Volkswagen Id.5 vs Subaru Trailseeker

What's the difference?

At long last, the ID.5 GTX arrives to make a different pitch than many of its electric rivals. Less about straight-line speed and more about refinement and handling, this EV mid-sizer makes a case for itself, even if it’s not as good value as its ID.4 sibling.

Note: CarsGuide attended this event as a guest of the manufacturer, with travel, accommodation and meals provided.

The Subaru Trailseeker AWD really hits it out of the park when it comes to its comfort, practicality and all-round solid family features. It's one of the nicest EVs I've sampled of late when it comes to handling and power delivery.

There's no doubt that it's a capable car being a dual-motor AWD and sporting a great ground clearance ... but it's still an EV.

And the general rule of thumb is that it's best to avoid off-roading in most EVs (potential battery damage yadda yadda), you also can’t plug it into a gumtree to charge.

Is it a comfortable family wagon-SUV crossover? Absolutely. Will you actually be driving ALL of those trails it's promising to seek out? We'll see.

The key differentiator between the ID.4 and ID.5 is of course the ID.5’s descending coupe roofline. I think it grants the GTX more presence on the road, and I appreciate the touch of having a true three-dimensional spoiler piece atop the boot lid to round it out rather than a more common lip or roof-mounted extension.

Outside of this, the ID.5 sets itself apart from the rest of the Volkswagen range thanks to its curves rather than hard edges as well as contemporary light bar fittings, front and rear.

The overall visage is fresh but a tad conservative, especially compared to the more radical designs we’re seeing on new-to-the-market automakers like XPeng, or those looking to make a splash with their electric offerings, like Kia with its EV5.

There’s certainly something to be said for a more moderate approach, though, as it feels more resolved than many rivals.

Inside, to a degree, the ID.5 follows similar trends in the market, with a minimalist and screen-dominated dashboard.

The 12.9-inch central touchscreen unit is less overbearing than some 15+ inch units in other cars, and this combines with the sensible 5.3-inch digital instrument cluster to make it feel more like a car than a tech product on wheels.

Still, the minimalist theme prevails, with the ID.5’s interior being free of a space-consuming raised console or a smattering of buttons to interact with.

The seats in this GTX are particularly cool, with the single-piece backing like a Golf GTI, red stitching and nice material quality. 

It leaves you with the impression the ID.5 is modern but with the build quality and know-how of a storied automaker, which is a nice balance.

This is not a pillowy or small wagon-SUV (can we make WUV a thing?!) crossover. At 4845mm long, 1860mm wide and with 211mm of ground clearance, the Trailseeker isn’t compromising on size just to slot neatly into the EV category. This is very much an EV-styled Outback, which should delight fans looking for that familiar Subaru ruggedness and impressive on-road presence.

The biggest tell-tale sign that this is, in fact, an EV is the front end, which gets smooth panelling and a more streamlined silhouette. However, you still get plastic moulding around easy-to-hit areas.

Full LED lighting, 18-inch alloys with aerodynamic caps and familiar paintwork colours round out the handsome offering.

Head inside and the cabin is plush and well styled, with a stepped dashboard and display design creating some interesting focal points. It absolutely scores goals with its tactile functionality, too. Buttons, steering wheel stalks and door-mounted side mirror controls keep the Trailseeker feeling very car-like, which is a welcome relief in an increasingly screen-heavy EV world.

The synthetic leather upholstery on the seats, dash and doors feels nice underhand and even the slightly odd hexagonal steering wheel soon becomes charming.

The cabin feels fresh but comfortingly familiar.

First, the less-good. The minimalist and button-free interior will be a major downside for many. Pretty much everything in the ID.5’s cabin is touch-based. There’s not even a stop/start button, you just sit in the car and it’s ready to go. Additionally, it relies on the now-maligned touch sliders below the multimedia screen for volume and temperature adjustment. Never fun to use on the move. Even the buttons on the steering wheel are the touch-based haptic-feedback kind.

At least the software shapes up. It’s easy enough to navigate, and has a slew of straightforward menus. It’s also backed by enough processing power, with swift responsiveness, and the panel quality is good too, with a sharp, high-resolution finish.

This can be a double-edged sword, though. The high-resolution leads to small shortcut icons across the top of the main screen. While I’m glad the ID.5 has these so you can swap between things like the car’s settings menu and, say, Apple CarPlay easily, it takes some accuracy to jab at while you’re trying to drive.

