In a way, I feel more qualified than most to write this story. I am, after all, a tragic Subaru enthusiast, having owned various models over the years. In total, I have owned around eight different Subaru models, covering both the Legacy and Impreza WRX. To this day, I still own a 2013 Subaru WRX STI Spec C, after previously owning a 555-spec WRX STI Version 3. To say I get excited about new Subaru products would be an understatement. This is why, with the release of the all-new Outback, I was a wee bit stunned. Hear me out.
Subaru wagons, for me, have been the pinnacle of the on-road underdog, especially the turbocharged models. Before I could drive, I dreamed of owning a 1991 Legacy GT. Turbocharged Boxer performance with understated wagon styling, prior to the booming performance industry and bubble in Japan, meant manufacturers were releasing rally cars for the road, homologated nameplates so they could be entered into WRC and other rallies around the world.
By the time I could drive, the Legacy GT was getting a bit old. I settled for a 1999 Subaru Legacy GT-B in metallic blue, with a manual gearbox and a sunroof. It had McIntosh audio, 206kW and would top the speedo out in no time at all. I loved the GT-B platform so much that, after regretting selling it, I bought another one in gold. In factory form, with Bilstein suspension, they were incredible on the road. The performance was staggering for the time.
Since then, I have owned a later-model Legacy GT. The last of the EJ engines before the FA platform was introduced. That too was a brilliant vehicle. Less power than the GT-B, but it was single turbo, so the powerband was better. Again, Bilstein suspension, incredible road holding, and, still to this day, one of the nicest-looking Legacys ever produced.
Wanting more performance, I then owned several WRX STIs, old and new, before settling on the Spec C I drive today. And after more than 20 years of being a Subaru enthusiast, I am a little let down by the current offering. The sleek performance heavy-hitters are gone and they've been replaced by a vehicle with a very different brief. Yes, the Levorg was good, but it never came with a manual.
The Outback has always been a solid New Zealand family vehicle. The BP-shape Outback is still, to this day, an enthusiast vehicle, with owners now lifting them and fitting off-road tyres. The 3000cc flat-six sounded incredible too. They were stout, reliable, and had the wagon looks with larger flares and taller suspension. The second-to-last Outback was a stunning car too.
So what happened? It seems that, in a bid to capture the outdoor enthusiast, Subaru has gone all-in on its rugged-looking design. Plastic black flares, as though they'd been stolen from a Kia Tasman, now appear on all four corners compared with the much sleeker previous design. The front is busy. The fuel flap is gigantic. The overall appearance, to me, feels weirdly old. So what's going on here?
It didn't make much sense until I got it out of the urban environment. The further I got away from parking lots, suburbs, and congested highways, the more the styling began to make sense. Especially in the Deep Emerald Pearl this press vehicle was painted in. It suited the forest environment to a tee. It also dawned on me that Subaru hasn't designed this Outback to look good parked outside a café. They've designed it to disappear into the background of places like this. It's a vehicle that looks at home covered in road grime, parked beside a trailhead, or sitting at the edge of a DOC campsite. The styling still isn't my favourite, but I began to understand why they've gone in this direction.
Road trip
There's no better way to get to know a vehicle than to shoehorn in a bunch of stuff, your family, food, snacks, and hit the road. We decided to make our way north to Whangārei Heads so I could see what the Outback was like on a variety of roads.
The FB25 engine in the AWD Touring is unfortunately very underwhelming, especially when fully loaded. I can't remember the last time I drove a new vehicle with such a low power and torque output. For a modern family vehicle of this size, I'd expect something much closer to the 200kW mark. They had more power in the early '90s and 2000s! With 137kW, passing uphill was not an easy task. Your foot has to be on the floor to make it past slower traffic at speed.
The Lineartronic CVT does what it can to keep the engine in its sweet spot, and around town it's smooth and unobtrusive. Push harder, however, and it behaves much like most CVTs, holding revs while the vehicle gradually builds speed. It's perfectly acceptable for everyday driving, but it never disguises the fact that the naturally aspirated engine is working hard.
