New York Auto Show 2025: News from the Floor

Technical announcements from Subaru, Hyundai and Kia make a splash.

April 24, 2025

Sebastian Blanco

The 2025 edition of the New York International Auto Show proved some automakers still value the attention that comes with debuting a vehicle on a flashy convention center stage. Hyundai, Kia and Subaru introduced new models, trims and powertrains that will compete for buyer dollars starting later this year.

Some of the new safety technologies in the 2026 Palisade include a built-in dual-camera dash cam, 10 airbags, third-row seatbelt pre-tensioners and load limiters. (Sebastian Blanco)

Subaru’s EV siblings grow up and apart

Subaru brought the all-new seventh-generation Subaru Outback, which will be available with either a revised 2.5-L ICE that produces 180 hp (134 kW) and 178 lb-ft (241 Nm) or a 2.4-L engine that produces 260 hp (194 kW) and 277 lb-ft (376 Nm). On the electric front, Subaru unveiled both the 2026 Solterra and an all-new EV – from a certain point of view, in the Obi-Wan tradition – called the Trailseeker.

Bill Stokes, car line planning manager at Subaru of America, told SAE Media that even though the Trailseeker and Solterra share mechanical components and a basic skateboard, they are indeed separate models.

Kia brought the EV9 Nightfall Edition to the 2025 New York International Auto Show. The visual package option is also available on the Seltos, Sportage and Telluride models. (Sebastian Blanco)

“There are elements that are shared,” Stokes said. “The battery packs are shared between both of these cars, and [the Solterra] is built at the Toyota plant, [the Trailseeker is] built at Subaru. The motors are different in the Trailseeker. The componentry and the suspension and the tuning of the suspension are different in the Trailseeker. The all-wheel drive system and the motors are tuned by Subaru engineers in the Trailseeker. So, a lot more of the development on the Trailseeker side has been handled by actual Subaru personnel.”

Differences between the 2026 Trailseeker and 2026 Solterra include 0-60 mph (96 km/h) times (4.3 seconds for the Trailseeker, “less than 5 seconds” for the Solterra), range (“more than 260 miles” in the Trailseeker, “more than 285 miles” in the Solterra) and hp (“approximately 375” hp [280 kW] from the Trailseeker, compared to up to 338 hp [252 kW] from the Solterra).

Along with the 74.7-kWh battery packs, symmetrical all-wheel drive and 8.3 in (21 cm) of ground clearance, the two EVs both have a 150-kW NACS-compatible charge port. With improved battery preconditioning technology, Subaru said the Solterra can charge from 10-80% in less than 35 minutes. It did not provide similar numbers for the Trailseeker, which also has the preconditioning system.

Hyundai’s next-generation hybrid system features two integrated motors. The company said it would be combined with various engines across a wide range of vehicle classes. (Hyundai)

“Our customers tend to skew towards places that are cold, places that are rainy, places that have winter, whereas EV volume is concentrated in warm-weather markets right now, in large part because customers are concerned about losing range and losing charging speed in colder temperatures,” Stokes said. “We’ve actually tested the preconditioning system in these cars, to where it delivers the same maximum charging speed at negative 10 degrees C as it does at 70 degrees F. So, in normal summer temperatures and serious sub-freezing temperatures, it’ll do the same charging.”

The Trailseeker has a towing capacity of up to 3,500 lb (1,588 kg), while the Solterra has no official tow rating. Stokes said all of these differences add up to separate nameplates.

“When you look at Solterra and you look at Trailseeker, you can see one that’s more optimized for aerodynamics and is going to get a little bit longer range, and one that’s a little more optimized for the customer that’s going to use the cargo space,” he said. “The difference in capability that we’re trying to achieve with more ground clearance, more space or advanced all-wheel drive system means trade-offs in range. But we need to be meeting our customers where they are in terms of their desire for capability and space, as opposed to just getting maximum range.

The 2026 Solterra arrives this fall, and the Trailseeker EV follows in early 2026.

