The Subaru Outback offers more space and a renewed powertrain
The fifth generation of the Subaru Outback is now available and it offers sleeker styling, a more assertive grille and bigger wheels on the exterior.
According to a Subaru spokesperson, a key objective with the latest Outback was to move further upmarket in terms of material quality, but retain the Outback’s rugged nature and genuine on-road/off-road ability.
The newest Subaru Outback offers a renewed power-train with most road noise and rattlings cancelled out. The steering of the vehicle now reacts faster thanks to revised gearing, and crisper handling is a welcome by-product of a torsionally stiff body, which also has new shock absorbers, and revised suspension settings.
Subaru vehicles always hit the spot when it comes to safety. The Outback has achieved 5-star ratings for both Euro NCAP and ANCAP testing, and its body has been carefully resigned to place high tensile steel at critical points, further enhancing the crash structures. This has resulted in minimal increases in weight.
Space has been upgraded by moving the base of the windscreen forward by 50mm while the body is 20 mm wider than before. There’s more hip and shoulder room, and an increase in the distance between front and rear seats. Luggage space is up from 490 to 512 litres and there’s a generous 1 801 litres of utility space when the split rear seat is folded. And getting to the luggage compartment couldn’t be easier thanks to a powered tailgate.
Meeting the needs of the gadget generation has been high on the priority list, and there is a lidded pocket ahead of the shift lever, which contains 2 x USB, Aux and 12 Volt ports. Petrol-engined versions are equipped with 12-speaker Harmon Kardon audio.
The piéce de résistance is a new 6.2-inch touch screen with an interface reminiscent of smartphones and tablets; which acts as a command centre for functions such as audio, telephony, and vehicle-related settings and systems.
Pricing starts at R479 000 for the 2,5 litre version, which is powered by an uprated version of the 2.5-litre Boxer engine, now producing 129kW and 235Nm thanks to a number of internal and external changes. Fuel consumption has benefited hugely, with overall consumption plummeting to 7.7 litres per 100 km.
This is followed by a 2.0-litre turbodiesel – the only compression-ignition Boxer engine in the world – and priced at R529 000. While peak power and torque remain at 110kW and 350Nm respectively, the torque peak starts lower down and continues further up the rev range. Consumption has improved to 6.3 litres per 100 km.
The flagship of the range is the Outback 3.6R-S, with the smooth , 3.6-litre H6 engine under its aluminium bonnet. Power output of this lusty, free-revving powerplant is a heady 191kW, with torque of 350Nm. Despite these numbers, it requires just 9.9 litres per 100 km.