Kona vs Solterra

Since I owned a Kona for three years, and now a Solterra for one month thought I would give a little comparison. Bit of apples and oranges here, but besides that there are some other interesting differences.

First the Kona is a small FWD SUV, that I really enjoyed for the years I had it, and was perfect for around town. Also didn't do too bad on trips with its long range. The Solterra is a much larger off-road capable AWD SUV, with high clearance and other Subaru off-road features like X-Mode.

But here are some of the more interesting differences.

1. Kona has 3 regen setting for each drive mode which engage each time you start the car. The Solterra has an S-Pedal regen button (no strength settings) which you need to press each time you drive the car after it has been shut off. I much prefer how the Kona worked.

2. The Solterra regen is a bit weaker than the strongest level 3 setting of the Kona. Again, I prefer the Kona, probably because that is what I was used to. Both cars also have paddles to control regen, so that works the same. However again, the strongest paddle regen on the Solterra is weaker than the Kona.

3. The Solterra has about a 1 second lag when letting off the throttle to max regen and the same when you hit the throttle to accelerate. As I recall, the Kona was instant which made for very nimble driving once you got used to it. However, the Solterra is smoother in that respect with the 1 second transition. So may depend on personal preference. I liked the Kona way. Having said that, the Kona instant regen and acceleration may be harder on the drive train incl motor mounts. And perhaps account for some of the tick tick issues with the Kona.

4. The Driver Assist features on the Solterra are better and more extensive. One example is Lane Trace Assist (same as the Kona Active Lane Keep Assist). The Solterra will firmly stay in the centre of a lane hands off (just the occasional light touch) and hold true in the curves and slow down as needed. My Kona didn't handle the curves very well. Makes for more relaxing highway/freeway driving with the Solterra. It also has auto and remote parking. Haven't tried that yet.

5. I really like the surround cameras on the Solterra which operate automatically when parking in your garage or in tight areas. Also shows a vertical view when moving into a parking spot which shows the white lines. No more opening the door to see if you are centred properly.

6. Seat and mirror memory is great on the Solterra. And it operates based on your key FOB or your phone that is attached to your profile. Don't have to press any buttons.

7. Wireless Android Auto and Carplay are nice with the Solterra. Don't need to plug in your phone. Just get in the car, and whatever you had going last, eg Waze or Google Maps comes up automatically.

8. Solterra has more extensive climate control settings to optimize comfort and economy (ECO, etc) with multiple Auto settings incl heated steering wheel and seats. Again no need to press any buttons, as it decides what you need and when. Works well. Nice to start driving with toasty hands on the wheel.

9. No rear wiper on rear hatch, but rear view mirror both optical and digital work very well. Have driven in rain several times, and was surprised how good the rear optical view visibility was despite no wipers. Seems the airflow funnelling back there does work to help keep it clear. So far have not had to switch to the digital mirror (camera has a washer, too) to see better.

10. Solterra has a nice solid ride, does not sway much on corners, and soft over the bumps. Very quiet, too and augments a good sound system.

11. But the Solterra costs about $5K more (compable trims), so you pay more for what you get.

Haven't had a chance to test out the L3 charging yet. I suspect it is similar to the Kona, since it is still just 400V. One guy on the Toyota forum said he charged from 10-80% in 35 min. That's sounds pretty fast, but doesn't match what some others have said. Will have to find out myself. Winter, though, is not the best time to evaluate fast charging times.

Anyway, the Solterra is what I expected, and more, so happy with that. Now am waiting for my 2nd BEV as our trip car. Hoping for an I5, I6 or maybe even the 2024 Kona, depending on its specs.

 

Don't have a good handle on range yet. Spec is 360 kms and GOM seems to support that after a charge. But have not been on a trip yet to verify. Kona is definitely more with 415 km spec, but in summer would get to 500 kms with mostly city or around town driving. The Solterra has a 72 kWh battery vs 64 for the Kona. But it is a much larger, heavier vehicle.

