​​What is Highway Hands-Free Driving Assist?

You may have heard about a technology that can ease the tension of driving on our highways. One where you can take your hands off the steering wheel and let the vehicle get you through sections of “compatible” roads, guide you through lane changes without any intervention, and keep you on pace with traffic while keeping your eyes ahead. Subaru is an automotive company that is committed to keeping you safe. To offer such technology, we have to do so with you in mind. You will find the new Highway Hands-Free Assist Driving System on the new 2026 Subaru Outback Touring and Touring XT as a no-cost update.

How does the Highway Hands-Free Assist Driving System work? It starts with our award-winning EyeSight Driver Assist Technology. The sensors, cameras, and radar in this technology scan the road ahead and around you to keep you in your lane. This is done in concert with several key features as part of this system. 

EyeSight also receives data from a GPS tracking system and 3D high-definition mapping software that determines the type of road where the Highway Hands-Free Driver Assist can be used. The key feature is the adaptive cruise control system. To enable Highway Hands-Free Driver Assist, you must activate the cruise control system, and the settings from that feature will maintain the required distance for these features to work together.

The system also adds a set of new features that will play a huge part in keeping your 2026 Outback Touring and Touring XT on the road. These features include highway active lane change assist, highway automatic resume assist, highway pre-curve speed control, and emergency stop assist with safe lane selection.

Another feature that enables the Highway Hands-Free Driver Assist is the second-generation DriverFocus system. This monitors driver awareness to ensure that control can be transferred back to the driver at any time. This is accomplished with a new, wider-angle, higher-resolution camera, improved processing, and infrared LEDs that can track eye gaze through most sunglasses or eyeglasses.  If DriverFocus detects that the driver is not attentive, the system will disengage and prompt the driver to place their hands on the wheel and resume control.  

With the added technology and features, you can also personalize EyeSight’s settings for up to five additional users. That includes seat adjustments, mirrors, and climate settings that DriverFocus can scan to meet a specific driver profile.

To know whether you are using Highway Hands-Free Driver Assist properly, just look at the new digital instrument cluster. You will find a series of green icons indicating hands-on assist, and blue icons confirming the activation of Highway Hands-Free Assist.

To get it right, Subaru put this technology to the test, covering over 100,000 miles to ensure accuracy and operational effectiveness, before adding it to the EyeSight suite of technologies and features. The aim was to ensure the system delivers higher accuracy and broader driver support for a more confident, comfortable driving experience.

All of this can be used on nearby sections of highways, such as Interstate 580, U.S. Highways 50 and 395. Once you get to Reno, it can be used on stretches of Interstate 80. It is a great way to get up and down Nevada by letting your 2026 Outback Touring or Touring XT do some of the work.

To experience this technology – and the new 2026 Outback Touring and Touring XT – contact us at Michael Hohl Subaru to see how Highway Hands-Free Driver Assist will work for you.