2023 Subaru Solterra First Drive: Teaching a New Dog Old Tricks
2023 Subaru Solterra - Profile Photo: D.Boshouwers• Auto123 gets in a first test drive of the 2023 Subaru Solterra.• Subaru will have to work hard as it enters a hotly disputed segment.
The Solterra enters a fast-growing electric compact SUV segment that for now is THE main fighting ground for automakers and their initial all-electric offerings. Some have already been on the market for over a year, establishing their credentials, laying down performance and range benchmarks, and tending to their customer bases.
That aside, it’s a relatively roomy environment, the seating is comfortable while not in luxury class, and the minimalist approach taken with the commands still leaves physical touch buttons for the important stuff on the lower console.The all-electric powertrain is of course the big new thing here. First off, as you had to expect, Subaru has produced an electrified version of its symmetrical AWD system. That was really the baseline for this car being worthy of the star-cluster badge.
2023 Subaru Solterra - Charging port Photo: D.BoshouwersWe also learned from Subaru that, to preserve the battery over the long haul, charging on very fast-charging stations is limited, essentially to two recharges a day. Try a third time, and the system will recharge, but at a much lower rate. Subaru pitches its regen braking system as better approximating manual braking, and indeed I did find its operation smoother – and thus less apt to induce nausea in the driver or especially the passenger . On downhill portions, letting off the accelerator with the top braking level set did not send us pitching forward into our seatbelts, unlike in other models we’ve tested. A success on that front, clearly.
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