Vehicle Layout Front-engine, AWD, 5-pass, 4-door SUV Engine/Transmission 2.5 2.5L DOHC 16-valve flat-4/Cont variable auto XT 2.4L turbo DOHC
16-valve flat-4/Cont variable auto Curb Weight (F/R Dist) 2.5 3,752 lb (56/44%) XT 3,902 lb (57/43%) Wheelbase 108.1 in Length x Width x Height 191.3 x
73.0 x 63.9 in Energy Consumption, City/Hwy 2.5 130/102 kW-hr/100 miles XT 147/112 kW-hr/100 miles CO2 Emissions, Comb 2.5 0.67 lb/mile XT 0.75 lb/mileSPECS 2020 Subaru Outback (2.5) 2020 Subaru Outback XT
Base Price/As Tested $27,655/$36,500 $35,905/$37,750
Power (SAE net) 182 hp @ 5,800 rpm 260 hp @ 5,600 rpm
Torque (SAE net) 176 lb-ft @ 4,400 rpm 270 lb-ft @ 2,000 rpm
Accel, 0-60 mph 8.7 sec 6.1 sec
Quarter Mile 16.6 sec @ 86.1 mph 14.8 sec @ 95.0 mph
Braking, 60-0 mph 130 ft 132 ft
Lateral Acceleration 0.77 g (avg) 0.75 g (avg)
MT Figure Eight 28.4 sec @ 0.62 g (avg) 27.8 sec @ 0.65 g (avg)
EPA City/Hwy/Comb 26/33/29 mpg 23/30/26 mpgpowerful and fun sliding on the
sand. But the Outback’s base
2.5-liter non-turbo engine is,
simply put, gutless. Is it a deal
breaker? Not really.
Subaru knows its customers,
and the changes to the new
Outback play well with their
shopping criteria. The roof rack
carries over from the previous
generation but this time has holes
in the front and back to tie down
the straps; the crossbars can fold
away inside the rack itself, and
with rubber bottoms, they won’t
scratch the paint on the roof.
The Onyx edition gets vegan
water-repellent seats made
from recycled materials. With a
blacked-out grille and black rims,
the Onyx carries a more rugged
look and further serves those who
want something different.
As a brand that focuses on
value, Subaru does not disap-
point here. Whether you’re opting
for the naturally aspirated engine
or the turbo, the Outback delivers
good bang for your buck. “This
is a fantastic deal at $37,750;
nothing here comes close,” Loh
said. Evans called it “the bargain
of the century.”F
rom the outside, most folks
won’t know the 2020 Subaru
Outback has been rede-
signed. But beauty is on the inside
of this rugged lifted wagon.
The Outback is a favorite for
those who enjoy the outdoors.
Although it has never been distin-
guished as a powerful model,
those who want more power can
get an optional turbo-four engine
for the first time. The Outback
played well against our SUVOTY
criteria, showing good cards for
value, safety, efficiency, and
(perhaps most important) perfor-
mance of intended function.
The new chassis and suspen-
sion refinement stood out for
almost every judge. “I’m not
exaggerating when I say that I
literally didn’t feel the bumps on
broken pavement,” Seabaugh
said. Naturally, the Outback also
showed excellent skills in deep
sand and scrabbly dirt. With high
ground clearance and standard
AWD, the Outback didn’t have
any trouble on the articulation
tests or climbing up and over a
steep dirt hill.
With its 2.4-liter turbo engine,
the new Onyx edition felt moreOn the safety front, the
Subaru is well positioned. With
its EyeSight safety technologies
suite, the Outback remained
centered on its lane and main-
tained a close distance to the
vehicle in front to prevent those
annoying folks from cutting you
off. The system was also pretty
easy to use and clearly displays
what it’s seeing on the infotain-
ment screen.
But some of us were bothered
by the driver attention technol-
ogies, particularly the frantic
alerts for seemingly random
occurrences of driver inatten-
tion, lane keeping, smart cruise,
or emergency braking warning
systems. A couple times, the
smart cruise control system
simply checked out, not warning
of stopped traffic ahead.
Although the 2020 Outback
hasn’t been tested by the IIHS
at the time of this writing, the
previous generation won the
agency’s top award, setting a
clear path for the new model.
One big drawback is the lack
of any sort of advancement in
design, Tom Gale noted. Park
a 2019 Outback next to a 2020model, and you’ll need to look
closely to spot the differences.
Another complaint: Despite
an 11.0-inch infotainment screen
that rivals the size of Tesla’s, its
user interface is complicated
and unintuitive. The window for
Apple CarPlay appears too small
given the screen’s orientation,
and some of the soft buttons for
the HVAC controls are miniature—
some judges pressed the AC on/
of f button when they were tr ying
to increase the fan speed.
We’re sure Outback customers
will enjoy this new generation,
but we’re hoping the midcycle
freshening in a couple years will
address some of its flaws.
Miguel CortinaXTPRO Modern interior • Luxury-like suspension • Great value CON Exterior unchanged • Unrefined turbo engine • Poor infotainment UXSUVOTY I Finalists
2020 Subaru Outback
Limited (2.5)JANUARY 2020 MOTORTREND.COM 35