Subaru's $39,995 Trailseeker EV Is TopGear.com's 2027 US Car of the Year
The 375-hp electric wagon took the overall title on a list where the Corvette won three categories — its second award this month after Wards.
Subaru's electric Trailseeker has won Car of the Year in the second annual TopGear.com US Car Awards, the overall title on a list where the Chevrolet Corvette picked up three category wins of its own. Top Gear posted the winners on October 28, and Subaru announced the award a day later.
It is the Trailseeker's second trophy this month, after the dual-motor powertrain made the 2026 Wards 10 Best list. The two awards are unrelated and judged differently.
What Top Gear liked
Top Gear's writeup casts the Trailseeker as the practical, rugged wagon that now sits at the center of Subaru fandom, and says it edged out the Outback, which the writer had expected to win. US correspondent Alex Kalogiannis praised the X-Mode off-road system and called the car quick and composed on pavement. His one complaint: it could use a little more WRX in its character.
The numbers behind that verdict are Subaru's. Two motors make 375 hp combined and drive all four wheels, and the company quotes 0–60 mph in 4.4 seconds. Ground clearance is 8.5 inches, which Subaru says leads the class. Range is up to 281 miles, a NACS port is standard, and peak charging of 150 kW takes the battery from 10 to 80 percent in as little as 28 minutes, according to Subaru.
The 2027 Trailseeker is on sale now from $39,995 MSRP in Premium, Limited, and Touring trims. Every version gets a 14-inch touchscreen.
The rest of the list
The Corvette took Engine of the Year for the LS6 V8, Sports Car of the Year for the Grand Sport, and Supercar of the Year for the ZR1X. The full winners list also includes the Rivian R2 (SUV), the Ram 1500 TRX SRT (Truck), the Genesis Magma GT (Design), the Tesla Semi (Tech), BMW (Manufacturer), and Stellantis executive Tim Kuniskis (Person of the Year). In the first round, published in December 2025, the overall title went to the Dodge Charger Sixpack.
Top Gear's announcement page doesn't name its judges or explain how contenders were chosen. Subaru says only that the field covered new or significantly updated models from several automakers. Read it as an editorial pick by Top Gear's US staff, not a back-to-back test result.
Why Subaru needs it
The Trailseeker's case is mostly price. Its Toyota twin, the bZ Woodland, uses the same 375-hp powertrain and carries the same 281-mile rating but costs more than $5,000 extra. Even so, buyers have been slow to show up: Subaru of America sold 849 Trailseekers in September and 5,610 through the first nine months, small numbers next to America's best-selling EVs.
The model also has a limited shelf life in Subaru's plans. The company is working on its own in-house EV platform for later this decade, while the Trailseeker rides on hardware shared with Toyota. Subaru hasn't said whether the Top Gear win will change its pricing or marketing for the 2027 model.
