America, in case you haven’t noticed, is running on empty. We are broke, distracted and adrift in a miasma of push notifications, Amazon Prime packages and questionable social media. Thank goodness for Subaru, bless its sensible woolen socks. The automaker is offering an escape route, an unpaved path to sanity with a revised 2026 Subaru Solterra EV.

Subaru has always lived in the peculiar overlap of Vermont co-op and Monte Carlo Rally. And now it has driven a stake in the heart of the petroleum age with an all-electric crossover SUV that wants to save the world and gets you to the trailhead before the Tesla drivers clog up the parking lot with smugness.

The Solterra’s name oozes crunchy gravitas: “sol” for the sun and “terra” for the earth. And you can’t ignore that underneath its hairshirt messaging and compostable packaging resides a Toyota in a hemp hoodie. For the Solterra is a Toyota bZ wearing a Subaru badge and a marketing campaign built out of Labrador retrievers and mountain-bike racks. And when pressed hard, the Solterra reveals itself to be a Toyota in Subaru cosplay. The drivetrain is Toyota. The battery tech is Toyota. The architecture is Toyota. But the all-wheel-drive system and vibe are Subaru.

And yet, somehow, inexplicably, the alchemy works. And when you think about it, none of it should. Toyota is reliable and buttoned-up, much like your accountant uncle who wears pleated khakis and speaks passionately about municipal bonds. They build cars that last forever, which is admirable, but boring. Subaru, meanwhile, is your cousin who skips Thanksgiving to go ice climbing in Patagonia. Dude!

The 2026 Subaru Solterra comes with an electric motor on each axle, because Subaru will never make a car that doesn’t haul itself up a ski slope in a blizzard. Power? Enough. There’s a sedate 233 horsepower in the Solterra Premium and Limited trims, amping up to a far more pleasurable 338 horsepower in the Solterra Limited XT and Touring XT models. And there’s little mileage penalty for choosing more power. According to Subaru, the 2026 Solterra Premium runs 288 miles on a charge, while the Limited, Limited XT, and Touring XT deliver 278 miles. And yes, it has all-wheel drive, not to mention Eco, Normal Power, Snow/Dirt and Deep Snow/Mud driving modes.

Drive it and you feel that same old Subaru sincerity. There’s enough power to leap into traffic with the authority while lacking the “shot out of a cannon” feel of many EVs. Its acceleration is gentlemanly and refined. The steering is unhurried but honest, as the Solterra is engineered for cruising not enthusiast driving. Push it hard in corners and the tires lose grip and scrub off speed faster than a vegan passing by a KFC. It momentarily slides before torque vectoring kicks in to regain grip. The ride is firm, yet forgiving, and the cabin is hushed. And when the asphalt ends, the Solterra does not hesitate, because the romance of Subaru has been about the trailhead, the campsite and the snow-covered pass. And while the Solterra is no rock climber, it can handle unpaved, rutted forest service roads with aplomb.

Meanwhile, the interior is as comforting as an old flannel shirt. The seats are firm, with enough padding to be comfy. Despite spending all day in the saddle test-driving around Denver, it proved to be a very comfortable car despite the hard-sided center console that takes its toll on longer legged drivers. The 14-inch infotainment touchscreen is easy to use and comes with standard wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. And while we always appreciate dual automatic climate control, it didn’t always come on when the test car started despite the warm weather. But it was an early sample, so such kinks should be worked out by the time the 2026 Subaru Solterra reaches showrooms.

While Subaru didn’t give us an EV designed from scratch, it gave us a Toyota with soul grafted on. It’s a crossover that still smells faintly of pine needles and wet dog. And in a world of suppository-shaped Mercedes-Benz EQ sedans and generic Tesla pods, it’s welcome. Most of us don’t care what a car is, we care more about what it means. And the Solterra means that the quirky, loyal, outdoorsy Subaru folks can finally plug in without bowing to European pretentiousness or Palo Alto millionaires.

2026 Subaru Solterra

Base price: $39,915 (including $1,420 destination charge)

Engine: Dual AC synchronous permanent-magnet motors

Horsepower: 238

EPA Range: 278 miles

Recharge (DC fast charger): 30 minutes (10-80%)

Length/Width/Height: 185/73/65 inches

Ground clearance: 8.3 inches

Roof weight rating: 176 pounds

Cargo capacity: 24-64 cubic feet

Towing capacity: Not rated

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