Subaru Solterra vs. Audi Q4 e-tron Sportback – Double test

Is the Subaru Solterra distinctive enough?

If you say Subaru, you say four-wheel drive. And boxer engines, but the Japanese can easily forget that distinctive aspect with the arrival of the EV. When it comes to all-wheel drive, Subaru hopes to add another glimmer of distinction. Their first EV, the Solterra, is in fact a slightly modified Toyota bZ4X, but under the skin it does distinguish itself. Unlike the Toyota, the Subaru is only available with two electric motors and therefore four-wheel drive. Unlike the four-wheel drive versions of the same Toyota, both electric motors are constantly involved. The Solterra always has four-wheel drive, and does not ‘add an axle’ when a lot of power is required or there is little grip.

Does the Audi not have a Quattro?

Audi also likes to point to its many years of experience with four-wheel drive, which of course started with the legendary Quattro from the 1980s. Audi still likes to stick the ‘quattro’ on its models, including electric ones, often. The Q4 that shines on these pages is not one of them. That is very unfortunate for the approach of this story, but also significant. After all, Audi is much less tenacious when it comes to four-wheel drive, and certainly in the Netherlands mainly delivers two-wheel drive cars. In the case of the Q4, we have the ’40’ popular in our country. Its power matches well with that of the Solterra, but only has rear-wheel drive. The question is therefore not only which of these two cars you should have, but also whether four-wheel drive has any added value in our flat country. In that respect, Subaru is unlucky with the fact that the Solterra took so long to arrive that it is now summer again. We were shown it in November 2021 and four months later we were able to use it, but the actual market introduction has been delayed due to all kinds of setbacks. The bZ4X/Solterra is the first serious EV for both Toyota and Subaru, and that was reflected in all kinds of setbacks. Don’t worry: the Japanese twins are here now.

Solterra feels faster

Compared to the Audi, the Solterra has at least one important advantage due to its extra engine, because it feels much more powerful on the road. On paper, power and torque don’t matter much. The Subaru has 218 hp, the Audi 204. However, the Subaru is considerably faster than the Audi on all sprint components and that is noticeable. The Solterra takes off immediately and fiercely after pressing the power pedal. Audi seems to have deliberately opted for a somewhat more moderate setting, which gradually releases the power. That may be more comfortable for some, but also means that it lacks that fierceness that we have come to appreciate in EVs. You can control the degree to which the brakes are ‘released’ in both cars with ‘shift paddles’ on the steering wheel. That works nicely, although both cars don’t brake enough even in the strongest position to really be driven without a brake pedal. With 64 kWh net, the only available battery of the Solterra is a lot smaller than that of the Audi, which can handle almost 77 kWh. The Subaru appears to be a bit more efficient in practice (see box), but it cannot keep up with the Audi when it comes to the all-important range. The Subaru narrowly wins on the fast charger, although the differences in that area are not great. With 135 and 150 kW, both vehicles set decent values, but they are by no means leaders.

Q4 struggles with high weight

Like its platform mates within the Volkswagen Group, the Audi has a remarkably small turning circle. That makes it very easy to handle in the city and makes it appear more compact than it actually is. Ingolstadt cannot disguise the fact that this is an SUV of more than 2,000 kg. The Audi Q4 is quite firmly sprung and has difficulty with that high weight in combination with the relatively high and narrow carriage. He clears thresholds and other bumps in a somewhat bumpy and therefore uncomfortable way. The sports suspension of the ‘S edition’ we drove does not help, but from previous tests we know that a regular Q4 also suffers from this.
The Solterra is much better balanced in this area. According to Subaru, the chassis tuning is different from Toyota, but good choices have been made. The car is fairly sturdy, but never uncomfortable and has good handling. The steering is pleasant, fairly direct and with more feeling than the somewhat distant control of the Audi.

Where do you find the most space?

