2026 Subaru Solterra Hits Puberty With Better Looks, More Range, NACS Charging And A 338-HP XT Trim

With the slogan More Than A Car Company, Subaru donates millions of dollars to charities and environmental causes each year, and it has run the first zero-landfill car manufacturing facility in the U.S. for the past 20 years. For a company so involved in environmental protection, Subaru's efforts to electrify its cars has lagged, but that's beginning to change. It recently unveiled new Forester and Crosstrek Hybrid variants, but the Solterra, Subaru's lone EV that's twinned with the Toyota bZ4X, has always felt half-baked and premature. For 2026 however, Subaru is giving its humble little Solterra a big boost in style, performance overall appeal. Remember when you emerged from the awkward stage of puberty with a stronger jawline, a more developed body, and more muscle than when you were a kid? The Solterra just hit that milestone, and not a minute too soon.

The outgoing Solterra faced complaints about its low range that barely breaches 200 miles in real-world driving, its slow charging speeds, and its overall underwhelming performance. It wasn't necessarily bad, but modern cars are so well-sorted that every new car must be exceptional to succeed, and the Solterra was quite unexceptional. The refreshed Solterra has more powerful motors for quicker acceleration, a longer-range battery and improved charging capabilities, a nicer interior and new tech features. Possibly the biggest boon? The new Solterra has access to Tesla Superchargers thanks to its now-standard NACS charge port. Looks like Subie's forgettable EV just became memorable.

The Solterra needed more than the usual mid-cycle refresh in order to revamp its image, so it's a good thing Subaru didn't skimp out on the improvements. The outgoing Solterra suffered from funky looks that I doubt have ever been referred to as cool or good in any way. The facelift brings some character with a much cleaner bumper design and Subaru's new corporate split headlight motif that has six clusters of LED running lights, representing the six stars on the newly illuminated Subaru badge. In some specs the Solterra's fenders are even color matched, turning from frumpy into downright demure.

The new NACS charge port is relocated from the driver's side front fender to the passenger side for easier access to those shortsightedly short Tesla Supercharger cords. Once you plug the new Solterra into that oh-so-convenient Supercharger, you'll be endlessly grateful that the old Solterra's embarrassingly poor charge speeds have been catapulted closer into the realm of competitiveness. While the old Solterra's 72.8-kWh battery pack could only charge at 100 kW, the updated model's 74.7-kWh pack can accept up to 150 kW of charging power, and there's a new battery preconditioning system to make fast-charging easier and more efficient, especially in bad weather. Subaru says the 2026 Solterra can charge from 10% to 80% in "less than 35 minutes," which I guess is an improvement from last year's model achieving that in "as little as 35 minutes." At least range is now up to more than 285 miles, a big jump from the 227-mile max range of the outgoing Solterra.

Remember those more-powerful motors I mentioned earlier? Subaru says the 2026 Solterra's pair of electric motors combine to make 233 horsepower that gets sent to all four wheels, a modest jump of just 18 ponies, but that's not the whole story. For the first time, Subaru is introducing a performance-oriented XT trim to the Solterra that further increases output to a maximum of 338 horsepower, or more than 100 horsepower greater than the outgoing Solterra. Subaru says the new Solterra XT will complete the 0-to-60-mph run in less than 5 seconds. That means it beats out the Subaru WRX ts, the brand's highest performance model at the moment, to 60 mph from a standstill by nearly a whole second. Those are the only Solterra XT details that are currently available, but we're eager to learn more.

Beyond straight-line performance, the 2026 Solterra has a new all-wheel-drive system with better power distribution and control, and updates to the suspension and electric power steering. It still has a good-for-its-class 8.3 inches of ground clearance, and Subaru's X-Mode system with off-road drive modes and Downhill Assist Control. Subaru's EyeSight suite of driver-assistance features is standard, with automated emergency braking, front cross-traffic alert, blind-spot monitoring, lane departure alert, adaptive cruise control with traffic jam and lane-change assist, and a panoramic view monitor among the included tech features.

Inside, the 2026 Solterra has undergone a major redesign with a horizontal design theme, with everything from the dashboard to the center console and door panels getting overhauled. Nice upgrades include a new 14-inch touchscreen (nearly two inches bigger than before) that has Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatibility and runs a newer version of the Toyota-based infotainment system. Two side-by-side 15-kW wireless phone chargers in the center console allow both front passengers to wirelessly charge at the same time, but if you prefer analog charging, you can plug into the new high-power USB-C charge points.

The hulking new infotainment screen does away with the dedicated climate controls underneath the old screen, replacing those switches and touch-sensitive controls them with two physical temperature knobs and a climate menu in the touchscreen itself that's always present, showing things like fan speed and seat controls. You also get a real volume knob! The polarizing squircle steering wheel remains, so you still have to look over the steering wheel to see your gauges instead of looking through it as on almost every other car.

The 2026 Solterra is slated to go on sale later this year, though Subaru didn't announce pricing or any other specifications beyond what's noted here. We'll blog like the wind as soon as we hear more info about it. Until then, the Solterra's updates appear to have transformed it into a more worthy competitor. Ah, the magic of puberty.