Compare the2024 BMW iXVS 2023 Subaru Solterra

Safety
Warranty
Reliability
Engine
Fuel Economy and Range
Transmission
Brakes and Stopping
Tires and Wheels
Suspension and Handling
Passenger Space
Cargo Capacity
Servicing Ease
Ergonomics
Recommendations

Safety

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The iX’s pre-crash front seatbelts will tighten automatically in the event the vehicle detects an impending crash, improving protection against injury significantly. The Solterra doesn’t offer pre-crash pretensioners.

Both the iX and Solterra have child safety locks to prevent children from opening the rear doors. The iX has power child safety locks, allowing the driver to activate and deactivate them from the driver's seat and to know when they're engaged. The Solterra’s child locks have to be individually engaged at each rear door with a manual switch. The driver can’t know the status of the locks without opening the doors and checking them.

Both the iX and the Solterra have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver and front passenger knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, four-wheel antilock brakes, all wheel drive, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, post-collision automatic braking systems, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning, driver alert monitors and available around view monitors.

The BMW iX weighs 1154 to 1404 pounds more than the Subaru Solterra. The NHTSA advises that heavier vehicles are much safer in collisions than their significantly lighter counterparts.

Warranty

The iX comes with a full 4-year/50,000-mile basic warranty, which covers the entire truck and includes 24-hour roadside assistance. The Solterra’s 3-year/36,000-mile basic warranty expires 1 year or 14,000 miles sooner.

The iX’s corrosion warranty is 7 years longer than the Solterra’s (12 vs. 5 years).

BMW pays for scheduled maintenance on the iX for 3 years and 36,000 miles. BMW will pay for tire rotations, cabin filter replacement, brake fluid replacement, inspections, and any other required maintenance. Subaru doesn’t pay scheduled maintenance for the Solterra.

Reliability

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2022 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the long-term dependability statistics that show that BMW vehicles are more reliable than Subaru vehicles. J.D. Power ranks BMW above average in long-term dependability. With 5 more problems per 100 vehicles in the first three years of ownership, Subaru is rated below average.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2023 Auto Issue reports that BMW vehicles are more reliable than Subaru vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks BMW third in overall reliability. Subaru is ranked 7th.

Engine

The iX xDrive50’s standard electric motors produces 301 more horsepower (516 vs. 215) and 315 lbs.-ft. more torque (564 vs. 249) than the Solterra’s electric motors. The iX M60’s standard electric motors produces 395 more horsepower (610 vs. 215) and 500 lbs.-ft. more torque (749 vs. 249) than the Solterra’s electric motors.

As tested in Consumer Reports the iX xDrive50 is faster than the Subaru Solterra:

	iX	Solterra
Zero to 30 MPH	2 sec	2.4 sec
Zero to 60 MPH	4.3 sec	6.4 sec
45 to 65 MPH Passing	2.3 sec	3.6 sec
Quarter Mile	12.7 sec	15 sec
Speed in 1/4 Mile	114 MPH	93 MPH

Fuel Economy and Range

The iX can travel longer on a full charge than the Solterra on a full charge:

			Miles
iX
	AWD	xDrive50 Electric Motors	307 miles
		M60 Electric Motors	274 miles
Solterra
	AWD	Premium Electric Motors	228 miles
		Limited/Touring Electric Motors	222 miles

The iX has a standard locking charge port which locks and unlocks with the power locks. The Solterra doesn’t have a locking charge port. A locking charge port prevents tampering and damage.

Transmission

The iX’s launch control uses engine electronics to hold engine RPM’s at 60 in order to provide the most stable and rapid acceleration possible, using all of the available traction. The Solterra doesn’t offer launch control.

Brakes and Stopping

For better stopping power the iX’s brake rotors are larger than those on the Solterra:

	iX	Solterra
Front Rotors	13.7 inches	12.9 inches
Rear Rotors	13.6 inches	12.5 inches

The iX stops shorter than the Solterra:

	iX	Solterra
60 to 0 MPH	127 feet	135 feet	Consumer Reports
60 to 0 MPH (Wet)	138 feet	145 feet	Consumer Reports

Tires and Wheels

For better traction, the iX’s optional tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Solterra (275/40R22 vs. 235/60R18).

The iX’s optional tires provide better handling because they have a lower 40 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Solterra Limited/Touring’s 50 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the iX has standard 20-inch wheels. Smaller 18-inch wheels are standard on the Solterra Premium. The iX’s optional 22-inch wheels are larger than the 20-inch wheels on the Solterra Limited/Touring.

Suspension and Handling

The iX offers an available driver-adjustable suspension system. It allows the driver to choose between an extra-supple ride, reducing fatigue on long trips, or a sport setting, which allows maximum control for tricky roads or off-road. The Solterra’s suspension doesn’t offer adjustable shock absorbers.

