I can almost remember it like yesterday, Paul Hogan’s catchy commercial in the Subaru Outback paying homage to his Australian roots playing into the vehicle’s ruggedness. Today, marking 30 years of the Subaru Outback, the formidable wagon has matured to become a well-sorted all-wheel-drive vehicle that is quite the welcoming collective of parts when you opt for the upper-level Touring trim featuring the more powerful turbocharged powertrain.
Continuing its sixth generation for the 2025 model year, which received a redesign in 2020, the Outback endures a path of success with respected adaptability and versatility. While it has contemporary looks that somewhat fade into the background in the mix of other vehicles on the road, the newest Outback doesn’t change other than getting additional standard equipment on the Limited trim. Otherwise, there’s a lot to appreciate in the Outback, such as respectable value for a comfy, somewhat off-road capable, and reliable wagon.
Also, don’t forget that you can get discounted new car pricing with a free quote through qualified local dealer partners.
Subaru’s long-touted standard symmetrical all-wheel-drive has helped carry the brand in most of its vehicles, and in my Outback Touring XT test vehicle coupled with the turbocharged 2.4-liter boxer (horizontally opposed) 4-cylinder engine you have a much better performing vehicle over the base trims (Base, Premium, Onyx Edition, Limited, Touring) with a rather anemic 182-horsepower 2.5-liter boxer-4-cylinder engine.
Stepping up to the turbocharged 2.4-liter engine grants you 260 horsepower and 277 lb-ft of torque, which comes equipped in the Onyx Edition XT, Wilderness, Limited XT, and Touring XT trims. While the engine feels as if it has a bit more power than stated on paper, the CVT (continuously variable automatic transmission) seems to sap some of that thrill even though it attempts to emulate traditional automatic transmission shifts with virtual ratio step-downs. While Subaru has a decent CVT, there are still the typical pitfalls of a poor initial start from a stop that can be annoying at times if you wish to jump out in traffic. However, the Subaru Outback with the turbocharged engine scoots along pretty well once things get moving above 20 mph.
Zero to 60 mph ticks off in 5.8 seconds, which is good for such a vehicle and adds a bit of assurance in driving the Outback out on the road. There’s not much else that inspires the sporty side of the Outback, considering it has a slightly lifted suspension setup that surprisingly balances road compliance and off-roading abilities. The steering is very light and mostly numb, but these are all qualities that buyers of the Outback could care less about. For those shopping the Outback, my recommendation is to always opt for one of the upper trims to get the turbocharged engine over the base powertrain, it’s that much more enjoyable without sacrificing much fuel efficiency.
Taking the Outback Touring XT off-road feels right for light duties as it appears to do exceptionally well in loose dirt and sand when you enable the X-MODE setting to adapt to off-roading conditions up to 25 mph. Such a setting delicately reduces throttle in some cases for a better traction situation for loose surfaces.
The EPA estimates of 22 mpg city, 29 mpg highway, and 25 mpg combined all fall in line with what you should expect in the real world. The turbocharged engine isn’t as consistent for landing those figures as I would have hoped, but you can still match the EPA estimates if you drive civil. There’s a cruising range of about 407 miles on the highway using every drop of regular unleaded fuel in the 18.5-gallon tank.
Inside the Subaru Outback Touring XT is a spacious cabin that’s very accommodating for people and your stuff. The leather seats up front with heating and ventilation prove to be mostly comfy but the bottom feels like it could use additional padding for longer trips. The rear bench with 60/40-split folding seatbacks also has a good amount of room for two adults and one child in the center, where the rear outboard passengers get to enjoy heated seats.
The dashboard cleverly has soft-touch surfaces on the upper portions and is laced with accented soft trim areas, which initially look premium. The driver’s gauge cluster remains two large analog gauges flanked by a rather small central color LCD information screen. The infotainment touchscreen remains to be an 11.6-inch unit that’s mostly easy to navigate but still doesn’t look as polished as it should, having a somewhat low-quality resolution, which filters into it having grainy imagery for the backup camera and front camera feed. The integration of wireless or USB-connected Apple CarPlay and Android Auto is welcomed as it cleverly fills the portrait-oriented touchscreen.
The cargo space, as expected, is generous, with the wagon style of the Outback, where you have just over 32 cubic feet of storage with the rear seatbacks up in place. Fold the seatbacks down and you have just over 75 cubic feet.
Subaru pushes the envelope for being ahead of the safety game, and in the new Outback, the latest EyeSight system and its driver assistance features do just that with advancements to always track the driver’s attention and prompt warnings when your eyes are no longer focused on the road. While some of the active safety systems can be disabled, many will return to their monitoring state upon the next start of the vehicle. Of course, you get the full array of expected active safety features, such as lane departure warning/mitigation, lane keep assist, blind spot detection w/rear cross-traffic detection/emergency braking, a front and rear camera system, a digital rearview mirror, adaptive cruise control, and a somewhat aggressive front collision warning and emergency braking system.
Subaru offers many attractive offerings throughout its lineup that retain a good value proposition. The new Outback continues such a model that it starts at just $28,895 before any fees or options on the base trim. From there, things incrementally increase through as many as nine trim levels, with my test vehicle being the top trim and testing out at a price of $44,331, which includes a $1,395 destination and delivery fee. You can easily get a discounted price on the Subaru Outback from our local network of dealerships.
