• It looks unassuming, but the Subaru Trailseeker is ridiculously fun to drive. And fast.
• Technically, Subaru classifies this car as a midsize SUV. (Sure, Jan.)
• It's the Subaru-iest of all the vehicles built in partnership with Toyota.

American parking lots are awash with a sea of sameness. There's just a bunch of basic SUVs and pickup trucks.

That makes the wagon-ish 2026 Subaru Trailseeker EV a real eye-catcher. Unlike the homogeneous crossovers rolling up to elementary school pickup lines today, it gets a stretched, long-roof profile and carries a Subaru badge. It looks like a proper successor to the Subaru wagons of yore, like the 2000s Outbacks and Legacys.

Technically, Subaru sees this differently. They classify the Trailseeker as an all-electric midsize SUV — and they do have a point with its 8.5 inches of ground clearance and easy-to-slide-into seats.

But, I mean, come on, look at this thing.

That's a wagon in my book.

I drove the Trailseeker's top Touring trim for about 450 miles to see if it was a worthy antidote to America's great car-design flattening. My tester — complete with premium blue paint, a panoramic glass roof, and radiant leg warmers in the front seat (yes, you read that right) — stickered at $48,400.

And it was pretty wild.

This wagon — sorry, SUV — can really move

I've driven around 80 cars in my career as an auto journalist: EVs, muscle cars, sports cars, big trucks, premium luxury vehicles, etc.

The Trailseeker easily makes my personal list of top 10 fastest vehicles. It can launch from standing to 60 mph in about 4.4 seconds and produces 375 horsepower.

Get behind the steering wheel of this family-wagon-shaped car, and you feel that power at all times. On my highway-dominant drive from New York City to the Washington, DC, area, it quickly dashed by slower traffic and 18-wheelers.

The speed doesn't come at the expense of efficiency or refinement, either.

The Trailseeker returned about 3.7 miles per kWh, giving the battery about 270 miles of juice. While it was whipping past cars on the New Jersey Turnpike, I could still hear back-seat passengers when they spoke.

And, speaking of the back seat, the Trailseeker's long body gives rear passengers an almost comical amount of legroom. Fold those seats down, and my panoramic-roof tester has up to 71.8 cubic feet of cargo space, in case you have to move some furniture around, too.

Its biggest red flag was charging.

I saw speeds peak around 127 kW, which is pretty middling in today's EV age. Subaru says the car can accept up to 150 kW.

Let's compare that to the much higher-priced (but similarly shaped) Lucid Gravity, which is considered America's fastest-charging EV. That one can accept up to 420 kW, adding up to 200 miles of range in under 12 minutes.

My initial fast-charge of the Trailseeker — a top-off kind of stop while I grabbed a coffee — took 21 minutes, charging the car from 49% to 77%.

Is it Subaru-y enough?

Subaru didn't build the Trailseeker alone.

It's the product of Subaru's expanding EV partnership with Toyota. The two companies now sell three closely related EV pairs: Subaru's Solterra, Uncharted, and Trailseeker correspond with Toyota's bZ, C-HR, and bZ Woodland. Next year, the companies are launching mechanically similar three-row EVs, too, with the Toyota Highlander and the Subaru Getaway.

The Trailseeker is easily the Subaru-iest of the bunch, and it's not just because of its wagon-y looks. It gets a dose of Subaru's adventure-seeking vibe, including standard Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive, X-Mode settings for snow and mud, roof rails, and a 3,500-pound towing capacity.

That outdoorsy tuning comes with a trade-off. The Trailseeker felt noticeably firm over broken pavement, especially at lower speeds.

A wagon comeback? Don't hold your breath.

You want a wagon now, right? Isn't this thing so cool?

Well, I'm teasing you. Good luck finding a Trailseeker.

Right now, Subaru has only a 9.7-day supply of the model in dealer lots, per CarGurus data shared with Business Insider. That's well under the industry average of about 70 days' worth of supply.

Kevin Roberts, CarGurus's director of economic and market intelligence, says the low supply isn't a product of high demand. In September, the automaker only sold 849 units, just 1.6% of all Subaru sales in America.

Rather, the low supply is part of an ongoing trend of automakers slowly shipping 2027 model-year vehicles to lots.

As the calendar turns, Roberts says there's little momentum for the wagon body type: "This segment has accounted for less than 1% of new car sales," he said, adding that "the traditional wagon has become increasingly rare in today's new car market."

So, no, the Trailseeker probably isn't about to resurrect the American station wagon.

That's a shame. After 450 miles in one, I'm increasingly convinced that good ones could win over American drivers.

• Being a mom can be challenging and expensive.
• Some have turned to apps like Uber and Lyft to make extra money — or as their main source of income.
• Fill out our survey if you're a mom who does gig work.

Uber and Lyft often talk about the flexibility of working as a driver on their apps.

That aspect of the gig has attracted moms, among other people who often want to earn money outside a 9-to-5 schedule. The job can be appealing to mothers who need to juggle school drop-offs, childcare, and other obligations of parenting.

Others, including single moms, say they feel stuck in ride-hailing work and end up having to drive for Uber or Lyft at set times anyway, depending on when the most passengers need rides.