The iX M60 has a standard automatic front and rear load leveling suspension to keep ride height level with a heavy load or when towing. The iX’s height leveling suspension allows the driver to raise ride height for better off-road clearance and then lower it again for easier entering and exiting and better on-road handling. The Solterra doesn’t offer a load leveling suspension.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the iX’s wheelbase is 5.9 inches longer than on the Solterra (118.1 inches vs. 112.2 inches).

For better handling and stability, the track (width between the wheels) on the iX is 3 inches wider in the front and 3.8 inches wider in the rear than on the Solterra.

For greater off-road capability the iX has a greater minimum ground clearance than the Solterra (8.8 vs. 8.3 inches), allowing the iX to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged.

Passenger Space

The iX has 2.7 inches more front headroom, 3.7 inches more front shoulder room, 1.5 inches more rear headroom, 3.6 inches more rear legroom and 2.3 inches more rear shoulder room than the Solterra.

Cargo Capacity

The iX has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat up than the Solterra (35.5 vs. 29 cubic feet).

The iX’s cargo area is larger than the Solterra’s in almost every dimension:

	iX	Solterra
Length to seat (2nd/1st)	41”/75”	38.3”/73”
Max Width	43.8”	50.4”
Min Width	43.8”	38.1”
Height	31.6”	29.3”

Pressing a switch automatically lowers the iX’s rear seats, to make changing between passengers and cargo easier. The Solterra doesn’t offer automatic folding seats.

To make loading groceries and cargo easier when your hands are full, the iX’s liftgate can be opened and closed just by kicking your foot under the back bumper, leaving your hands completely free. The Solterra doesn’t offer a hands-free gesture to open its liftgate, forcing you to put cargo down if your hands are full.

Servicing Ease

J.D. Power and Associates surveys of service recipients show that BMW service is better than Subaru. J.D. Power ranks BMW 7th in service department satisfaction (above the industry average). With a 14% lower rating, Subaru is ranked 16th.

Ergonomics

The iX offers an optional heads-up display that projects speed, warning and navigation instruction readouts in front of the driver’s line of sight, allowing drivers to view information without diverting their eyes from the road. The Solterra doesn’t offer a heads-up display.

The iX’s power window, power lock, power mirror and cruise control switches are lit from behind, making them plainly visible and easier to operate at night. The Solterra’s power window (except driver window) and power lock switches are unlit, making them difficult to find at night and operate safely.

The iX’s rain-sensitive wipers adjust their speed and turn on and off automatically based on the amount of rainfall on the windshield. This allows the driver to concentrate on driving without constantly adjusting the wipers. The Solterra Premium’s standard manually variable intermittent wipers have to be constantly adjusted.

To improve rear visibility by keeping the rear window clear, the iX has a standard rear wiper. The Solterra doesn’t offer a rear wiper.

Laser headlights, optional on the iX, produce their light by firing blue lasers through phosphorus, a process that uses one-half the power of the Solterra’s LED headlights. Laser headlights can have double the range of LEDs with a much smaller surface area.

The Solterra Limited/Touring’s cornering lamps activate a lamp on the front corner when the turn signal is activated. The iX’s optional adaptive cornering lights turn the actual headlight unit up to several degrees, depending on steering wheel angle and vehicle speed. This lights a significant distance into corners at any speed.

The iX’s standard rear and side view mirrors have an automatic dimming feature. These mirrors can be set to automatically darken quickly when headlights shine on them, keeping following vehicles from blinding or distracting the driver. The Solterra has an automatic rear view mirror, but its side mirrors don’t dim.

The iX has a standard heated steering wheel to take the chill out of steering on extremely cold winter days before the vehicle heater warms up. A heated steering wheel is only available on the Solterra Limited/Touring.

The iX offers optional massaging front seats in order to maximize comfort and eliminate fatigue on long trips. Massaging seats aren’t available in the Solterra.

To quickly and conveniently keep personal devices charged without cables tangling and wearing out, the BMW iX has a standard wireless phone charging system (Qi) in the center console. Wireless charging costs extra on the Solterra.

The iX’s optional Automatic Parking Assistant can parallel park or back into a parking spot by itself, starting, stopping and changing direction automatically. Parking Assistant Professional will park and retrieve your car remotely: press a button and watch it park itself. This is ideal for tight locations. The Solterra Limited/Touring’s automatic parking system does not offer parking by remote control.

Recommendations

Consumer Reports® recommends both the BMW iX and the Subaru Solterra, based on reliability, safety and performance.

The BMW iX outsold the Subaru Solterra by over six to one during 2022.

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