This Subaru Station Wagon Is Faster Than Any STI They Ever Made. It's Also Kind of a Mess.

Gjeebs drives the 2026 Subaru Trailseeker from Phoenix up to Sedona and back, with a charging stop on the return leg, to build a complete picture of what America's only EV station wagon actually does in the real world.

The highlights are genuine. The Trailseeker runs 375 horsepower through Subaru's symmetrical all-wheel drive system and gets to 60 mph in 4.4 seconds in sport mode, which makes it faster than any Subaru that's ever existed, including the STI. Ride quality and seat comfort rank among the best in the segment. The suspension in particular stands out. The 74 kWh battery, NACS port, and included charging cable with both 120V and NEMA 14-50 adapters are solid inclusions, and battery preconditioning is available when navigating toward a DC fast charger. Ground clearance is 8 inches. Weight is around 4,400 lbs, comparable to a Tesla Model Y. Pricing runs from $39,995 to roughly $45,000 depending on trim, with the Limited tested here sitting at $43,000.

The charging result was a genuine surprise. In a 10-to-80% test at a Walmart NACS charger, the Trailseeker finished in 25 minutes and 7 seconds, a record for any car tested on this channel and four minutes faster than the 2026 Tesla Model Y on 19-inch wheels. The catch is that the smaller battery pack explains much of the speed. That record charge added only 161 miles of usable range, compared to 213 miles for the Model Y in five more minutes. The car also held 80 kW charging all the way to 80% state of charge, which is a respectable curve.

Real-world range on the Phoenix-to-Sedona run told a different story. The route climbs roughly 3,000 feet in elevation, and the Trailseeker covered only 121 miles while consuming what would have been 165 miles of flat-road range. From 100% to empty, the car yielded 240 miles for the full round trip, most of it driven without air conditioning to conserve range. That puts real-world efficiency at around 72% of the stated 280-mile figure on a demanding loop, which is on the low side compared to competitors tested on the same route.

The infotainment system is where things go sideways. The screen is difficult to see without sitting upright and forward, blocked in part by the steering wheel. Trip information graphs are described as genuinely useless. Most critically, there is no route planning. The Trailseeker cannot map out charging stops for a road trip, which means drivers need to research charger locations independently and hope they're working on arrival. Battery preconditioning kicks in when you navigate to a charger, but the car won't tell you which charger to head for. For a first-time EV buyer planning a road trip, this would be a real problem.

The 14-inch screen includes Apple CarPlay. The Harman Kardon sound system is excellent. Cargo space behind the rear seats reaches 76 cubic feet with seats folded flat. A 120V AC power outlet is in the rear. The EyeSight driver assist system is functional but described as the least capable hands-on lane-centering system tested on this channel, years behind Blue Cruise, Super Cruise, Tesla FSD, and Rivian's hands-free system.

As an around-town car charged at home, this thing is comfortable, quick, and surprisingly good. On a road trip, you're on your own. Subaru came painfully close to something excellent.