It's also a pure combustion engine. No hybrid, no plug-in charging, no combined higher output. In an age where consumers are wanting plug-in or hybrid vehicles for economy and combined power output, a pure combustion engine seems like a bizarre choice for a family vehicle. I understand it with the turbocharged version, but the non-turbo 2.5-litre, to me, just shouldn't be in the line-up these days unless it was a hybrid of some description. That lack of performance becomes even harder to justify when it's not offset by exceptional fuel economy. With mixed driving, giving it a shoe-full every now and then, our journey up to Whangārei averaged around 8.2L/100km. In a hybrid vehicle with twice the power, you would be able to do that journey at around 5L/100km with more torque and power.
The in-cabin experience is where it's at with the Outback. The cabin is a seriously nice place to be. It's premium, with soft-touch materials and nothing it doesn't need. The screens are well laid out, easy to see, and the gauge cluster is easy to navigate. Controls such as X-Mode, cruise control, and the audio controls on the steering wheel are easy to understand. The Harman Kardon audio is a party piece.
Seriously, other manufacturers need to take a leaf out of Subaru's book with this audio system. Bass, glorious bass! The only audio system I've experienced in recent times that's better is the Defender OCTA's stereo, but that's in a vehicle worth more than $315,000.
There's plenty of space, too. Our family had no trouble fitting the usual assortment of bags, snacks, camera gear and baby equipment into the rear without playing a game of luggage Tetris. It's easy to see why so many Kiwi families continue to gravitate towards the Outback.
The driver monitoring needs serious work. This was the only real hindrance while driving the Outback. If you look down at the climate controls, the window switches, or any other function you're allowed to use while driving, the vehicle beeps at you and the gauge cluster displays a warning telling you to keep your eyes on the road. I found no easy way to turn this off. If you're in the market for one, talk to your dealer to see if it's possible. It takes away from the otherwise beautiful cabin experience.
On-road handling is exactly what I would expect from a manufacturer that has built handling-focused vehicles for decades. Combined with the low centre of gravity afforded by the horizontally opposed Boxer engine and Subaru's Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive system, it delivers a planted, predictable feel through fast sweeping corners. Considering its taller ride height, you wouldn't know it from behind the wheel. The only real movement you feel when it's pushed hard is the taller sidewall rolling over, but the chassis itself remains solid and reassuring, inspiring confidence on the kind of rough, cambered back roads New Zealand is full of.
Despite riding 220mm above the ground, the Outback never feels top-heavy. That extra clearance is enough to comfortably tackle gravel roads, uneven forestry tracks and the odd rutted campsite access road without worrying about scraping the underside. Coupled with X-Mode, which optimises the drivetrain and traction systems when conditions become slippery, there's genuine capability here beyond what most crossover SUVs are willing to offer.
I think my disappointment stemmed from expecting something quite different. I was hoping Subaru would continue refining the sleek wagon formula that made previous Outbacks and Legacys so appealing, while embracing the technology buyers now expect. Instead, the styling has become far more SUV-like, and beneath it sits a naturally aspirated engine that feels both underpowered and, in today's market, surprisingly inefficient. That's not what this vehicle is trying to be. The Outback has evolved alongside the market, leaving behind its performance-wagon roots in favour of becoming a genuinely capable adventure vehicle for families who spend their weekends exploring New Zealand.
Would I like to see Subaru pair this chassis with a hybrid system producing around 200kW? Absolutely. It would transform the driving experience without sacrificing the refinement that makes the Outback such an easy vehicle to live with. But even with the naturally aspirated 2.5-litre, the fundamentals remain. It's comfortable, confidence inspiring, beautifully put together and remarkably capable once the tarmac ends.
Perhaps that's the biggest compliment I can give the new Outback. It didn't win me over in the first five minutes, but by the end of the trip I understood exactly who Subaru had built it for. I may not be the target buyer anymore, but I can certainly understand why so many New Zealanders still will be.
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