Electric vehicles and adventure-focused SUVs are front and center at this year’s New York International Auto Show. Subaru is coming in hot on both fronts. The carmaker just pulled the wraps off the 2026 Trailseeker EV alongside an upgraded Solterra. And they both look much better in person than in pictures.
Subaru has a long-standing partnership with Toyota dating back over a decade. And while both the Solterra and Trailseeker are similar to the upgraded Toyota bZ4x revealed in Europe earlier this year, Subaru insists that the Trailseeker isn’t just a Solterra dressed up with rugged features. It’s been tuned with real off-road chops.
“Subaru engineers did a lot of the [Trailseeker’s] development work on the all-wheel drive and the motor tuning,” William Stokes, the car line planning manager at Subaru of America, told InsideEVs at the New York International Auto Show. “It’s even built in a Subaru factory in Japan, whereas the Solterra is made at a Toyota plant.”
The Trailseeker checks most of the right boxes on the EV front. It comes with the Tesla-developed North American Charging Port (NACS) right from the factory. Stokes said the Trailseeker and Outback won’t get plug and charge function at Superchargers like Teslas do, but it will get native route planning and automatic or manual battery preconditioning options.
It is also six inches longer than the Solterra and has one inch of additional ground clearance, totaling 8.3 inches. That extra length is not within the wheelbase. It is in the rear overhang, giving it more trunk space for outdoor gear and weekend getaways.
While the upgraded Outback is expected to go on sale in the U.S. this year, the Trailseeker will only be available in 2026. If there’s no tariff relief on automakers under the current administration, it could also command a hefty premium over its gas-powered stablemates, which may keep some potential buyers away. But Subaru is seeing a bigger opportunity here.
Photo by: Patrick George
“Our customers tend to over-index on EV interest,” Stokes said, referring to a more-than-expected interest in EVs among its traditional buyers. “They’re interested in hybrids. They’re interested in EVs. They like the idea of making that transition for the environmental benefit,” he said.
The Trailseeker’s 74.7-kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery delivers 260 miles of Subaru-estimated range. That’s roughly 25 miles less than the refreshed Solterra, but it’s on par with the Hyundai Ioniq 5 XRT, which delivers 259 miles of range per the EPA. And the XRT gets a bigger 84 kWh battery, so if the Trailseeker delivers the range Subaru claims, it could be even more efficient than the Hyundai.
Access to Tesla Superchargers, the country’s more reliable and comprehensive charging network, should also make the Trailseeker a proper long-distance road-tripper. And while Subaru’s gasoline-powered lineup is extremely capable off-road, the company believes Trailseeker’s mix of off-road capability and EV tech will resonate with buyers.
“It’s for the customer that is going to use the car to commute most of the time, but also wants to get into an adventure that doesn’t require a multi-state road trip,” Stokes said. “If you have a cabin that’s 100 miles away, you can get there and back in this.”
In addition to the Trailseeker and the Solterra, Subaru will launch two more EVs in the U.S. in the next few years. Toyota is also planning an EV assault in that period. Any bets on what the next two Subaru EVs could be?
Have a tip? Contact the author: suvratkothari@insideevs.com