The go-anywhere wagon has helped make Subaru a winner with the outdoors set
TheOutback has been amainstay model for Subaru for the past quarter century and it shows no signs of falling out of favor with wagon aficionados. The same can’t be said formodels from other automakers, however.
If for reasons of practicality and/ or nostalgia you long for a traditional wagon body style instead of a utility vehicle/crossover, your options are limited. Many wagons have long since departed, and those that remain are premium models such as the Audi A4 Allroad, the Mercedes-Benz E class and theVolvo V-series variants. You can include the BuickTourX wagon in this assemblage, but it disappears after the 2020 model year.
That makes the sixth-generation Subaru Outback the most affordable of the bunch. For the 2020 model year, the wagon receives a significant makeover that will no doubt add to its already strong appeal.
For starters, it and the related Subaru Legacy sedan are now built on the latest Subaru Global Platform, which is considerably more rigid for claimed improvements in ride and driving qualities. Subaru says the Outback and Legacy can also take more force in front-end collisions.
A number of the suspension components, including front and rear stabilizer bars and control arms, are now made of lighter and stronger materials.
The new design will no doubt be familiar to Outback-ers, given that it is only slightly changed from the previous generation. The black front and rear bumpers, side cladding and 8.7 inches of ground clearance confirm the wagon’s trail capability. Subaru says about 25 percent of Outbacks are used for off-roading.
The length has increased by about 1.5 inches, with nearly all of the gain going to increasing the rear-seat legroom. Width is up slightly, but there’s virtually no change in body height or in distance between the front and rear wheels.
Where change is readily apparent is the passenger compartment, specifically the dashboard where a dominating 11.6-inch tablet-sized touch-screen— standard in all but the base Outback— handles the communications, infotainment and climate functions. There are also convenient volume and tuning knobs for the audio system, and switches for adjusting the cabin temperature. Subaru is also sticking with a traditional transmission shift lever instead of adopting pushbuttons or a rotary dial.
The base Outback comes with a new 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine thatmakes 182 horsepower and 176 pound-feet of torque. That’s a bit more punch than the previous 2.5.
Optional is a turbocharged 2.4-liter four-cylinder producing 260 horses and 277 pound-feet. This engine, which originated with the larger Subaru Ascent, is also installed in the Legacy sedan.