Kia reverses into better ADAS

Hyundai’s new hybrid powertrain will offer power output ranges from the low-100 hp to over 300 hp. The system will debut in the 2026 Hyundai Palisade 2.5-L turbo hybrid. (Hyundai)

Kia’s debuts included the K4 Hatchback and the EV9 Nightfall Edition, and the automaker also brought in its first all-electric global sedan, the EV4, for its U.S. debut. The EV9’s visual updates on the new package include Gloss Black styling touches and 20-inch wheels, while engine improvements mean maximum torque has been increased from 443 lb-ft to 516 lb-ft (601 Nm to 700 Nm).

As with Subaru’s cold-weather battery conditioning, one new feature on the EV4 came from Kia’s engineers listening to drivers: an update to the one-foot i-Pedal 3.0 system so it now also works in reverse, said Orth Hedrick, Kia North America’s executive director of car product management.

“It’s an evolution of the technology,” he said. “We have more time with it and we had a lot of people who liked the idea ask, ‘Why does [one-pedal driving] go away when it’s in reverse?’ And then engineers realized that [they could add it] and we have it now and, all of a sudden, people are excited.”

Hedrick said even with the obvious customer benefits, introducing new tech isn’t always easy.

“All of our movements going into autonomous, which is the ultimate destination, start with ADAS,” he said. “Engineers, by nature, are very conservative, and they want to make sure it’s perfect. Plus, they do a lot of stuff in Korea that we can’t do in this market: televisions that come on at a stoplight, that kind of stuff. I think they’re just so afraid of the litigious nature of the U.S. market.”

Hedrick said Kia’s path forward includes powertrain diversification for now, aimed at a clear, electric future despite the ongoing challenges, especially the cost of EV batteries.

“We are fully committed to an EV future, as you can tell,” Hedrick said. “We’re making massive investments, and we announced already the new Metaplant for Hyundai Motor Group and a new steel mill.”

Hyundai hypes hybrids

Hyundai didn’t bring any new EVs to New York, but it did introduce the first Palisade with a hybrid powertrain. The 2026 Palisade will be available with a 2.5-L turbocharged engine that produces 258 hp (192 kW) and two electric motors that will provide 90 more hp (67 kW). The total estimated system output is 329 hp (245 kW) and up to 339 lb-ft (460 Nm). All that power comes while delivering over 30 mpg in a three-row SUV in some configurations, said Hyundai’s manager of product planning, Melvyn Bautista.

“There’s been a lot of requests for hybrid, as we know, it’s been one of the up-and-coming powertrain technologies today. It seems to be a good bridge to get into some kind of EV adoption,” Bautista said. “What’s amazing is, when you have the hybrid with the 18-inch wheels, the smaller wheels, we’re targeting 34 mpg combined, which I think is pretty remarkable.”

The gas-only 3.5-L V6 in the non-hybrid Palisade will produce an estimated 287 hp (214 kW) and 260 lb-ft (353 Nm). Hyundai also announced the first-ever Palisade XRT PRO, with more off-road capability than the previous XRT trim.

The two motors in Hyundai’s new hybrid system offer a hint of what’s possible next, Bautista said. Instead of the belts used in the Santa Fe and Tucson hybrid systems, the smaller of the two motors, the 13-kW unit, is coupled to the engine to assist with low-speed movement while the larger motor (54 kW) is directly mated to the transmission and generally provides power once the vehicle is moving.

“There’s no friction loss, and there’s no torque converter, because both of these motors are mounted inside the transmission case,” Bautista said. “They both work in unison, so they’re parallel and working together so you get the maximum efficiency with no friction loss.”

Hyundai said its new hybrid system can deliver anywhere between 100 hp (75 kW) to over 300 hp (224 kW), which Bautista said opens up a lot of possibilities for more Hyundai hybrid models.

“We added that second motor in the transmission case and it’s almost the same size as the Santa Fe and the Tucson transmissions,” he said. “What that tells me is that if that can fit on a 2.5 turbo, you’re telling me I could fit a two-motor system? That’s not official, but it’s a really interesting question.”