I bought the Solterra for its off-road capability, not its range. That's why I am waiting for an I5 (pre-orders last Feb) or an I6, or maybe even a 2024 Kona (if it has good specs) as my 2nd EV and trip car. No rush at this time, as I finally have an EV again after selling my Kona last spring. It was hard for us to make do with just one car (Crosstrek) between the wife and I. And I really missed driving an EV. That Kona was a great little car.

 

Have not experienced that yet happening, at least not yet. But will watch for it.

 

Heading up into the mountains today for skiing. Just finished charging to 100%. GOM says 441 km (Climate off). Will see.

 

Did my first trip yesterday, 400 kms round trip to a ski hill up in the mountains. Elevation change was 5,000' from sea level to ski hill parking lot. Temps in the morning were down to -6C at the mountain. Did two partial charges enroute, in hindsight could have got away with one charge, but didn't want to take a chance. Got home with over 100 kms remaining. Each charge was about 1/2 hour, slow, only got tops 27 kW from the 50 kW BC Hydro charger. But at least it was free.

I initialized the trip consumption at the start, and when I got back home the avg trip consumption was 23.9 kWh/100 kms, so that would indicate a range of about 300 kms which I consider very good given the type of trip. Where I could, I drove up to 110 kph.

On the way up, it was not only cold, but the last 80 kms or so were slush initially and then snow covered. Had a big dump of snow overnight (which made for great ski conditions of course). And it was steep. So I really saw the consumption meter go up and the range dropping quickly during that part of the trip. Of course coming down, it was the opposite, although the net for sure cost extra range.

I should add that I had all my Climate controls on Auto, which meant steering wheel and seats warmers were on at the start of each leg of the trip. Plus I assume there is some consumption to warm the traction battery initially in cold weather. Range would drop 90 kms with Climate on. Seemed a little high, but that is what it said.

So I guess, it was about what I expected, and glad to get that behind me. Gives me a good baseline for future trips and where to plan my charging stops.

 

On my ski trip yesterday had a good chance to test everything. Have to say, the Lane Trace Assist worked perfectly. Never once did it try to take me where I didn't want to go. It held the land solidly in all conditions, except where there was snow on the road and all lane markings were obscured. Then it would disengage, and letting you know of course.

 

Form what I read on the forum one or more of the port contractors in the US who assembled the new wheels and bolts did not have proper "training" and may not have torqued the bolts properly. SOA, out of an abundance of caution, decided to have all Solterras that had the original wheels changed taken to a dealer to have the torques checked.

In Canada, the new wheels were done by the individual dealers as part of their PDI. So far, have not received any notices here. But I will have them checked again by the dealer just to be sure. I think it is a good idea to always retorque tire bolts/nuts after driving a couple hundred kms. I do that every time I do a tire change/rotation myself. At this time, I don't have the correct tire wrench for these new wheels, but I will be getting one, as I plan to have another set of off-road wheels/tires.

 

Haha, looks like it has been there for a while, as not much snow around the vehicle.

We got off lightly here in south Langley with the last few snowfalls, just a couple inches and all gone now. But we have friends in Port Moody that got a couple of 2 foot snow dumps this past week. Most they have ever seen there.

With my many ski trips this past month, have driven through a lot of snow with the Solterra, and some pretty deep stuff at times, pushing snow with my front bumpers like a snow plow. But it handled it like a true Subaru snow machine, and just with the OEM A/S tires. My Kona would not have gone anywhere in those conditions, even with the best winter tires.

 

Yes, had our Solterra for over a year. Besides very good snow and off-road capabilities, it also has a very nice ride. We have both a Solterra and an Ioniq 6 now. The latter is our trip car due its fast charging and high range. While the I6 has a good ride, too, the Solterra is actually better. Like you found, it has a very smooth luxury feel ride and handles very well. That includes snow and icy roads, where it stays more planted. It has become my wife's fav, so I don't drive it as much now, mostly just the I6.

If you are looking to buy the Solterra, get the 2024, which will be out very soon. It has improved fast charging including battery preconditioning. The biggest knock against the 2023 Solterra is slow fast charging. Although if you don't use it for trips and mostly charge at home, it doesn't matter.