Subaru vs. Subaru: A Case of Identity Theft? Car and Driver (Car and Driver)I have an obsession. I don't know how it started or why, but I keep a running count of the Subaru Outback station wagons in my neighborhood. I only count the ones my neighbors own; visitors passing through in Outbacks are of no interest to me. Nor do I track other Subaru models, though my subdivision is overrun with them. Only Outbacks. I tell myself it's just something to do while walking the dog.Why Outbacks? I don't know. But a few years ago, it caught my attention that there's an outsize number of them in my subdivision of 84 homes—currently nine Outback wagons, with two of my neighbors owning a pair of Outbacks each.That amounts to a market penetration of about 5 percent, given that most families in my 'hood own two vehicles—and it's a much bigger slice of the market than Outbacks snare nationwide. For instance, if 5 percent of all the vehicles sold in the United States in 2025 had been Outbacks, Subaru would have moved roughly 835,000 of them, rather than the 157,716 that it did.2026 Subaru Trailseeker (left) and Outback (right).Car and Driver (Car and Driver)That's why, as a keen observer of the local Outback scene, I got wide-eyed when I saw the new 2026 Trailseeker. "Wow," I thought. "Subaru's new EV has stolen the Outback's station-wagon identity!" The Trailseeker's sheetmetal is stretched into a modern interpretation of the station wagon; that, coupled with its extra ground clearance, makes it look like it could have been the new-generation Outback wagon. What's more, the new 2026 Outback has abandoned its station-wagon proportions and taken on the shape of a common SUV.AdvertisementAdvertisementWhat's going on here?Had Subaru given up the old Outback's unique station-wagon franchise, forged over the course of three decades? It's the car, after all, that started the lifted, off-road-lite wagon thing, a formula copied by multiple other brands. Making matters more complicated is that the Trailseeker is an EV and that it has a Toyota twin, the bZ Woodland. (Subaru designed the exteriors of both models, which are virtually identical; no wonder they both look like Subarus.)What would all those loyal Outback wagon customers say about the Trailseeker stealing the Outback's identity? What would my Outback-loving neighbors buy next? Was this the end of my inexplicable Outback-counting fixation?In the hope of gleaning an answer to these thorny questions, we ordered up both a new 2026 Trailseeker and a 2026 Outback and set out to consult with people who could guide us through the existential conundrum clogging up my mind. First stop: the neighbors down the block.AdvertisementAdvertisementKim and Scott own a 2025 Outback, the last of the lifted-station-wagon genre. It's their first, and they like it. They'd had a six-year-old Tiguan and decided it was time for a change. We arrived in their driveway with the name badges of our two test cars taped over, and told the couple that these were two new Subarus that the company was considering selling soon.Subaru Outback.David Bush - Car and Driver (David Bush - Car and Driver)Which one would they guess is the next Outback? They squinted at both and, after a few moments, agreed that the Trailseeker was the proper successor to their car and was likely the next-generation Outback. (Insert gong sound here.) When we pulled off the tape covering the name badges, they chuckled, but they weren't sorry to see the new Outback had transmogrified into an SUV.For them, it wasn't the previous Outback's wagon shape that had attracted them; its generous cargo hold had sealed the deal. Its shape enabled Kim to pack it the way she wanted for their road trips—with their big cooler nestled in the center of their gear. She'd done her homework, going to competitive dealers, tape measure in hand. The Outback worked best for her specific need.Subaru Trailseeker.David Bush - Car and Driver (David Bush - Car and Driver)Meanwhile, another Outback-owning neighbor, whom I bumped into while walking the dog, informed me that his wife was going to trade her several-year-old Outback wagon for something new—but it wasn't going to be for a new Outback. "She doesn't like the way the new one looks," he said. Such are the singular considerations upon which car purchases often hinge.AdvertisementAdvertisementThere was one more person we had to talk to, who could unravel this Subaru vs. Subaru identity crisis, someone at the center of Subaru ownership. But before we got in touch, it was time to assess what the personalities of these two new Subies were like to get a handle on whether that could influence who would be attracted to them.How They Measure UpOur time behind the wheel revealed that the new Outback and the Trailseeker have a surprising amount in common, despite one being powered by gasoline and the other by electrons. Our test cars, a Trailseeker Touring and an Outback Touring XT, are both the most expensive models in their respective lineups and well matched in equipment and price, with the former coming in at $48,700 and the latter at $49,840.Both featured niceties such as leather seating, heated steering wheels, heated and ventilated front seats, heated rear outboard seats, and the full complement of driver-assist and safety tech. The Outback had a sunroof; the Trailseeker, a large panoramic glass roof. The Trailseeker sends music through an 11-speaker Harman Kardon sound system; the Outback's Harman Kardon unit setup had 12 speakers.Both vehicles are close in size too, with the Outback stretching to 191.7 inches to the Trailseeker's 190.8. The Outback's interior is comfortably roomy, with adult-sized legroom in the rear seat area. But the Trailseeker's 112.2-inch wheelbase endows it with 4.1 additional inches between the front and rear axles, something you can feel in the rear seat, where there's impressive stretch-out space. Cargo room is close: Both vehicles fit 11 of our carry-on suitcases behind their second-row seats. With them down, the Outback swallows 29 suitcases, whereas the Trailseeker handles 27.Subaru Outback.David Bush - Car and Driver (David Bush - Car and Driver)Subaru Trailseeker.David Bush - Car and Driver (David Bush - Car and Driver)The Outback XT's interior, however, is the nicer place to be, thanks to richer materials. Its nappa leather seats are soft and inviting, and many interior surfaces are covered in soft faux leather sewn together with French seams that give it a tasteful, premium feel. The Trailseeker is a joint venture with Toyota on a shared platform, and the interior is pure Toyota, from its large 14.0-inch Toyota infotainment screen—the Outback's is 12.1 inches—to the plain door panel upholstery, which could be out of a Prius.On the RoadAs for the driving, the differences were less than we would have guessed—except in one aspect. Both vehicles drive, well, generically. That's less a put-down than an observation that they fall into the vast middle ground of competence and do what buyers would expect of them without offering any significant amount of driver involvement. They steer reasonably accurately, they ride reasonably well—the Outback slightly tauter, the Trailseeker on the soft side—and get down any road or interstate with zero fuss. Fun? Nah.AdvertisementAdvertisementThe one outstanding difference between these two all-wheel-drive Subies is straight-line go. The Outback, powered by a 260-hp turbocharged 2.4-liter version of the ubiquitous Subaru flat-four working through a CVT, ushers it to 60 mph in 6.2 seconds, which feels perky enough in most driving situations. But the Trailseeker's twin electric motors make 375 horsepower, 44 percent more than the Outback's turbo four.Nail it off the line, and you don't need a stopwatch to tell you the Trailseeker is sports-car quick; your neck muscles do that for you. It hurls itself to 60 mph in just 3.9 seconds, matching the 382-hp Toyota Supra with the manual gearbox and beating the 472-hp CT4-V Blackwing manual by two tenths. Expect shocked yelps from new Trailseeker owners who floor it for the first time.Other than that, the key performance figures between these two are close. Both circle the skidpad at 0.81 g. The Outback stops from 70 mph in 174 feet; the Trailseeker takes seven feet longer to come to a stop.Ask the Man Who Sells ThemBut this investigation was never about performance or driving range or cargo space or fun behind the wheel. We had to know whether Outback wagon owners would react like I did when they hit the Subaru dealership looking to trade their current model for a new one. So we turned to a trusted source: a highly successful longtime Subaru dealer friend who has successfully proffered thousands of Outback wagons during his career.AdvertisementAdvertisementWould current Outback wagon owners embrace the new model in its SUV guise? His response was emphatic. "No, they won't be interested in the new one. It'll be a different audience. I've driven it," he went on, "and it's nicer in many ways." He felt sure it would sell well, but just not to the old Outback crowd. Nor would they turn to the station-wagon-like Trailseeker in its stead, he said, looking at me quizzically. "It's an EV!" He expected that one to sell well too but believes it will be drawing from another unique customer pool.There we have it, the definitive answer from someone at ground zero. If this were a graduate thesis, I'd have to conclude it with the declaration, "thesis disproved." This isn't a case of the Trailseeker stealing the Outback's persona as much as the Outback's unique identity simply being canceled by Subaru.Car and Driver (Car and Driver)So, here's to the old Outback wagon. It lasted three decades, an exceptionally long time in car years. But there'll be no new Outback wagons for me to keep count of from now on. I guess I'll just have to find something else in the neighborhood to obsess about. Wait, I've got it: Subaru Foresters!➡️ Skip the lot. Let Car and Driver help you find your next car.Shop New Cars Shop Used CarsYou Might Also LikeGift Guide: Best Ride-On Electric Cars for KidsFuture Cars Worth Waiting For: 2025–2029