From there, though, the cabin is clever. Free from the trappings of buttons and a raised console, it feels spacious in every dimension and the seat comfort is excellent with lovely side bolstering and padding.

The seats feel quality, but I wonder whether the synthetic suede-style microfleece trim will age as well or be as easy to clean as cloth or leather. Worth thinking about if you plan to keep this car for a long time.

I even like the touch of having little flip-down armrests which almost makes it feel like you’re being silently propelled along in an armchair in the front seats.

You need these because there’s no traditional raised console with an armrest box. Instead there’s a flexible floating central console piece. It features a modular sort of design, where you can make use of either dividers or a drop-in bottle holder piece in either the upper or lower sections, depending on your preference. Remove these things entirely to have two massive trays.

Meanwhile, the lower section features a cubby with a wireless phone charger, and it also houses the dual USB-C ports with a sliding cover so you can keep the interior tidy. I like it.

There are large bottle holders in the doors, too, and another nice touch is the digital dash being perched on the steering column, so no matter how you adjust it, you can always see it.

The back seat is also excellent in the ID.4 and ID.5, featuring plenty of space for me behind my own driving position, at 182cm tall. There’s heaps of airspace for my knees, and because there’s a flat floor courtesy of this car’s dedicated 'MEB' platform, there’s plenty of space for your feet. It also makes the centre position usable by an adult, which is rare.

Soft trims continue in the doors, but my favourite feature of the ID.5’s rear bench is how the brand has thought to strongly contour the outer two seat backings so even they have plenty of side bolstering.

The backs of the front seats feature an upper pocket for phones and the like, and a larger lower pocket, while the doors feature a large bottle holder each. A drop-down armrest has three shaped cavities for bottles of all sizes, and behind it is a ski port door.

There are adjustable air vents and a touch panel to control the rear climate zone, but because of the low design of the central console, they’re basically on the floor. Nice to have them, but they might be hard to adjust for kids or the less mobile.

This will surprise you. The boot is bigger in the ID.5 than in the ID.4 despite this car’s descending roofline. Measuring 549 litres, it’s also good for the mid-size segment and features an under-floor storage area which is great for your charging equipment. However, there is no spare wheel, just an inflator kit, and also, the ID.5 doesn’t get a frunk like many of its electric contemporaries.

Subaru has nailed the available space in the Trailseeker. The entire cabin is roomy where it counts and passengers will be all the happier because of it.

In the front, the heat function, side bolsters, and deep padding make the front seats feel super comfortable. You'll get very little fatigue on a big road trip which is great for a WUV (it's happening) that's being positioned for family adventuring.

The rear row has legroom for days and there is a limo-like sense of space that taller adults will praise. When I say limo-like, I mean it. You'll easily be able to fit rearward-facing child seats behind a taller adult and make use of the three top-tether anchor points in general.

All of my passengers this week, including my parents, commented on how easy it is to get in and out of the car, and that’s largely thanks to the 211mm ground clearance and wide door apertures.

Despite missing out on a glovebox, which makes the giant User's Manual essentially homeless, there are still quite a few storage options throughout the car.

Up front, there is a shallow but wide middle console with a dual-opening lid (very Lexus coded), a centre console that has dual wireless charging pads, two cupholders and a little shelf underneath for smaller items. Each door (front and back) has bin storage and a drink bottle holder.

In the rear, there is a fold-down armrest with two cupholders and a couple of map pockets. My nine-year old is particularly chuffed with the heated outboard seat function and the dual USB-C ports. A handy addition here would have been sunblinds, like the Skoda Enyaq sports.

The boot rounds out the storage with its 609L of capacity, which is more than enough for luggage and kid paraphernalia. It’s handy having a retractable cargo cover and handsfree powered tailgate, but you only get a tyre repair kit, which isn’t super practical for a car that might want to hit a gravel road or two.

You also miss out on vehicle to load (V2L) functionality, which the Trailseeker AWD Tourer gets, and that too would help weekend adventurers.

Let's talk tech.

The 14-inch media display shares the same operating system as Toyota and Lexus, which offers a straightforward layout and responsive touchscreen. Note that this car is the mechanical twin of the recently released Toyota bZ4X Touring.

Climate controls are positioned in the screen but they're easy to operate.

There is wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto and CarPlay connected quickly and maintained a steady connection all week for me. You get a standard six-speaker sound system but it proved to be more than enough to successfully belt out some tunes to.

