The Subaru Tribeca may finally get a spiritual successor in Australia, with the Japanese brand’s local boss hinting at internal discussions around getting a seven-seat model Down Under.
Speaking with CarExpert at the launch of the all-new Outback, Subaru Australia general manager Scott Lawrence said a seven-seater is “high on the agenda”.
“We’re working super close with Subaru Corporation on what that large seven-seater space would look like, [but] nothing to share at this point,” Mr Lawrence said.
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Currently, Subaru’s only entrant in the three-row space is the Ascent SUV, which is produced and sold in North America, and exported as the Evoltis to smaller markets like the Philippines and South America.
First previewed as the VIZIV-7 concept at the 2016 Los Angeles motor show, the Subaru Ascent debuted in production form the following year in Los Angeles and then launched in 2018 as a successor to the Tribeca, which went out of production four years prior.
It offers up to eight seats across three rows, and rides on the same Subaru Global Platform as the brand’s wider lineup. Power comes from a 2.4-litre turbocharged horizontally opposed four-cylinder ‘Boxer’ engine, shared with the WRX and Outback.
The Ascent received a mid-life facelift in 2023, and continues to be exclusively produced at Subaru’s Lafayette factory in the US state of Indiana.
The large SUV segment in Australia is one of our nation’s most competitive, accounting for 164,226 deliveries in 2025 (up 9.4 per cent) and 13.6 per cent share of the overall market.
While the five-seat Outback put in a solid 8384-unit showing for the 2025 calendar year, it was well beaten by segment favourites like the Ford Everest (26,161) and Toyota LandCruiser Prado (26,106), both of which offer up to three rows of seating.
The Tribeca – often remembered for its polarising design – managed between 8500-9000 Australian deliveries during its local production run between 2006 and 2014, at a time where the Prado and locally produced Ford Territory would do more than that level of volume in a calendar year.
Subaru was also selling the Liberty Exiga at the same time, a three-row version of the Liberty wagon that was more MPV than SUV. It too was a slow seller and eventually culled.
While the new Outback and incoming Trailseeker EV both measure nearly 4.9 metres long – around 100mm less than the Ascent – neither are slated to gain seven-seat options.
It has now been over a decade since Subaru last offered a seven-seater Down Under, which could have played a key role in the Japanese brand falling out of Australia’s top 10 best-selling car brands.
Given the Ascent is now the oldest remaining vehicle in Subaru’s American lineup, a new generation could be around the corner.
And, if said next-generation Subaru Ascent becomes available in right-hand drive, Australia would no doubt be at the front of the line – since the UK and Japan would likely not take such a big vehicle.
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