Posted Monday, August 12, 2024 at 9:16pm

Test drive: 2024 Subaru Solterra feels fit for the blue highways

Subaru’s vehicles have never completely fallen in line with the mainstream. As I spent more time with the brand’s first electric car, the Solterra, it started to make sense that there’s no reason to think its EVs will shed the Gore-Tex look. This all-wheel-drive electric crossover is simply on its own trip versus other EVs.

After a brief sample of the Solterra off-pavement, I recently covered more than 400 miles in the Solterra, with the vast majority of that—nearly 360 miles—on freeways. During that time, taking its strengths and weaknesses in light, I realized that I had this model away from its element. The lesser-traveled routes, the gravel roads and rutted trails, and the travel days getting out to trailheads and launch points—the blue highways—altogether make much better sense in the Solterra than aiming to haul through interstate miles in the shortest possible time.