BMW iX3 (2021-2025) vs Subaru Solterra

The BMW iX3 costs £6,345 more than the Subaru Solterra. For that premium it adds 58 litres more boot space and 50 kW more power. On EVcarsguide's combined category scores, the Subaru Solterra comes out ahead overall.

The Subaru Solterra is £6,345 cheaper to buy. The Subaru Solterra is cheaper to charge, roughly £168 a year versus £216 for the BMW iX3, at 8,000 miles on an off-peak home tariff. Add 5 years of charging and the Subaru Solterra comes out roughly £6,585 cheaper overall. These figures cover list price and home charging only - insurance, servicing, tyres and depreciation will move the real total.

EVcarsguide estimates a real-world motorway range of about 196 miles for the BMW iX3 and 241 miles for the Subaru Solterra - both below their WLTP figures, because sustained high speed is the hardest case for an EV. The Subaru Solterra goes roughly 45 miles further between charging stops. A rapid charge to 80% takes around 34 minutes in the BMW iX3 and 20 in the Subaru Solterra, so the Subaru Solterra loses less time at each stop. That makes the Subaru Solterra the stronger long-distance car.

The Subaru Solterra is the easier car for tight UK car parks: it is 31 mm narrower than the BMW iX3. In a standard 2,400 mm bay that leaves about 540 mm of total clearance for the Subaru Solterra and about 509 mm of total clearance for the BMW iX3. The Subaru Solterra also turns in a 0.9 m tighter circle, which helps with U-turns and multi-storey ramps.

Over a 8-year ownership window EVcarsguide's degradation model projects roughly 84% battery health for the BMW iX3 and 84% for the Subaru Solterra. That is close enough that capacity loss should not decide between them. Both use NMC-type cells, so for daily use keep the charge limit near 80% to slow degradation.