Electrical automobiles and adventure-focused SUVs are entrance and middle at this 12 months’s New York World Auto Display. Subaru is coming in scorching on each fronts. The carmaker simply pulled the wraps off the 2026 Trailseeker EV along an upgraded Solterra. They usually each glance a lot better in individual than in photos.
Subaru has a long-standing partnership with Toyota courting again over a decade. And whilst each the Solterra and Trailseeker are very similar to the upgraded Toyota bZ4x published in Europe previous this 12 months, Subaru insists that the Trailseeker isn’t only a Solterra dressed up with rugged options. It’s been tuned with actual off-road chops.
“Subaru engineers did a large number of the [Trailseeker’s] construction paintings at the all-wheel force and the motor tuning,” William Stokes, the auto line making plans supervisor at Subaru of The us, advised InsideEVs on the New York World Auto Display. “It’s even inbuilt a Subaru manufacturing facility in Japan, while the Solterra is made at a Toyota plant.”
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Supply: Subaru
The Trailseeker exams lots of the proper bins at the EV entrance. It comes with the Tesla-developed North American Charging Port (NACS) proper from the manufacturing facility. Stokes stated the Trailseeker and Outback gained’t get plug and fee serve as at Superchargers like Teslas do, however it is going to get local direction making plans and automated or handbook battery preconditioning choices.
It’s also six inches longer than the Solterra and has one inch of extra floor clearance, totaling 8.3 inches. That further period isn’t throughout the wheelbase. It’s within the rear overhang, giving it extra trunk area for outside tools and weekend getaways.
Whilst the upgraded Outback is anticipated to head on sale within the U.S. this 12 months, the Trailseeker will most effective be to be had in 2026. If there’s no tariff aid on automakers underneath the present management, it will additionally command a hefty top rate over its gas-powered stablemates, which might stay some doable patrons away. However Subaru is seeing a larger alternative right here.
Picture by way of: Patrick George
“Our consumers have a tendency to over-index on EV pastime,” Stokes stated, regarding a more-than-expected pastime in EVs amongst its conventional patrons. “They’re curious about hybrids. They’re curious about EVs. They prefer the speculation of constructing that transition for the environmental receive advantages,” he stated.
The Trailseeker’s 74.7-kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery delivers 260 miles of Subaru-estimated vary. That’s more or less 25 miles lower than the refreshed Solterra, nevertheless it’s on par with the Hyundai Ioniq 5 XRT, which delivers 259 miles of vary in keeping with the EPA. And the XRT will get a larger 84 kWh battery, so if the Trailseeker delivers the variability Subaru claims, it might be much more environment friendly than the Hyundai.
Get right of entry to to Tesla Superchargers, the rustic’s extra dependable and complete charging community, must additionally make the Trailseeker a right kind long-distance road-tripper. And whilst Subaru’s gasoline-powered lineup is very succesful off-road, the corporate believes Trailseeker’s mixture of off-road capacity and EV tech will resonate with patrons.
“It’s for the buyer this is going to make use of the auto to shuttle more often than not, but in addition desires to get into an journey that does not require a multi-state street commute,” Stokes stated. “When you’ve got a cabin that’s 100 miles away, you’ll be able to get there and again on this.”
Along with the Trailseeker and the Solterra, Subaru will release two extra EVs within the U.S. in the following couple of years. Toyota may be making plans an EV attack in that length. Any bets on what the following two Subaru EVs might be?
Have a tip? Touch the writer: suvratkothari@insideevs.com
