My Solterra Dilemma

robingrg said:

Hi Solterra owners, I am curious to know if any of you regret buying your solterra. I am about to reserve mine next week and all the negative comments and issues posted by users online are discouraging and concerning. Does the car give the range as per spec? Are you able to use ABRP or similar trip planner and get to destination as per ETA? Do you think the issues with DC fast jbe fixed with a sof

Fire734 said:

Not one bit. I am in love with my Solterra (Solie). I owned an i3 prior to this, and test drove the Nissan Ariya, ID4, and Kias. None held a candle to the Solterra. As the others have said, I walked into the experience knowing the slower charging and what not, but the benefits outweigh that. This is just a normal car, I wanted a normal cluster and controls. I didn't want a spaceship.
I live in Northern California (Silicon Valley) and didn't want to join the mindless drones in the Tesla club, and the Solterra gave me that, something different in the sea of Teslas driving around.

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I’ve only had mine for a month but I like it A LOT! Most of the issues I do have can probably be fixed with a software update.

1) By far my biggest issue is … the regenerative braking needs to be more aggressive especially with one pedal driving. One pedal driving with this vehicle is pretty much nonexistent. If you never drove a Hyundai or Tesla you may not notice.

2) Battery Percentage - You always hear about … don’t go below 20%, don’t go above 80% (unless you have to) but nowhere does it show the battery percentage (except in the app).

3) The multimedia display could be improved.

4) The center console armrest is a poor design. It constantly moves unless you put it all the way back.

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robingrg said:

Hi Solterra owners, I am curious to know if any of you regret buying your solterra. I am about to reserve mine next week and all the negative comments and issues posted by users online are discouraging and concerning. Does the car give the range as per spec? Are you able to use ABRP or similar trip planner and get to destination as per ETA? Do you think the issues with DC fast charging can fixed with a software update.? Your advise will be much appreciated!.
PS: I test drove a bunch of EVs -solterra was my fav among them.

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EVMOTIVATED said:

We got our Solterra in late February so we had a chance to drive it in snow. I’m in Wisconsin so we get plenty of snow. It performed super, it’s low center of gravity and heavy weight (due to battery weight), plowed through the snow with no problem. As others have said, if you want an EV for long trips, this is not the car. Our other car is a hybrid so it is used for long trips. We bought the Solterra for around town and it is a perfect fit for that. We have a level 2 charger. We usually charge it to 80% as that is the optimum for lithium ion batteries. We have charged it twice to 100% when we took longer trips.

The car is very quiet, comfortable, and has an adequate trunk area.

The things we miss are the glove box and rear window wiper, although we have got used to those omissions. One annoying thing is the wireless screen popping up incessantly, we haven’t figured how to shut that down. We have IPhones and the connection to CarPlay isn’t 100% reliable. Subaru has had that problem for a while (we’ve had three Subarus before the Solterra and they all had this problem

Overall, though, it is a great car, and we’re glad we purchased it.

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BoxerPwr said:

Congratulations getting your Solterra @EVMOTIVATED and welcome to the forum! Any idea on how deep the snow was when you drove the Solterra? What's the hybrid that you use for longer trips?

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EVMOTIVATED said:

We got 15” of wet, heavy snow the end of March. The Solterra had no problem driving through it. I believe the weight of the vehicle plus the AWD and the ground clearance made it possible.

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robingrg said:

Awesome!. Did you miss having a rear wiper at all?

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EVMOTIVATED said:

We got our Solterra in late February so we had a chance to drive it in snow. I’m in Wisconsin so we get plenty of snow. It performed super, it’s low center of gravity and heavy weight (due to battery weight), plowed through the snow with no problem. As others have said, if you want an EV for long trips, this is not the car. Our other car is a hybrid so it is used for long trips. We bought the Solterra for around town and it is a perfect fit for that. We have a level 2 charger. We usually charge it to 80% as that is the optimum for lithium ion batteries. We have charged it twice to 100% when we took longer trips.

The car is very quiet, comfortable, and has an adequate trunk area.

The things we miss are the glove box and rear window wiper, although we have got used to those omissions. One annoying thing is the wireless screen popping up incessantly, we haven’t figured how to shut that down. We have IPhones and the connection to CarPlay isn’t 100% reliable. Subaru has had that problem for a while (we’ve had three Subarus before the Solterra and they all had this problem

Overall, though, it is a great car, and we’re glad we purchased it.

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John Austin said:

I've got 3000+ miles on my Solterra since February, in Minnesota, and I love it. In fact my wife says I'm in love with it! It's smooth to drive, quiet and handled snow with aplomb. However, twice while driving in slushy snow the front end became completely covered in slush and all radar sensors stopped working. No problem frequently driving 75 miles to see kids/grandkids with a plug in L2 charger I take with me and can therefore charge both at home and at our "urban cabin." I wasn't looking for a road trip car and kept my Outback for that and towing my boat.

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