Subaru Solterra

Japan’s quirky 4x4 brand gets a helping hand from Toyota for its first EV Electrification represents a philosophical obstacle to some car manufacturers as well as a practical one. Subaru’s brand, for example, has long been built on tough, versatile family cars with boxer engines and differential-based ‘symmetrical’ four-wheel drive systems, and all the benefits they confer. It is a mechanically particular way to define a family of cars but has given the firm its own following for decades.So what happens when it builds a car in which neither of those things can feature? One that has no need of a mechanical driveline at all and uses electric motors rather than a combustion engine? Does it still look, sound and drive like a Subaru? This week, we find out.The Subaru Solterra was first shown to the public towards the end of 2021 and entered production in the spring of 2022. It shares a factory with its Toyota bZ4X sibling, but unlike the Subaru BRZ sports car, the Solterra is built on a Toyota line, rather than a Subaru line, in Japan.Subaru isn’t all that coy in its promotional literature about the relationship between this car and the bZ4X, the Solterra described in several places as “Subaru’s version” of the vehicle, while little attempt has been made with the car’s styling both inside and out to conceal its relationship with the Toyota.The question is, then, just how much old-school Subaru is there in this new-wave model addition? Is it an EV with a true and meaningful point of difference in any of the ways you might expect from the brand, or just what would appear, at first glance, to be another pretty cynical 21st-century Toyota clone?Range at a glanceThe Solterra is available only in twin-motor four-wheel-drive form. That means a higher entry price than some single-motor rivals, though its more modest power output and battery capacity help make it more affordable, in lower-level trim at least, than some 4WD opponents.The two equipment levels are Limited and Touring. Both get 150kW DC charging, a heat pump, surround-view parking cameras and Subaru’s X-Mode traction control system. Upper-level cars add 20in alloy wheels, premium audio, wireless smartphone charging, faux leather seats and a glass roof.VersionPower160kW AWD Limited215bhpTRANSMISSION1-spd reduction gear (per motor)