Credit: Jonathan Gitlin

After a slow start, Subaru’s electrification journey picked up a bit this year with the debut of a pair of new electric vehicles, the Uncharted and the Trailseeker. Neither is truly an in-house Subaru—like the Solterra EV before them, they use Toyota’s e-TNGA platform. The Solterra remains on sale alongside the two new EVs—it’s bigger than the Uncharted and less off-roady than the Trailseeker—and like the closely related Toyota bZ, the Solterra recently got its midlife update. And since it had been a while since Ars had last driven a Solterra, we decided to spend a week with one.

The original Solterra was a rather underwhelming effort. It looked OK, and it was recognizable as a Subaru from the outside, even if the interior was pure Toyota. But it was inefficient and slow to charge, and in 2024, it was a tough value proposition compared to something like a Hyundai Ioniq 5. For Solterra version 1.1, there’s a new visage—does it remind anyone else of an Autobot?—and the tech specs look much improved. At 74.7 kWh, the battery capacity has increased by less than 2 kWh, but its EPA range estimate leaps from 227 miles (365 km) to 288 miles (463 km).

The range increase didn’t require something like a decrease in power—in fact, the standard Solterra got a few extra horsepower, taking it to 233 hp (174 kW) from a pair of identical front and rear motors. But alongside the standard powertrain, Subaru now offers the Solterra XT. It almost doubles power to the front motor—it now makes 223 hp (167 kW) to go with the rear’s 117 hp (87 kW), for a combined 338 hp (252 kW). There’s a small range toll to pay, with an EPA estimate of 278 miles (447 km) for the XT. There’s also a slightly larger price tag: The base Solterra starts at $38,495, but the cheapest Solterra XT costs $42,895.

There are plenty more changes beneath the skin. The suspension and chassis control software has been revised. Subaru says it does a better job of handling rougher terrain and lower-grip environments, though our time with the car did not involve any forest roads or mountain trails. It rode well on imperfect roads, though, and its increased body stiffness and added sound-absorbing material do a decent job of canceling any noise, vibration, or harshness that would ruin the EV driving experience.

Not very agricultural

Ironically, that extra refinement makes the Solterra feel less like a true Subaru, at least to me. Its distinctive boxer engines aren’t the most refined in the world, but they do add character, as does the mechanical all-wheel drive. Here, the drive experience is rather anodyne, albeit entirely acceptable for a daily driver.

In any case, it usually only takes a false alarm from the overeager EyeSight driver assist to remind you that, as with the Chevy Blazer/Honda Prologue pair, some automaker quirks still cross badge-engineered boundaries.

While the extra power of the XT lets it sprint to 60 mph (97 km/h) in less than five seconds, I’m not sure I ever really needed the extra power over the regular car. Then again, I was entirely content with the front-wheel-drive, single-motor bZ—late spring in the Washington area doesn’t require much all-wheel drive. But if you want a FWD Subaru EV, you’re limited to the smaller Uncharted; all Solterras are AWD.

The Solterra now boasts a native NACS port, which replaces the previous model year’s CCS1 socket, and DC fast charging tops out at 150 kW rather than the old car’s 100 kW. Subaru says a 10–80 percent charge should take as little as 30 minutes, and you can now manually precondition the battery for optimal fast-charging performance. However, if you pull up to a charger with more than 50 percent state of charge, as I did, you should expect things to take a little longer.

In terms of value, the Solterra XT might be a wash with the top-spec bZ Limited. The Subaru has a bit more power and a little less range for a few hundred dollars less. And like the bZ, it’s a solid driving appliance. But now that the brand has an electric don’t-call-it-an-Outback Trailseeker, will any Subaru buyers really want the Solterra anymore? I’m not so sure.