Those stacked headlights, puke green paint, and excessive exterior trim could only describe the Wagon Queen model called the Family Truckster, made famous in the 1983 film ‘National Lampoon’s Vacation‘. Swap out the woodgrain for black plastic body cladding, and you have the 2026 Subaru Outback Wilderness.
Is it an SUV? Is it a station wagon? Isn’t it trying too hard to look butch?
Subaru pioneered the off-road station-wagon niche nearly 30 years ago. The original Subaru Outback was a Legacy wagon with a raised roof, extra ground clearance and fender-flares to cover the bigger tires. Ahead of its time, companies like Audi and Volvo later copied the Subaru playbook.
But the Subaru ‘original’ remains on sale today, a station-wagon trying to stay relevant in a market dominated by SUVs and crossovers. And despite how much we at Demaras Racing love Subaru, this new Outback model is just ugly!
The Wagon Queen Family Truckster was just a movie car. To show how ridiculous family vehicles had become, every late 1970’s station wagon gimmick was thrown at it. Acres of wood paneling, massive roof rack, quadruple headlights and so much chrome.
This outback is worse than a caricature of itself; it has ceased to be original. It’s copying the SUV styling of other car companies with that oversized bumper, grille and plastic cladding trying to hide the car underneath.
Remember when Subaru made quirky and completely unique vehicles? We do too; there’s two of them in our driveway. But this is just derivative.
I considered the Wilderness while researching new cars. In the end, it seemed like I would be paying more for a less spec’ed out Outback.
I’m sure that would have been a great vehicle for you. I think that car-based station wagons like the Outback are so much better than SUVs or crossovers for most motorists.
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But Good Golly Miss Molly did Subaru go off the deep end with the styling with this new Outback. It’s so blocky and chunky and completely over-done.
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Comparatively, Subaru’s new ‘Trailseeker’ electric SUV looks positively elegant.
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https://autos.yahoo.com/view-photos-2026-subaru-trailseeker-174400946.html