Subaru Trailseeker could have ultra-rare feature when it lands in Australia

---

Subaru Australia last week confirmed that it would release the Trailseeker electric wagon in Q2 2026 — and this week, we’ve learned the brand is trying to fit a spare wheel and tyre to the vehicle.

A pre-production Australia-spec Trailseeker was shown to Chasing Cars this week featuring a prominent under-boot storage area.

A Subaru Australia source pointed out that the area in question may be filled with a spare — an idea not batted away by general manager Scott Lawrence.

“We would love [a spare]. We think the need for a spare wheel is definitely high on the agenda. We will work on how we can support customers in that space,” said Lawrence. 

Spare wheels and tyres are vanishngly rare among fully electric cars and are becoming hard to find in non-electric cars as well — particularly hybrids.

Once considered an essential accessory for any kind of long-distance driving in Australia, spare wheels are increasingly sacrificed for other car packaging requirements.

For EVs and hybrids, battery packs often eat into the under-boot space traditionally used to locate a spare, while rear electric motors, subwoofers and complex suspension parts all demand space.

The Chery E5 small electric SUV has a rare full-size spare in Australia while the Hyundai Kona Electric offers a spare-saver spare. 

Subaru once prided itself on range-wide standard fitment of spare wheels and tyres before the 2024 Solterra midsize EV and 2025 Forester Hybrid both abandoned spares due to packaging conflicts.

Rather unwieldy accessory spare wheels are available for both models, being mounted to the tow bar hitch and taking up space outside the vehicle.

Now, the Solterra’s larger sibling — the Trailseeker wagon — is set to be the turning point that could see spares returned to some of Subaru’s larger electrified models.

Like Solterra, the Trailseeker remains a five-seat vehicle and the two share a wheelbase, but the latter model is 152mm longer and 25mm taller, thanks to fitment of roof rails.

In Europe, Subaru is badging the Trailseeker as the e-Outback — locally, the brand is making no secret of hopes the model will be the EV of choice for existing Outback owners.

Expect Subaru’s marketing campaign to focus on the Trailseeker’s suitability for Australia — an angle that would only be strengthened by fitment of a spare wheel and tyre.

Subaru Australia will be hoping to strike a chord with Trailseeker as the smaller Solterra EV has been a marginal performer locally, notching up just 202 sales in 2026.

The Japanese brand’s compliance with Australia’s tough New Vehicle Emissions Standard (NVES) laws means it has to increase sales of EV and hybrid models at a rapid clip.

To that end, the Trailseeker uses a 74.7kWh nickel manganese cobalt battery to deliver a range of about 500km. Dual-motor AWD with 280kW of power will be standard.

That will make the Trailseeker Subaru’s quickest production car out of the factory ever with a 4.4 second 0-100km/h claim — a second faster than a WRX STI.

Expect pricing to kick off in the mid-$60,000 range before on-road costs.