Subaru Outback 2.0D SE review
by David Finlay (11 February 2011)
Although the L word is no longer used in its title, the Subaru Outback is exactly what it appears to be at a casual glance - a Legacy Tourer with greater than normal ride height to give it some extra ground clearance and, as a consequence, a bit more off-roadiness. Whether or not you like it therefore depends largely on your views of the Legacy. And whether or not you like the Legacy depends on what matters to you when you choose a car.
There are three engine/transmission options within the Outback range, and by far the most significant is the combination of Subaru's two-litre turbo diesel and a six-speed manual reviewed here. There's also a 2.5-litre petrol with a CVT automatic which Subaru is pleased to call Lineartronic, which you're probably not going to buy, and a 3.6 petrol with five-speed automatic, which you're definitely not going to buy. You're just not. Not when it costs around £36,000 and can't beat 30mpg on the combined fuel economy cycle.
No, it has to be the diesel. With a maximum output of 148bhp, much of which is absorbed by the standard-fit four-wheel drive system, it doesn't make the Outback fabulously quick, though a top speed of 120mph and a 0-62mph time of 9.7 seconds are respectable enough. The 2.5 Lineartronic can also reach 120mph but takes 10.4 seconds for the 0-62mph run, and of course it's deeply inferior to the diesel in terms of fuel economy and CO2 emissions.
The official economy figure is 44.1mpg, and this is where I would normally point out that the EU test isn't representative of what happens in the rear world and you needn't worry your pretty little head about matching that figure in real life. According to the trip computer, though, the Outback was reluctant to let more than 50 miles pass before consuming a gallon of diesel in my hands, and although I rarely pushed it hard I did do quite a number of miles in foul weather conditions, with stiff sidewinds and power-sapping puddles to deal with.
It's possible, I suppose, that the trip computer is a dirty rotten fibber. But even if it's optimistic by as much as 20%, which would be a matter of scandal, that would still mean that the Outback managed something in the region of 40mpg. And if you'd told me that it would do that before I started driving it, I would have been perfectly happy.
"That's as may be," you expostulate, "but I don't like diesels. They're too noisy. I shan't buy one."
Ah, but you see the Outback has that covered too. The starter motor makes a frightful racket - you might want to attend to that, Subaru, when you have a moment - but the engine itself is impressively quiet, even when cold. It's so quiet, in fact, that the characteristic thrumming noise of all flat-four engines, than which Subaru will have truck with nothing other, is almost entirely absent unless you're revving beyond about 3000rpm. And there's little need to do that, because there's enough low-range power to allow you dip as far as 1200rpm (well after other diesels would have given up and obliged you to change down a gear) and still accelerate away smartly.
I've managed to come this far without referring to the very best bit of the Outback, but I can't hold out any longer. It is, in my opinion, a simply fabulous car to drive for the same reasons that so many Subarus have been in the past: soft but beautifully damped suspension and the low centre of gravity created by its predominantly horizontal engine. The increased ride height means that it's not quite as good as the regular Legacy - it sometimes floats rather than points into a corner, and it has to be held on its line when buffeted by the sidewinds I mentioned earlier - but by most standards it's fantastic on tarmac, and it even rides better than the Legacy for reasons I suspect may have something to do with tyre choice.
I didn't have much opportunity to try it off-road apart from one run in each direction along a mile of unmetalled track. There isn't an estate car on the market that wouldn't be able to deal with this, but the Outback felt as if it could have done so at least 30mph faster than would seem wise in most of them.
If I owned an Outback myself I don't think I'd be any more adventurous, not because of any inherent problems but because Subaru supplies a tyre repair kit rather than a proper spare wheel. This policy - whose widespread use by so many other manufacturers does not make it any less fatheaded - is absurd on a car which would never be expected to venture away from tarmac, and all the more so on one which could conceivably be left stranded (because of wheel damage or a ripped sidewall, neither of which can be in the least overcome by a repair kit) miles away from civilisation in the middle of a forest.
Since I'm being critical anyway, this is probably the time to mention that the Outback's interior design is, to say the least, unadventurous, and Subaru's reference to "premium-quality feel" is just silly - the car doesn't feel at all premium for something costing £28,000.
On the other hand, there's a lot of room for front and rear passengers, and plenty of luggage space (526 litres when the rear seats are in place, 1677 litres when they're folded). The interior is also notable for the rear view camera, or rather for its monitor display, which gives as clear and wide-ranging a view as anything I've seen of its type.
The Outback is not beyond criticism, but if what matters to you is the same as what matters to me you're going to like it a lot. A final clincher is that Euro NCAP, Australian NCAP and the US Insurance Institute for Highway Safety all gave the Legacy their highest honours (five-star ratings in the first two cases, a Top Safety Pick in the third), and it seems reasonable to assume that the almost entirely identical Outback would perform just as well.
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