WRX power for Subaru Outback

Turbo power makes Subaru NZ’s SUV tougher in so many ways

The addition of the turbo engine from the WRX to Subaru New Zealand’s Outback SUV this year doesn’t just bring more power; it also improves towing capacity for the brand’s biggest-selling model.

A version of the 2.4-litre turbocharged four used in the latest WRX gives the Outback 2.4T a bump to 183kW/350Nm, a healthy increases of 45kW/105Nm over the 2.5-litre naturally aspirated engine used across the current line-up.

The 0-100km/h sprint is reduced by over two seconds, to 7.5 seconds.

But the extra grunt also brings extra towing capacity: up 400kg to a much more SUV-appropriate 2.4 tonnes.

No sign of the more off-road-oriented Outback Wilderness offered overseas, but NZ will get two turbo variants: the flagship Touring 2.4T and X 2.4T. Both have transmissions with revised gear/ differential ratios to suit the increased power and towing ability.

The new 2.4T Touring will help fill the role of the now-departed 3.6-litre sixcylinder Outback Touring, from the previous line-up.

The turbo engine doesn’t quite trump the old six’s 191kW, but Subaru NZ cheekily argues it’s the “most powerful Outback yet” by virtue of its increased towing. Well played.

There’s a firm no comment on pricing as yet, but the company says it hopes to have the 2.4T on sale for summer, with a target launch of December. The Current 2.5 X is $54,990, the Touring $59,990.

There’s extra financial pressure looming from the Government’s forthcoming Clean Car Standard (CCS) fees, to be introduced in January 2023.

Clean Car Discount fees already apply to car buyers on vehicles over 192g/km (the four-cylinder Outback is in that category), but the CCS brings further fines to car importers if they fail to meet “clean” CO2 averages — meaning those fines will inevitably be applied to retail prices.