Yes, Subaru is a softer brand than the gravel-chucking, all-wheel-drifting one it was, but if you're gonna get all teary-eyed about it then read no further.
My most recent brushes with Subaru's latest offerings haven't exactly been savoury ones; after 2009's launch event for the Legacy sedan and Outback wagon I was ready to sacrifice Subaru as a whole to the gods of cool cult brands gone wrong.
The two models, at the time of launch, were almost indescribably gutless and cushy. Very Toyota-like, in fact. Funny that...
Gutless and cushy. These two characteristics should go with Subaru, a brand once renowned for its World Rally dominance, like synthetic oil and distilled water. They shouldn't mix. Thus, I winced at the Subaru Outback test car that appeared in Motoring's basement parking for a week-long test.
OK, the test unit concerned was a newer version, now with a 3.6-litre boxer engine so it should have at least half of the problematic formula waxed, right? Well, sort of... Subaru's claiming a reasonably stout 190kW and 350Nm from its new flat six; while I have no doubt about its actual outputs I'm a little disappointed that it's all that could be squeezed out of those 3630cc.
Give that sort of capacity to another (German) brand to work with and I'm certain a whole herd more horses could get wrenched out.
But I'm not really complaining. The 3.6-litre Outback is night and day against its dozy 2.5-litre sibling and, even with a heavy load on board, pulled overtaking manoeuvres of which I wouldn't previously have dreamed. It's also surprisingly smooth and free-revving for a boxer engine which, as a four-cylinder, would exude a much more lumpy and raspy note and feel.
Subaru's stayed with its SI-Drive (not to be confused with BMW's iDrive) system that allows you to choose from three preset (Intelligent, Sport and Sport Sharp) throttle and gearbox sensitivity modes. Although I'd need thousands of kilometres and numerous fill-ups to really assess the respective fuel consumptions I averaged around 10.5 litres/100km over the test which included some flat-out acceleration runs.
FORESTER HAS IT COVERED
Funnily enough, the Outback's quickest acceleration (9.1sec to 100km/h and 16.7sec over the quarter-mile) were made with the supposed fuel-saving "intelligent" mode selected.
So the cushy part then... I'd have to use words such as soft, portly, plush and wallowy to descibe the new Outback's character and I'm on the verge of calling the Outback a pseudo SUV, given its sheer bulk. However Subaru's other model that's also performed an about-face recently - the Forester - has the SUV category covered.
Yet the Outback is indeed on the large side. It always feels that way from behind the wheel. I love big cars, so don't get me wrong. This Scooby's size is one of its strongest attributes. Pretty much every exterior dimension's been increased over the previous generation; a lot of extra space has been created inside as well.
Subaru says there's now 30mm more between the front seats and 68mm between front and rear. The boot is colossal and when I folded the back seats down to load supplies for a weekend of classic-car racing I struggled to fill the cavern with essentials such as spare tyres, petrol drums and tool boxes.
The cabin's also a happy place. Hectares of leather (standard on all models) give the Outback a very upmarket ambience and in general the interior hasthat well-engineered Japanese feel. Road and wind noise are minimal, even at speed, and that old motoring cliché about doors closing with a solid thwuck is also evident.
WORTH NOTING...
Too bad they've lost that Subaru trademark, frameless windows. That other signature feature - the sweeping speed and rev needles on start-up - is still there,but why, oh why, Subaru, have you put a useless litres/100km gauge (with no digits for reference) where an oil temperature gauge should be? Eish.
One last thing worth noting: the 3.6 Outback (and 2.5 GT Legacy) has a real torque-converter automatic five-speed auto gearbox. The 2.5 version has a choice of six-speed manual or continuously variable transmissions.
VERDICT
With Toyota's influence (Toyota, since 2005, is a part-owner of Subaru) prevalent at nearly every angle I wonder why they don't just badge it as one. Actually, this all-wheel drive plump-wagon would fill a nice gap in Toyota's range. Think of it like a slightly more luxurious Fortuner with lower ground clearance. And no, that's not a bad thing either.
For the Outback's R459 000, though, you could get a V6 4x4 Fortuner and have enough cash left over to fill it with motorsport essentials. - INL Motoring