Never mind the rough stuff, Outback is ready for new rivals

After more than two decades comfortably enjoying its own niche, the stalwart Outback off-road wagon faces renewed competition. Subaru has waved the styling wand over it and added gear.

The road ahead looks a little rocky for Subaru’s Outback. After more than two decades comfortably enjoying its own niche, the stalwart off-road wagon is facing renewed competition.

Volkswagen has its Alltrack versions of the Golf and Passat, Skoda has chimed in with its Octavia Scout and Holden will soon join the fray with the Commodore Tourer.

The formula is a simple one — a high-riding version of the station wagon your parents owned, with tougher tyres and some extra cladding to make it look a bit like an SUV.

It’s worked a treat for Subaru, the Outback outselling the Liberty it’s based on by five-to-one last year. The Liberty and Outback are getting a little long in the tooth, though, and are unlikely to be updated to Subaru’s excellent new global platform for a year or two.

Subaru Outback 3.6R: New grille, bumper and wheels and tweaks to suspension.

That has prompted Subaru to wave the styling wand over both cars and cram in some extra gear to keep them current.

The Outback gets a new nose, more safety tech, better infotainment, a tart-up in the cabin and some minor tweaks to the engine, transmission and suspension.

The new look includes a new grille and bumper design and wing mirrors designed to improve aerodynamics and reduce wind noise. Two new colours, a deep red and a green, have been added to the palette and the wheels have been changed across the range.

More expensive models get adaptive headlights that peer around corners and dim the high-beam to save oncoming traffic from glare.

Inside, Subaru has remodelled the centre touchscreen to look like a tablet, which complements the addition of Apple CarPlay/Android Auto smartphone mirroring. In another nod to the smartphone generation, two USB ports have been added for rear passengers. The infotainment will also hook up to Spotify, iHeartRadio and TuneIn.

The main focus of the update is safety. Images from new front-view and side-view monitors are displayed on the centre screen, improving vision at intersections and when parking.

Subaru has also improved the effectiveness of its driver assistance technology, adding lane keep assist with steering inputs and enhancing the existing pedestrian avoidance, adaptive cruise control and automated emergency braking.

The changes to the driving experience are minimal. The shock absorbers have been recalibrated for a smoother ride, while the steering has been tweaked for better feel when changing direction at higher speeds.

Engine and transmission changes are limited to the 2.5-litre engine and continuously variable transmission. Subaru says the changes make the CVT more responsive and the engine quieter yet more snappy.

Shifting via the paddles is claimed to be sharper and quicker and there’s an extra preset ratio. The 3.6-litre six-cylinder boxer engine is unchanged.

ON THE ROAD

The driving experience isn’t greatly changed from the previous model, although the new infotainment is easy to navigate and intuitive and the larger centre screen has an upmarket look. We drove the 3.6R Premium version, trimmed in cream leather and fitted with all the new safety gear.

Outback 3.6R: Revised suspension still can skip over corrugations.

For the price, the Outback’s ample driver assistance tech puts a lot of luxury cars to shame.

We’re still not convinced about the lane-keep assist, which steers you back into your lane if you drift on the highway. It operates only intermittently, which has the potential to lull you into a false sense of security.

The engine is no firecracker but does the job quietly and effectively, while the CVT is one of the better ones we’ve experienced. Fuel consumption isn’t great, though — we returned 13L/100km after a mix of city driving and secondary rural roads.

Despite the changes to the suspension, the Outback still tends to skip over corrugations and isn’t as effective as some in ironing out the wrinkles on rougher roads. Dare we say it, the new Impreza has a smoother ride.

VERDICT

3.5 stars

If you’re expecting a revolution from the previous model, you’ll be disappointed — but the Outback is still a competitive alternative to the current batch of larger SUVs. The cabin materials are top-notch, it has the latest tech and should be more capable off-road than most rivals.

WHAT’S NEW

Outback cabin: Larger infotainment screen.

PRICE Up by $400. Subaru has added equipment across the range, including Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

TECHNOLOGY The focus is on safety, with more driver assistance courtesy of more cameras to help with parking, changing lanes and freeway driving.

PERFORMANCE No changes to engine outputs but Subaru claims sharper responses from the CVT and small efficiency gains.

DRIVING Shock absorber settings have been revised to provide a better ride, while the steering has had a minor tweak to improve feel. Hard to feel any significant change but the Outback steers and grips better than most SUVs.

DESIGN There’s a new grille and bumper and the wing mirrors are slimmer for better aero performance and less noise. Inside, a larger infotainment screen lifts the appearance and there are two new paint colours.

SUBARU OUTBACK 3.6R PREMIUM

PRICE From $49,140

WARRANTY/SERVICE 3 years/unlimited km (OK), 6 months/12,500km, $2711 over 3 years (not cheap)

ENGINE 3.6-litre 6-cyl boxer, 191kW/350Nm (adequate)

SAFETY 5 stars, 7 airbags, auto emergency braking, lane-keep assist, blind spot monitor, cross traffic alert (excellent)

THIRST 9.9L/100km (thirsty)

SPARE Full-size alloy (excellent)

CARGO 512L/1801L (generous)