All in all, the Trailseeker AWD has a straightforward and practical cabin for family use.

Subaru is offering two trim levels of the Trailseeker: the mid-spec AWD, which is what we’re reviewing, and the slightly higher-specced AWD Touring. Before on-road costs, they’re priced at $63,990 and $69,990 respectively, making our test vehicle competitive against its nearest rivals.

The Skoda Enyaq Sportline 85 starts at $66,990 MSRP, while the Tesla Model Y Premium Long Range comes in at $68,990 and the Zeekr 7X RWD starts at $57,900. That makes the Trailseeker AWD the more affordable option than two of its key rivals, while also offering something you’ll need to level up for, both grade- and price wise, with its dual-motor all-wheel-drive system.

Standard features include:

• Keyless start
• Keyless entry (front doors)
• Electric heated front seats
• Heated rear outboard seats
• Electric lumbar support (driver)
• Rain-sensing windscreen wipers
• Dusk-sensing LED headlights
• Heated/powered side mirrors
• Powered tailgate with kick-sensor
• Digital rearview mirror
• Wireless Apple CarPlay/Android Auto
• AM/FM/digital radio
• Bluetooth connectivity
• Satellite navigation
• Dual wireless phone charging
• 14-inch touchscreen multimedia display
• Dual-zone climate control with directional air vents in rear row.
• 1x 12-volt socket
• 4x USB-C ports (2 in each row)
• 3x top-tether anchor points
• Rear door child locks
• 2x ISOFIX child seat mounts
• Tyre repair kit
• Regenerative braking paddles (steering wheel mounted)

Instead of a frunk there’s simply a mess of hardware under the bonnet which is largely related to the ID.5’s high-voltage and cooling systems, but what sets the GTX apart is the addition of a front motor to add to the standard rear one.

It’s not a huge power boost. The ID.4 already puts out 210kW/545Nm, and the front motor on the ID.5 simply adds 40 additional kW for totals of 250kW/545Nm (as the torque figures for the two don’t simply add together).

Its claimed 0-100km/h sprint time of 5.4 seconds isn't bad, especially compared to combustion equivalents, but it’s also not as breakneck fast as some of its EV rivals.

Instead, the additional motor for the ID.5 GTX is more about adding something to the handling equation, as well as the dependability of all-wheel drive and additional drive modes. More on this shortly.

The Subaru Trailseeker is powered by a dual-motor all-wheel-drive set-up with a hefty 280kW of combined power.

Subaru doesn’t quote a combined torque figure, but it can sprint 0-100km/h in just 4.5 seconds, making this feel very performance coded compared to some of its single-motor rivals.

One of the biggest benefits of the Australian market waiting this long for VW’s ID. range is the upgraded battery and charging offering.

The ID.5 GTX has a larger battery than the ID.4, measuring 84kWh which helps off-set its slightly less efficient all-wheel drive system. The result is a WLTP driving range of 522km between charges, which is only 22km less than the ID.4. It’s still plentiful, and on the higher end at this price point.

Additionally, the charging specs are great. A peak speed of 175kW on DC means a charge time of around 22 minutes (10 - 80 per cent) on a pylon capable of outputting such a speed, while on AC it is 11kW, making it worthwhile plugging in down at the local shops.

The big missed opportunity here is the lack of vehicle-to-load, vehicle-to-grid or a household power outlet in the cabin or boot. These are convenient features becoming more prevalent in the market. At least VW throws in a wall socket and a Type 2-to-Type 2 charging cable as standard.

The Trailseeker AWD has a large 74.7kWh lithium-ion battery and a WLTP driving range of up to 533km. I got pretty close to the claimed energy consumption of 15.4kWh/100km, with my 15.7kWh average this week. Given I’ve done some serious highway trips, that’s an impressive result.

It sports a Type 2/CCS charging port which accepts up to 22kW on an AC charger and up to 150kW on a fast DC charger. I would have liked to see a higher DC charging capacity, but on a compatible fast charger, you can go from 10 to 80 per cent in around 30 minutes, which is reasonable.

The ID.5 GTX isn’t quite in the same vein as other ‘performance’ EVs. It feels more measured than a Tesla Model Y Performance for example. But then it also feels a lot more organic. It feels a lot more like a car.

