No pricing data available at this time. Our Opinion - 2025 Subaru Outback Review This is a mid-weight trail-hiker vehicle: the Subaru Outback. It feels good, is comfortable, and can get you over some very rough territory if you need to. This is true of many hybrids, but the Outback’s main job is to be a station wagon. Because of this, it has a calm and relaxed vibe that it has kept up for thirty years. The wagon shape not only gives you a lot of storage space and room for up to five people, but it also makes the ride and driving feel like a car. All-wheel drive is standard on the base engine, which is a four-cylinder with 182 horsepower and a continuously variable transmission (CVT). If a customer wants more speed, they could choose a 260-horsepower turbocharged four. Higher trim levels get closer to real luxury, the upholstery is better than normal, and the layout of the inside makes sense. The Outback is still a nice, easygoing car, but people who are used to full-on luxury names and their high prices might look at alternatives like the Volvo V60 Cross Country and the Audi A4 Allroad. The Outback still has a loyal following because it can do a lot of different things well. What's New? An 11.6-inch touchscreen with GPS, a heated steering wheel, driver attention tracking, and a motorized sunroof are some of the upgrades that come with the Limited level. The Subaru XT package adds a 2.4-liter turbocharged engine with 260 horsepower, making it more powerful. This engine can be added as an extra to the Limited model. Aside from that, a lot has stayed the same in the Outback over the years. Pros and Cons Pros Comfortable cruiser. Large inside. The AWD is normal. Cons Using touchscreens too much. It’s not at all like an SUV from the outside. The simple engine needs to be stronger. Engine, Transmission, and Performance The Outback has two engine options: a regular 2.5-liter engine with 182 hp and a turbocharged 2.4-liter engine with 260 hp. Each one comes with a continuously variable automatic transmission (CVT) that works with all four wheels. Subaru tried to make the CVT more like a regular automatic transmission, and for the most part, they were successful. This was done to get rid of the annoying engine drone. Despite this, the last Outback we tried with the stock engine couldn’t beat gravity. It moved slowly, and the gearbox didn’t respond to our input. While the turbocharged engine sped up and responded better, the transmission didn’t live up to promises. Will most of the people be worried? It is likely because they care less about how well the car rides and how well it can handle light off-road drive. Its all-wheel-drive system is helpful in bad weather, and its 8.7-inch ground clearance is more than enough to get it over worn-out two tracks and sometimes rough terrain. With its 9.5-inch clearance and skid plates, the tough-looking Wilderness version makes it even more capable. Plus, it has snow and mud drive modes so that it can handle different types of ground. Even though it can do more now, the Outback is still more of a car than an SUV that can eat up dirt roads. That means a smooth ride in town and on the highway, but nothing sporty. This may surprise rally-addicted WRX fans who are thinking about switching to the more useful wagon. Besides being useful, the wagon’s base engine can pull up to 2700 pounds, and the turbocharged type can pull up to 3500 pounds. Safety EyeSight is a set of driving assistance technologies that come standard on all Outback models. Visit the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) webpages to learn more about the Outback’s crash test scores. Some important safety factors are: Self-adjusting emergency brakes and forward crash warnings. Normal adaptive speed control that helps you stay in your lane. Blind-spot and back-cross-traffic alarms are optional. Internal and External Cargo Capacity The Outback and Legacy sedans both have a basic plan for the passenger area made of high-quality but standard materials. Even though the area isn’t very appealing, it’s very useful, and people in the front seats have surprisingly much head and armroom. The back seat is roomy and has 1.4 inches more legroom than the Outback from the previous model. The higher-end models in the series have heated front seats, a power-adjustable driver’s seat, dual-zone climate control, and a lot of USB ports. The base model, on the other hand, is simple and doesn’t have any of these features. If a buyer wants a little more comfort, they can add things like heated back seats, a front passenger seat that can be adjusted electronically, ventilated front seats, and a heated steering wheel. The way back trunk can hold 33 cubic feet of stuff. During our tests, it could hold 23 bags when the back seat was folded flat and 11 carry-on bags when it was standing up. The Legacy car could hold eight and 22 bags, respectively, in the same tests. Fuel Economy and Actual MPG The EPA said the Outback’s base engine would get 26 mpg in the city and 33 mpg on the highway. The turbocharged type gets only 23 mpg in the city and 30 mpg on the highway, which could be better. On our 200-mile highway test, both cars got 28 mpg, which is good. Infotainment and Connectivity The regular Outback has two 7.0-inch touchscreens that work well, but they look and feel old. The big, vertically-placed 11.6-inch touchscreen can be used if you upgrade to the Premium trim, which is what we suggest. The graphics aren’t as good as those of some competitors, but they’re still better than the dual-screen choice, and it’s easy to use. Subaru gets extra points for having real climate control buttons along with the volume and tuning knobs that turn around. You can choose not to have navigation, Apple CarPlay, or a Wi-Fi hotspot. However, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are standard. Standard on the Limited, Touring, and Onyx Edition trims is an Outback sound system with 12 speakers and 576 watts of power. Range, Charging, and Battery Life The 2022 Outback Wilderness we tried had a turbocharged four-cylinder engine that made 260 horsepower. It took 5.8 seconds to go from 0 to 60 mph. The stock 182-hp engine in our 2020 Outback Touring made the time much slower at 8.5 seconds. Price and How to Choose It now comes in nine different styles, but the Premium trim is still the best deal. The Outback’s standard 182-hp four-cylinder engine is good for speeding up and goes well with its laid-back attitude. A more powerful 260-hp engine is available, but we think buyers who want real performance or a high towing capacity would be better off looking elsewhere. The Outback Premium costs a little more than the base model, but it still comes with a good selection of features. That comes with the basic kit is a 4G LTE mobile hotspot, an 11.6-inch tablet, an all-weather package with heated front seats, motorized exterior mirrors, a windshield wiper deicer, a power-adjustable driver’s seat, USB-A and C ports in the front, and back, and a leather-wrapped steering wheel. Two choice packages can be used to improve the experience. Push-button start, a hands-free power tailgate, blind-spot recognition, and automatic emergency steering are all features of the first model. The other package has three features that help the driver. The second package is better than the first because it comes with GPS and a power sunroof.