With costs like childcare and college rising, Uber and Lyft offer some moms a way to make extra money — if they can earn enough on the apps and keep costs like gas and car maintenance under control.

Business Insider wants to speak with moms who drive for Uber, Lyft, or other ride-hailing apps. We want to hear about how you combine the gig with taking care of your kids, including both what's working and what isn't. Please fill out the survey below.

• Legacy carmakers continue to report slumping sales in China.
• Volvo is the latest. It's planning 2,500 global job cuts to save about $530 million.
• America is a problem, too. Tariffs, crushed EV incentives, and Polestar's exit also hurt.

China's merciless car market is taking a bite out of Volvo.

On Friday, the Swedish luxury automaker said revenue in China fell by almost 50% over the past year. The company said, like many legacy premium automakers, it's facing increasing "hypercompetition" from Chinese competitors.

Volvo plans to cut 2,500 jobs globally in response, it said, including roughly 2,000 in Sweden. That's part of an effort to slash costs by about $530 million.

"We continue to operate in a very tough environment with strong external challenges: de-globalisation, hypercompetition and climate change," CEO Håkan Samuelsson said in a statement.

It's the latest stark example of the increasing pressure on legacy automakers in China. Several big-name car companies — including Volkswagen, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz — have recently reported slowing sales from their Chinese dealerships.

Volvo is majority-owned by Geely Auto Group, a Chinese automaking conglomerate.

The company said the reductions will be made by a combination of ending consultant contracts, natural attrition, and targeted employee exit packages.

China is not Volvo's only problem. The company also said that US tariffs and the loss of Washington's consumer incentives for electrified cars squeezed margins. Volvo previously bet heavily on a rapid consumer transition to electric vehicles, aiming for an all-electric portfolio by 2030. It's since walked back that goal to include plug-in hybrid vehicles.

The automaker also said that Polestar — its EV offshoot that is exiting the US market — also posted losses.

Volvo's answer is to get more local: the automaker said it would introduce two fresh cars tailored specifically for the Chinese market by the middle of next year. Those cars will be developed in close collaboration with Geely and will include a Chinese tech stack and advanced driver-assist technologies "to make them fully competitive in China."

• Skytrax conducted a passenger satisfaction survey to determine the best airlines to fly first class.
• Air France was named the best airline to fly first class for its 38-square-foot La Première suite.
• Airlines across the industry are adding more premium offerings to attract higher-paying customers.

As airlines across the industry bolster their premium offerings to attract higher-paying passengers, first-class amenities are only getting more luxurious.

In some first-class cabins, travelers can enjoy private suites with double beds and food by Michelin-starred chefs. Other airlines offer spacious pods with multiple seating options and headrests with built-in speakers.

Between September 2025 and August 2026, travelers from over 100 nationalities filled out an airline passenger satisfaction survey conducted by Skytrax, an aviation rating company, to determine the best airlines to fly first class.

Here are the winning first-class carriers in Skytrax's 2026 World Airline Awards.

10. Qatar Airways

Qatar Airways made the top 10 of Skytrax's ranking with amenities such as an à la carte menu, Diptyque amenity kits, and loungewear from The White Company.

9. Qantas Airways

First-class travelers on Qantas can enjoy perks like armchair seating with in-seat massages and a self-service bar and lounge.

8. ANA (All Nippon Airways)

First class on ANA includes sliding doors, lie-flat seats, and lavish meals featuring items such as sashimi, wagyu beef, and miso soup.

7. Japan Airlines

First-class suites on Japan Airlines' Airbus A350-1000s come with double beds, headrests with built-in speakers, wardrobes, and 43-inch TVs.

6. Swiss International Air Lines

Swiss International Air Lines' first-class cabins include armchairs that transform into lie-flat beds, pajamas designed by Zimmerli of Switzerland, and Cuvée Louise Champagne from Maison Pommery.

5. Cathay Pacific Airways

Cathay Pacific's first-class suites feature luxuries like 600-thread-count sheets, BOSE noise-canceling headphones, and an extensive wine selection.

4. Emirates

In addition to flying in private suites, first-class passengers on Emirates' Airbus A380 fleet also have access to a shower and lounge.

3. Lufthansa

In a 2023 press release unveiling Lufthansa's new first-class suites, Lufthansa Airlines CEO Jens Ritter said that the design "conveys the feeling of privacy and individuality similar to a hotel room." Skytrax named Lufthansa the third-best airline to fly first-class.

2. Singapore Airlines

Singapore Airlines' first-class suites are spacious enough for a bed plus a reclining chair, and two suites can be combined into a double for two people. It's the runner-up in Skytrax's ranking of the best first-class airlines.

1. Air France

Skytrax named Air France, whose first-class cabins offer a nearly 38-square-foot La Première suite and food created by Michelin-starred chefs, the best airline for first-class travel.

• I booked two separate flight itineraries on different airlines for a family trip to Ireland.
• I realized this was a mistake after the first airline diverted, and the second left without us.
• The fix cost my family nearly $3,000 in new tickets and a day's worth of touring.