This is because rather than focus on straight-line performance, the GTX has benefits when it comes to its handling. Compared to the ID.4, for example, the ID.5 is sharper on its front axle, adding a little additional torque at the front to make it sharper and faster to grab the tarmac.

Its accelerator response may be comparatively steady, but somehow the ID.5’s more traditional stability control tuning allows it to have a bit more leeway when you push it in the corners. It grants it a little extra fun factor, where some rivals are too locked down.

Additionally, VW’s experience in providing a balanced ride and sharp steering tune is on full show. While a lot of electric vehicles in this class feel a little over-electrically assisted or even vague when it comes to the steering, the ID.5 feels connected and accurate.

The adjustable ride settings are also a rare win for an electric mid-sizer. This is because you can adjust the ride to suit the conditions. If you’re on a bumpy suburban road for example, you can keep it nice and soft. But if you’re out carving corners in the countryside, a much firmer setting is available to help limit the amount of floaty rebound this car’s low-set battery weight can have.

It does adjust in a limited band, so there’s still a bit of softness to it, which combines with the predominantly rear-drive characteristics to make for a distinctly different vehicle to a Tiguan, for example.

It’s simply not as athletic as VW’s finely-tuned combustion offerings, but then its more plush open-road feel isn’t necessarily worse. At the very least it maintains all those key refinement characteristics which make Volkswagens generally a cut above to drive.

No one will claim that the Trailseeker is underwhelming when it comes to power. It’s quick, with no bucking through the body when you have to plant it, and it’s a perfect companion on the open road.

The suspension and steering are nicely balanced to deliver a dynamic and engaging driving experience, and I’m really enjoying how stable it feels through corners.

It’s easy to choose between the four levels of regenerative braking thanks to the steering wheel-mounted paddles. But you don’t get one-pedal driving, which seems like an important omission for an EV.

The cabin is quiet around town and on the open road, and it’s easy to chat across the cabin without raising your voice.

Visibility is quite good out the front and sides from my driving position, and I like that the A-pillar has a glass insert to break up its width. And it doesn’t matter if you have a car full of gear or people, because you have a digital rear-view mirror.

Even with the regen on its strongest level, you can still ‘creep’ at lower speeds and, coupled with a really clear 360-degree camera, the Trailseeker is downright easy to park.

The Subaru Trailseeker has a maximum five-star ANCAP safety rating from testing conducted in 2025 and features eight airbags. It didn’t manage an individual assessment score in the nineties, but still performed well, scoring 89 per cent for adult occupant protection, 86 per cent for child occupant protection, 80 per cent for vulnerable road user protection and 82 per cent for its safety assist systems.

The biggest callout here is that the new Trailseeker misses out on emergency call capability, but it is good that none of its safety equipment intrudes too much on everyday driving.

Standard equipment includes:

• 2x ISOFIX child seat mounts
• 3x top-tether anchor points
• Child rear safety door locks
• Child presence alert
• Active cornering assist
• Driver attention monitor
• Driver attention alert
• 360-degree camera (including under car)
• Blind spot monitor
• Front/rear parking sensors
• Rear cross-traffic alert
• Safe exit assist
• Adaptive cruise control
• Emergency steering assist
• Lane keeping aid
• Lane departure alert
• Traffic sign recognition
• Tyre pressure monitoring
• Engine immobiliser

VW hasn’t used this opportunity to increase its standard warranty terms of five years and unlimited kilometres, however, the battery pack is covered by an industry standard eight-year/160,000km deal. 

There are other ownership perks designed to coax people into an electric car, though. Servicing, for example, is only required once every 24 months or 30,000km and when packaged up at the time of purchase, very affordable.

A 10 year or 150,000km plan costs $2890, or just $289 a year, which is excellent for a European car, and is even more affordable than some of its Korean and Chinese rivals with generally longer service intervals.

On top of this, VW stresses the repairability of its battery components, and promises parts supply will continue for 10 years after the discontinuation of the ID.4 and ID.5 range in its current form, with repairability through its network for at least 15 years.

The Trailseeker is offered with Subaru’s five-year/unlimited km warranty. While some of its rivals have the same term, it’s now a below-average offering for the class in general.

Servicing, however, is downright cheap, with a three-year pre-purchased plan costing just $584.29 and the five-year plan set at $984.18. Servicing intervals are also well-spaced at every 12 months or 15,000km, whichever occurs first.

It’s also fairly easy to get your Trailseeker serviced, with around 120 Subaru service centres across Australia.