Subaru continues to share its partner Toyota’s e-TNGA electric-vehicle platform with the new Trailseeker, the Subie version of the Toyota bZ Woodland.It’s a capable crossover that’ll do some parlor tricks off-road while carrying five in comfort with full connectivity.Prices start at just $41,445, five grand less than the Toyota.
Quick: Which Subaru has the most horsepower ever? What’s that you say? The WRX STI S209 discontinued in 2022 with 341 whinnying ponies? Wrong! It’s this, a relatively diminutive-appearing, suburb-ready electric vehicle shared with a total of six other crossovers made by Toyota, Lexus, and Subaru—the all-new Subaru Trailseeker.
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For those keeping score at home, the e-TNGA platform on which this sits is now shared thusly among six Toyota/Subaru vehicles:
Toyota bZ = Subaru SolterraToyota C-HR = Subaru UnchartedToyota bZ Woodland = Subaru Trailseeker
Platform sharing is nothing to be ashamed of. All carmakers do it, and some even pair up with other manufacturers. It’s a great way to save development costs and offer a broader lineup. We wouldn’t have the Subaru BRZ without the Toyota 86, for instance. Toyota owns 20% of Subaru, so sharing is good.
Thus, herewith, the Trailseeker.
While it is capable of way more off-road gymnastics than any soccer parent will ever even attempt, its most impressive statistic is horsepower—it offers 375 ponies, good for a 0-60 mph time of 4.4 seconds. That’s thanks to two electric motors, one at each axle, powering all four wheels. If the Trailseeker detects slip anywhere, it has X-mode, grip mode, and downhill assist control to save the day—though by the time your typical househusband/housewife/terrified nanny got to that point, they’d be activating the satellite rescue function on their iPhone 17.
While it is capable of way more off-road gymnastics than any soccer parent will ever even attempt, its most impressive statistic is horsepower—it offers 375 ponies.
The second-most impressive thing about the Trailseeker is price. While the nearly identical bZ Woodland starts at $46,750, the Trailseeker starts at just $41,445.
What do you get for that? A very competent, family-ready, off-roadable crossover that carries five in ease and comfort, with more cargo space than any other Subaru except the Outback.
Criticisms? The 74.7-kWh battery is only good for 281 miles with the 18-inch wheels (which you should get, as they’re better off-road and more comfortable on). Step up to the fancy 20-inch wheels on the Limited and Touring and range drops to 274 miles. What price fashion?
The Trailseeker also lacks one-pedal capability, which even the Nissan Leaf offers and is oh-so handy in the stop-and-slow city driving so many of us do. Maybe they’ll see this whine and add it as an OTA update?
It also has a squircle instead of a round steering wheel, which maybe you like, but I didn’t.
Some good things about the Trailseeker:
It has a ladder-style roof rack that holds 176 pounds when you’re on the road and 700 pounds when you’re parked at that campsite—the one they show in all the ads—meaning you can have one of those $5,000 rooftop tents all the yuppies are using.The X-mode, etc., will send torque to the wheels with the best traction while the other wheels are off the ground! See photo. This system is good but it reacts too slowly, if you ask me. The wheel has to sit up there spinning for a while before it kicks in.The Trailseeker is charged via a NACS port so you have access to all the Tesla Superchargers, the only network that actually seems to work right now. And you get an adapter to plug in at all the CCS chargers.Inside are still more chargers: two Qi inductive chargers for your phones, plus USB ports, as well as Apple Carplay and Android Auto.
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The 14-inch touchscreen is one of many Toyota parts.
Overall, it’s a very handy package. It’s as comfortable and roomy as any gas-powered competitor while being cheaper to operate than a gas-powered vehicle. It could easily be your best argument yet to finally buy an EV. If they add some more battery and offer one-pedal driving, it’ll be an even better option in the crossover-EV space. But if you’re good with 281 miles of range, which really is as much as anyone needs most of the time, and you don’t mind stepping on the brake pedal to stop, consider the Trailseeker. It arrives this spring.
Mark Vaughn grew up in a Ford family and spent many hours holding a trouble light over a straight-six miraculously fed by a single-barrel carburetor while his father cursed the Blue Oval, all its products and everyone who ever worked there. This was his introduction to objective automotive criticism. He started writing for City News Service in Los Angeles, then moved to Europe and became editor of a car magazine called, creatively, Auto. He decided Auto should cover Formula 1, sports prototypes and touring cars—no one stopped him! From there he interviewed with Autoweek at the 1989 Frankfurt motor show and has been with us ever since.
