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Meeting the 2026 Subaru Outback at the Auto Show.

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If you thought the new Subaru Outback was ugly, just wait until you see it in person…

It is, as predicted, one of the most offensive car designs I have seen in years. I am sure it’s actually a very nice car, maybe even better than the previous generation. But that caveman look just doesn’t work for me.

It seems Subaru has doubled down on the plastic crap everywhere. The situation has been brought to a level that is hard to accept. As you can see above, the more “regular” trims aren’t as bad as the Wilderness model (blue car above). Still, even the regular Outback is an offensive sight to most human eyes. Which is really too bad. As it shows that Subaru really think this is what their buyers like.

The interior is also a step back. Especially the generic tablet screen sticking out of the dashboard. And the huge, cheap-looking black plastic bezel around it. Something I haven’t seen in years. It’s just bad…

It’s not like Subaru doesn’t have a good-looking wagon-style SUV to offer. Just a few feet away from the Outback, the new Trailseeker EV looks great.

Of course, as we know, it is a Toyota-designed vehicle with a revised Subaru front end. But it really does look like what the new Outback should look like, instead of that plasticky mess.

Yes, the Trailseeker is more expensive, starting at $40,000. But a 280-mile range with 375HP could be pretty attractive. On top of how it looks…

Conversation 7 comments

  1. Vince the interior on this Outback is very nice, specially the seats are so comfortable. My only issue with the interior is that, Carplay only work wireless. Meaning its gonna have the same issue as their current fleet, it disconnects all the time and the wired connection doesn’t work. You can only charge it.

    Now, the fun part, the exterior, ugly is not a world to described this awful creature. Your pictures don’t do justice, in person this creature is worse. about the exterior, I’ll take the old Aztec over this. Yes I would.
    I parked a 2025 (Not current version) Subaru Forester Wilderness next to it, and the Forester Wilderness was much nicer by a mile, and my two family members agreed too.
    This thing doesn’t belong out here.
    It drove OK, and its almost as high as the Forester.

    But the one thing I cannot get over is the price. SO freaking expensive for a vehicle with an anemic, underpowered carried over engine. Again, it handles OK but that price is Ludacris.
    I would like to see the sales numbers on this creature.

  2. The poor Outback went from a rather classy and somewhat upscale looking raised wagon to this overly plastic cladded and bluntly cheap looking monstrosity. What a shame!

    I agree that the Trailseeker looks like what the new gen Outback should have been.

  3. it’s just awful. A few years ago I leased 2 back-to-back Outlook.. both were great cars, not super fun to drive because of the CVT but quite capable overall. I did like the styling, my only gripe was with the plastic cladding and the lack of a panoramic roof.

    I don’t even know where to begin with this latest version, it reminds me of a LEGO approximation of a car, weird shapes and “styling features” everywhere. What is the point of that fender trim? the huge nose with the modern but ridiculous looking split lights?

    and the interior is even worse.. why is the frame around the central screen taller than the dashboard? They seem to have retained the same steering wheel and shifter designs that I had in my 2015 outback but somehow made the interior worse.

    I agree with Vince, the Trailseeker is a much nicer vehicle, just compare the C and D pillar of both cars, the Trailseeker is elegant, the new Outback is strange and blocky. Having said that, the Trailseeker also suffers from some design issue, e.g. split headlights, plastic around the wheels and those blocky rockers

  4. This car is just disgusting. It doesn’t even look off road tough. It just looks like plastic jewelry EVERYWHERE. I really have to say that I suspect Toyota has been lending its design team to Subaru, who never really had a big team of their own to focus on vehicle updates. And the trend in Toyota’s trucks having more extra bold plastic all over the wheelwells and front grills, as well as their basic interiors’ large plastic pieces jutting out across the dash…. this looks like a Toyota truck design team effort. I was actually hoping to consider an Outback after a redesign and losing that laggy center tablet. But there’s no way in h3ll after seeing this.

  5. I’ll take the Outback over the Trailseeker 10 times out of ten. That huge ugly plastic Toyota console in all 6 of these vehicles is atrocious.

  6. I will take the Outback over the Trailseeker 10 times out of 10. That big bulky plastic center console from Toyota ruins the interior of all six of those vehicles.

  7. News flash for Subie. Everyone that loves this extra serving of macho truckiness is going to go buy an actual truck.

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