- The 2026 Solterra is the fastest Subaru we’ve ever tested, hitting 60 mph in a brisk 4.3 seconds and covering the quarter mile in 13.0 seconds at 101 mph.
- That makes it faster than the BRZ and every WRX STI model we tested, including an S209.
- We don’t expect the Solterra to hold the title for long, with both the electric Uncharted and the Trailseeker among potential newcomers.
Welcome to Car and driver’S Test Hubwhere we zoom in on the test numbers. We’ve been pushing vehicles to their limits since 1956 to provide objective data to strengthen our subjective impressions (you can see how we test here).
Apart from the BRZ, which is mainly aimed at rear-wheel drive, and the WRXwhich has not had an STI model since 2021, Subaru has been neglecting its performance side for several years. Yet the brand’s history is littered with flame-breathing rally champions and decades of sporty models. One of them must have set a blistering acceleration time on our test track, right? Despite stiff competition from an STI S209, the title of fastest Subaru we’ve ever tested now belongs to an electric SUV, the 2026 Solterra.
Our Solterra Touring XT test model produced 338 horsepower from its twin-motor, all-wheel-drive powertrain, rocketing to 60 mph in 4.3 seconds and hitting the century mark in 11.8 seconds. To put that in the context of some of Subaru’s previous performance models, a 2024 BRZ tS took 5.5 seconds to reach 60 mph and 22.7 seconds to reach 100 mph. A 2019 STI S209 we tested took 4.4 seconds to reach 60 mph, though it did beat the Solterra by three figures, taking just 11.2 seconds.
Things get even more interesting at the quarter mile. The BRZ needed 14.0 seconds at 100 mph to cover 1,300 feet, but the Solterra and S209 tied for the drag race, crossing the quarter-mile mark at a flat 13.0 seconds. With its instant torque, the Solterra charged ahead off the line, but the electric SUV spent about a second at its top speed of 100 mph, giving the S209 time to crawl back into the race, which it finished at 105 mph.
While Subaru hasn’t confirmed that new performance models are in the pipeline, it has hinted at bringing back STI-badged models. Still, we don’t expect the Solterra to retain its acceleration title for long. The new Subaru Uncharted EV is coming and features the same 338-horsepower dual-motor setup as the Solterra, but with a smaller footprint. The upcoming mid-size Trailseeker could also dethrone the Solterra. Although the previous model will be slightly larger, it will also have more power, with each version producing 375 hp.
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After a brief stint as a detailer for a local dealer group in college, he knew he needed a more permanent way to drive all the new cars he couldn’t afford, and decided to pursue a career in automotive writing. By chasing down his college professors at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, he was able to travel across Wisconsin in search of stories about the automotive world before landing his dream job at Car and driver. His new goal is to delay the inevitable demise of his 2010 Volkswagen Golf.
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