New Subaru Trailseeker revealed at New York Auto Show
Subaru is going back to its roots with a four-wheel drive estate model, but with electric power for the first time.
The new Subaru Trailseeker was unveiled at the New York Auto Show. Subaru confirmed that the new EV will go on sale in the UK in the middle of next year, but it's possible that the name Trailseeker may not make it over to the UK or Europe.
Although Subaru didn't reveal many details of the Trailseeker at the show, the new model is obviously based on the Subaru Solterra, which also received a raft of updates in New York. The Trailseeker is about 150mm longer than the Solterra, but will share the same 73.1kWh battery with a range that we would expect to be over 300 miles.
In keeping with Subaru's reputation for building rugged 4x4s, the Trailseeker gets 210mm of ground clearance and comes with Subaru's symmetrical all-wheel drive system and the brand's adjustable X-Mode 4x4 tech. Grip control and a system to limit speed as the car goes down an incline will also be standard.
The Trailseeker uses the same dash architecture as the Solterra with a 14in infotainment screen, a smaller digital driver display set high up on the dash, two wireless smartphone chargers and high-power USB sockets.
A revised Solterra, the EV SUV that was co-developed between Subaru and Toyota, was also on show in New York featuring new headlights, a revised bumper, a new rear spoiler and new badging at the back. There's a handy increase in battery range thanks to a new preconditioning system, which should take range up to around 350 miles.
Toyota recently announced similar revisions to its version of the Solterra, the Toyota bZ4X, with both Toyota and the Subaru models set to go on sale in the UK in early 2026.
The new Trailseeker – or whatever it gets called in the UK – is part of a Subaru EV onslaught with UK MD Lorraine Bishton telling The Independent earlier this year that her brand would be launching six new EVs over the next three years. With the revised Solterra and new Trailseeker counting as two of those models, we can expect a range of 4x4-focused EVs coming to Subaru dealers as the brand starts to aim at Land Rover owners.
'You've got a group of customers that want all-wheel drive capability and either feel that the Land Rover brand is too expensive for them or a bit too flashy for them,' Bishton said. 'I think Subaru does provide a really credible alternative.'
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