The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Subaruentersthemarketwitha new estate design
Subaru’s new estate may look familiar but the manufacturer has listened and a diesel automatic is now available
Subaru has pulled out all the stops with the latest Outback. Yes, this estate might look similar to the old car, but it’s a fresh design with a more amenable price tag, a better quality cabin and a great warranty.
The good news for British buyers is the fact that you can now buy a diesel version that’s paired with an automatic gearbox.
Mechanically, the big news with this version of the Outback is that Subaru has decided that it’s time to stop shooting itself in the foot with petrolonly engine ranges and diesel manual models that few folk ideally sought.
Instead, the brand plans now to deliver what customers want, namely the excellent boxer diesel engine paired with an automatic gearbox.
Well, when I say “automatic”, it’s strictly speaking a seven-step Lineartronic constantly variable transmission, but you get the idea. There’s no clutch pedal. The engine’s good for 150PS and if that’s not enough, you can still buy a 2.5-litre petrol with 165PS.
The changes to the Outback’s exterior look decidedly modest. Then you speak to the Subaru people and they tell you that the body is all new. Everything. You look at the vehicle again and wonder what possessed them to design and then retool for a complete set of panels that look virtually identical to the old ones.
The cabin, usually a Subaru achilles heel, is much improved. It’s far simpler looking than before with a more upmarket sheen.
The boot measures 512 litres to the tonneau cover, with 2,000 litres available when the seats are folded.
Prices start at around £28,000 for the 2.0D SE variant, which is very reasonable given that an entry level Volvo XC70 opens at over £34,000.
That buys you a manual Outback diesel: you do need to add £2,000 (which is quite an ask) for the Lineartronic box. The petrol model starts at around £28,500 with a Lineartronic transmission.
The difference between the entry SE and the SE Premium trim is £3,000 and we suspect that most will be content with the more affordable version.
After all, SE customers still get automatic LED headlamps and headlamp washers, cruise control, Active Torque Vectoring, 17-inch alloy wheels, heated front seats, electric ally adjustable driver’ s seat and privacy glass, as well as a 7.0-inch touchscreen infotainment system, incorporating satellite navigation, audio, smartphone connectivity and a rear view parking camera.
Go for a 2.0-litre diesel model and it’ll return 48mpg with a manual gearbox and 45mpg with the Lineartronic CVT. This translates to emissions figures of 145 and 159g/km respectively which isn’t bad at all. The 37mpg figure for the petrol model (161g/km) isn’t quite so clever.
Subaru has learned some harsh lessons in recent years. It has learned to listen to its customers. It’s been forced to react to markets that change quickly. It’s been taught a humbling lesson in global economics and has seen that clever engineering alone no longer sells cars.
All of these learning points have been incorporated into the latest Outback. Although few will realise quite how new this car is, it won’t take long behind the wheel for the penny to drop. With improved cabin quality, top-drawer safety systems, a practical body, the same rugged mechanicals and a diesel engine and CVT gearbox combination that’s just right for the British market, this one deserves to do well.