The Subaru Solterra promised to bring the Subaru badge into the EV world with the SUV being the result of a partnership between it and Japanese auto giant Toyota. However, the SUV was made to appeal to urban city dwellers and this disappointed fans who want to take their Subaru on adventures including some that might involve light trailwork. The company has been listening to its fans and confirmed it will be bringing a new EV to the table, the Trailseeker.
Trailseeker will have trails in its sights
Subaru’s brief statement doesn’t dive too deep into details with the brief release saying “Get ready to meet your newest adventure-ready sidekick from Subaru: the all-new 2026 Subaru Trailseeker EV SUV. See it in person at the 2025 New York International Auto Show, coming soon.” The release also shows off a single teaser image of the Trailseeker that shows off the nameplate as well as some of the rear cladding and the bumper. It’s apparent that the Trailseeker will be the wild counterpart to the Solterra and it should please adventure seekers with some of its abilities.
It will be interesting to see if the Trailseeker will use the Solterra’s underpinnings or if it will perhaps use an all-new platform? However, the real question here is how capable the Trailseeker will be since the company is working with some of the inherent limitations that often come with a battery electric vehicle including the weight created by the battery pack and the need for additional protection of the vulnerable bits of the powertrain. However, we do expect a Wilderness variant to appear in the near future since it would seamlessly fall into place with the nameplate itself.
New York will be big for Subaru
In addition to the Trailseeker, Subaru will also use its time in the Big Apple to debut the revamped Subaru Outback. The Subaru Outback has long been a strong seller for the company thanks to its wagon shape and capability. However, the company is reportedly taking a big gamble by infusing the revamped one with more SUV DNA with reports suggesting it will be attempting to appeal to a broader lineup of buyers with its updates.
In the meantime, look for the company to continue to strongly focus on hybrid vehicles with the Forester and Crosstrek Hybrids spearheading the charge as it expands its presence in this slice of the green vehicle market over the next few years to not only maintain a strong profit stream but to also buy more time for engineers to complete the next wave of EVs that will be coming over the next few years.
Carl Malek has been an automotive journalist for over 10 years. First starting out as a freelance photographer before making the transition to writing during college, his work has appeared on numerous automotive forums as well as websites such as Autoshopper.com.
Carl is also a big fan of British vehicles with the bulk of his devotion going to the Morgan Motor Company as well as offerings from Lotus, MG, and Caterham. When he is not writing about automobiles, Carl enjoys spending time with his family and friends in the Metro Detroit area, as well as spending time with his adorable pets.