DS N°8 vs Subaru Solterra

The Subaru Solterra costs £1,715 more than the DS N°8. On the headline specs that premium buys little measurable advantage - the two are closely matched on range, charging and space. The DS N°8 is not just cheaper - it also offers 52 miles more WLTP range and 108 litres more boot space. On EVcarsguide's combined category scores, the DS N°8 comes out ahead overall.

The DS N°8 is £1,715 cheaper to buy. Running costs are almost identical - about £144 a year either way, at 8,000 miles on an off-peak home tariff. Add 5 years of charging and the DS N°8 comes out roughly £1,835 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 285 miles for the DS N°8 and 241 miles for the Subaru Solterra - both below their WLTP figures, because sustained high speed is the hardest case for an EV. The DS N°8 goes roughly 43 miles further between charging stops. Both rapid-charge to 80% in a similar time, around 20-27 minutes.

The Subaru Solterra is the easier car for tight UK car parks: it is 45 mm narrower than the DS N°8. In a standard 2,400 mm bay that leaves about 540 mm of total clearance for the Subaru Solterra and about 495 mm of total clearance for the DS N°8.

Over a 8-year ownership window EVcarsguide's degradation model projects roughly 84% battery health for the DS N°8 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.