally put the car in reverse! I think you could turn it off though.

Woeful efficiency. I’ve averaged 3.8 miles per kWh doing 8k miles in an MG5 in the 6 months since October, including a fair amount of motorway miles. The bongs on this would drive me crazy. The best thing about this whole collab is the Toyota’s warranty.

So the reversing beeps would stop you buying the car and yet the eNiro which does the same is an Electrifying favourite.....hmmm Consistency??? 😂

I'd like someone to explain to me how its become possible to charge this much for an electric car when you only have to look at other manufacturers to find you are desperately overpriced. I understand Subaru themselves are a small-volume manufacturer but Toyota certainly are not so that's not an excuse either. Look at the new MG's, both are just as terribly cheap inside, but ones the cost of an entire new car cheaper. They both seem to have the same basic driving charactics and function, granted the Subaru has a few extra toys hidden in that menu, but thats about it. I cannot fathem the cost of this.

You summed it well an ok car but with the new cars that are on the horizon not good enough. Along with the Toyota it will quietly disappear from the price list I expect. By the way your presentation was up their with the best. All the facts in a way that kept our attention.

For that price you can get a Volvo XC 40 twin motor. There would be no comparison in almost every aspect apart from a slightly bigger boot.

Oh… we've owned two Subarus, and really loved them. It thus hurts me to say that… we wouldn't opt for a Solterra. Over a decade ago, I had hoped and even expected Subaru to start selling its R1e and Stella EVs, but it never happened —which really disappointed me. The Solterra's range is too limited, the energy efficiency too low, the regen needs work, and I don't get the impression that it has one-pedal driving. I dunno… it seems to me that this Toyota/Subaru EV is simply to have some "skin in the game," but they're not serious about producing a true contender.