I'm a veteran traveler who has booked more long-haul flights than I can count. But earlier this year, I made a very expensive rookie mistake.

While planning a trip, I came across a deal I couldn't pass up: a $317 one-way flight on Icelandair to Ireland with a multi-day layover in Reykjavik. It was essentially a way to take a trip within a trip without paying extra airfare.

The catch? The flight departed from New York, not our home airport in Florida. I'd be in New York a few days early, but my family would need to fly up to meet me. Booking separate itineraries was far from ideal, but I figured a five-hour buffer would be enough.

It wasn't.

A storm in New York canceled my family's JetBlue flight from Florida, and their replacement flight then couldn't land and was diverted to Virginia. Their Icelandair flight to Europe was automatically canceled after they were marked as no-shows.

On the night we were supposed to fly together to Iceland, my family was stuck states away, and I was scrambling to find a solution.

With my family's original flight gone, we had to spend nearly $3,000 to get them back on track and navigate the complicated credit card trip insurance process. Here are 4 lessons I learned the hard way.

Booking separate itineraries comes with a pricey risk

Arriving in the city of your next flight at least 24 hours before may feel a bit extreme, but it's the minimum safety net you need.

Being already in the right location for your flight can be a huge weight off your shoulders. It also allows sufficient time for rebooking should something go wrong with your flight.

My last-minute whim to visit a few friends upstate turned out to be key. Those extra two nights in New York meant I was able to make the flight to Iceland. If I had booked my family of three on a flight the day before our long-haul flight, they would have made it too.

My family made it to New York the next morning and ended up taking a replacement flight to Iceland that evening, getting in about 24 hours later than originally planned. I bought two basic economy tickets for $734 each, and one standard economy ticket with extra baggage allowance for $1,105. In total, I spent $2,573 on new tickets.

The costly mistake made me realize that although an extra hotel night is an added expense and may mean using more PTO, it's a cheap investment compared to the cost of new international flights — and the cost of missed events — if things don't go to plan.

This is especially worth it if you have definite plans right after your arrival, such as a cruise or a concert.

Neither airline has to help in my scenario

When you book connecting flights on a single itinerary, the airline is responsible for getting you to your destination. If you miss that connection through no fault of your own, then the airline will put you on another available flight at no additional cost.

When you book flights separately, you're responsible for making each connection — or buying new tickets if you miss one. And generally, regardless of reason, the airline operating your next flight isn't obligated to accommodate you if you miss it because of a problem with your previous airline.

Our tickets to New York and Iceland were separate, so despite numerous calls to each airline, none were responsible for the missed connection. If you do miss a connection on a single booking, look up alternatives yourself and discuss them with the agent. It's not guaranteed, but they may be able to accommodate you on a partner airline at a more convenient time.

And remember, it's not the staff's fault for the disruption. You get more bees with honey.

I should have read the fine print

I didn't book the cheapest fare, but I didn't read the fine print either.

When things started to go wrong, I was shocked to see there was a $250 change fee per person on my original flight and no refunds. Changing the tickets would have cost nearly as much as the original flight, plus the fare difference.

At the time, it was uncertain when my family would actually arrive in New York and feasibly be able to catch the next flight to Iceland, so we didn't change the tickets. Missing the first flight on this stopover itinerary meant my family was marked a no-show and their onward leg to Dublin was canceled, which is standard airline policy.

While there were other ways to get to Iceland, there were few nonstop flights from Iceland to Ireland — a one-stop meant at least four extra hours of travel — so the best option was to book a new stopover ticket with Icelandair.

When I started booking the new tickets, I noticed that almost every fare class had punitive cancellation and change policies — and this time I was sure to be familiar with the terms of my booking.

I need to better understand my credit card's trip protections

Premium credit cards can have your back when flight plans go wrong, but they don't cover everything.

We used the Chase Sapphire Reserve for Business' trip cancellation and interruption protection for the original Icelandair tickets and were reimbursed $952. The coverage typically reimburses covered unused, prepaid expenses — but not the cost of buying new airline tickets.

Trip delay coverage doesn't either, but it can cover other expenses for covered trips. However, credit card policies vary — and this is where I went wrong.

We booked the flights to New York on an American Express Business Platinum Card but used a different card for the return flights. That meant the Amex trip-delay protection did not apply: its terms require the full round-trip fare to be charged to the eligible card.

I had split the flights across cards to preserve Chase's bag-delay protection, but I didn't realize I was giving up the Amex protection in the process, so the $103 spent on dinner after the diversion wasn't covered. For future trips, I'll use only one credit card with good travel protections for all my trip expenses to reduce complications.

Airlines may also provide some compensation for flight disruptions. In our case, my family was reimbursed for a hotel stay ($185) on the night they were diverted. When delayed, I always keep receipts of all my added expenses to submit to the appropriate parties.

Overall, although our vacation had a rocky start and cost more than we planned, we had a great trip and are glad we pushed through it.

Missing a flight always seems avoidable in hindsight, and some things are beyond anyone's control, but with a few precautions, we can travel more confidently. Next time, I'm booking the extra hotel night.