The Audi does have the best papers when it comes to seating comfort and space. In the back there is more than enough legroom in both cars, but the headroom is not enough. With the Audi, this is partly because we have the Sportback, so a Q4 with a steeply sloping roofline. There is also a regular variant, which offers a little more space for less money. The Subaru has another trick up its sleeve in the back seat in the form of an adjustable backrest, which can provide more comfort, especially on longer journeys. The Audi makes smart use of its length, especially when we open the tailgate. With 520 liters, this theoretically can hold about 70 liters more than in the longer Subaru, which is great, although the Japanese offers a larger floor space.
We sit in the front of the Solterra, but the very extensive adjustability of the steering wheel and seats provides an even more pleasant sitting position in the Audi. With the Subaru, it is mainly getting used to the fact that the digital instruments are not behind, but above the steering wheel. More or less like Peugeot, albeit a bit better executed. The screen is actually at the highest point here, but the steering wheel should also be a bit lower than you might wish. It is a pity that both cars lack the so-called frunk for some extra luggage space under the ‘bonnet’. Creating an extra storage compartment should certainly not be a problem in these high cars. With the Subaru, the technology in the front apparently takes up so much space that even a glove compartment is not possible. Too bad, because that leaves very little storage space for attributes that are better kept out of sight. The Subaru does have a ‘floating’ center console with extra storage space at the bottom, and large door pockets. The Audi gets the most handy bottle holders that we know from its makers, nice and high and therefore directly within reach. Of course, the Q4 does have a glove compartment.

Typical Toyota

The interior of the Solterra is typical Toyota in many ways; after all, it comes from the bZ4X. It is extremely solid, but is certainly not particularly beautiful or opulent. Just like on the outside, there are quite a lot of large, flat surfaces, which smacks of cost savings. All in all it comes across as simple. The positive downside is that there is very little wrong with the service. Most functions have clear, physical buttons and the fast infotainment system has a logical layout, if not as extensive. Android Auto only works with a cable, notably via a somewhat old-fashioned USB-A connection. Typically Subaru is the meddling of the abundant safety systems, especially through squeaks. The driver monitor does that as soon as you look to the side and that is downright annoying. You can switch it off, but it will still beep if it thinks it has no view of the driver. Just like a car with a combustion engine, you start the Solterra with the start button. Everything goes off immediately when you switch it off, which is annoying if you want to take a look or close a window.
At Audi, starting and switching off is fully automatic, which shows that the Germans thought a bit more outside the box with this EV. The Q4 interior has been designed with more care than that of the Solterra and offers nicer materials and a better finish. Anyone who thinks ‘premium’ is just an empty term will see the difference here. The Audi also has wireless telephone connection and an infotainment system that is more extensive, but by no means the world’s best in this area. It is much nicer than what Volkswagen uses in cars on the same platform, such as the ID.4 and ID.5. Compared to those models, the Audi has more physical buttons and that makes it much more pleasant to deal with.
The digital instrumentation is a relief. It can be nicely arranged as desired and can show a lot of information in one overview. At least, if you have the right version. Unfortunately, that applies to more things at Audi.

The difference in price is very big

That the Q4 is a bit more expensive than the Solterra is in line with expectations, but the difference is very large and options drive the price of the Audi up to a level that can hardly be justified. Bare, the Q4 Sportback costs 40, so with the large battery, €63,105. At Audi you then have to pay extra for almost everything, while certain options are even (temporarily) not available at all due to chip shortages. This applies, for example, to electric seat adjustment and a panoramic roof, which are part of it at this price level. The test car lacks a nice thick audio system, while leather and ‘keyless entry’ also shine through their absence. Even so, it costs almost 74 grand.
With Subaru it is all a lot easier to fathom. The Solterra comes in three flavors, the thickest of which – with a two-tone body, 20-inch wheels and a fixed panoramic roof – is just below the level of the base Audi. So with four-wheel drive. We drove the Solterra in the nameless entry-level version, which is already very nice in the stuff and is much cheaper than the Audi at €56,395.

In the video we go into more detail and in the free downloadable pdf you will find all data, measurements and the whole story.