Four or six for new Outback?
Is the Outback 3.6R worth the premium over the four-cylinder version? David Linklater decides.
Iam old enough (and then some) to remember the excitement surrounding the first ‘‘boxer six’’ version of Subaru’s Outback crossover, back in the early-2000s. Yes, ‘‘crossover’’: we didn’t call them SUVs back then.
It wasn’t Subaru’s first flat-six: that had come in the SVX sports car over a decade before. But getting that number of horizontally opposed cylinders in the Outback was truly exciting stuff. More was better back in those days.
Subaru has always been synonymous with boxer engines of course, but an extra couple of liedown cylinders in the so-called H6 model added a touch of the exotic to the Outback. Shades of Porsche, even. Things have changed in the 15 years since. Wagons with high ride height are now the norm rather than groundbreaking. And downsizing is really the big thing. Case in point: Porsche now has a family-five-door option and it’s a crossover-SUV that’s available with a four-cylinder engine (the Macan).
So what to make of the new Subaru Outback 3.6R Premium? It’s still the flagship of the local range, but it’s not necessarily the aspirational choice. There’s a fourcylinder, 2.5-litre Outback in the same Premium specification level for $10,000 less.
Given that the six isn’t exactly flush with power (the new fourcylinder ZB Holden Commodore matches its 191kW/350Nm, for example) and it’s pretty hard to visually pick Outback-four from Outback-six, you have to wonder whether it’s worth the extra outlay.
For the record, the 3.6R offers 62kW/115Nm more than the 2.5i, gets to 100kmh 2.6 seconds faster and achieves 9.9 litres per 100km in the ADR Combined fuel consumption test, compared with 7.3l for the 2.5i. So you do get a considerable power/torque upgrade over the four-pot version and it is a lot faster – but you pay for it at the pumps. No surprises there.
Ten grand is a lot of extra money for something that’s not necessarily going to register with the neighbours. But what could swing the balance towards the 3.6R is the way it plays luxury car so well.
It doesn’t have a lot of extra luxury equipment per-se – at least not over the already-well-equipped 2.5i Premium. There’s slightly different interior trim (ivory to set off the black leather), a 12-speaker Harman Kardon audio system and silver roof rails (there’s one for the train-spotters). But as I said, both Premium models are pretty much loaded.
What makes the 3.6R an accomplished luxury car is the driving experience. The boxer-six was never a rorty sports-minded affair, even when it made its way into the Legacy sedan – it was and is an incredibly refined and smooth powerplant. Don’t come around here expecting a boxerburble: the six is muted and ensures unflustered progress for the Outback.
It certainly suits the Subaru Lineartronic Transmission (SLT) – that’s continuously variable to you and I – more than the four. SLT contains ‘‘gearless’’ flaring pretty well anyway, but the smoother-six keeps the teeth-gritting to an absolute minimum when you’re pressing on.
The 3.6R also gives you an extra drive mode over the 2.5i. Both models have pushbutton settings to choose between Intelligent (call it normal of comfort if you like) and Sport, but the six adds Sport#, bringing a bit more aggression into the car’s responses.
Not that you’ll be lining up for a track day: the Outback is still set up for comfort: the chassis is soft but telegraphs its movements well. It might roll, but it’s also nicely balanced.
It might not look it, but this 3.6R Premium is part of a facelifted Outback lineup just launched. There’s a revised grille and bumper, plus new door mirrors with 20mm-shorter stems and LED indicator lights.
The headlights now have integrated LED daytime running lights and Premium models have full-LED beams that adapt to steering angle. The DRLs are quite distinctive: they run in a continuous and distinctive C-shape around the outsideborder of the main headlamp units.
All Outbacks now have the thirdgeneration version of Subaru’s excellent EyeSight safety technology - as introduced on the latest XV. It now includes Lane Keep Assist. The pre-collision braking system recognises objects earlier and has been increased from a maximum speed of 30kmh to 50kmh. The adaptive cruise function is still one of the best on any vehicle, at any price.
The EyeSight camera has been upgraded and is now better at recognising low-contrast objects; the entire unit is mounted closer to the windscreen glass, with less overhang.
Inside, the Premium models have a larger eight-inch touchscreen and now offer Front View Monitor and Side View Monitor.
The former shows a view of the front of the car at up to 20kmh to assist in tight parking situations, while the latter displays the leftfront wheel area - also at up to 20kmh.
All Outbacks now offer phone projection for both Apple and Android. While that gives users access to phone-based sat-nav, it hasn’t stopped Subaru fitting the Premium models with embedded navigation as well - a new system powered by TomTom. It’s a bit mobile-phone-like in the way it works, showing ETA to home/work without the user having to input the address.
That’s all good in theory although the phone-projection in our car went AWOL for day: the CarPlay menu just froze, no touchscreen functionality or audio.
Did we try turning it off and turning it on again? Yes we did. Multiple reboots did nothing – but next day all was well. This is not a problem unique to Subaru; it’s becoming common in our experience as carmakers attempt to integrate Apple and Android into their infotainment systems. But it’s pretty frustrating.
So, four or six? If you look at it as a standalone luxury-SUV, the 3.6R is great value for money. If you look at it as a $10k step-up from the similar-specification 2.5i, it’s a little hard to justify – unless you really value that more relaxed power delivery and refinement.