Subaru Outback 3.6 R review

by David Finlay (14 July 2011)

• 
• 
• 
• 

I like Subaru Outbacks, me, but there comes a time when even I am compelled to cry, "Stop! Enough is enough." That time is now. If you want an Outback, the only one worthy of your serious consideration is the two-litre diesel version which costs about the same as the 2.5-litre petrol model, is slightly quicker and will be much cheaper to run on account of its greatly superior fuel economy and CO2 emissions.

If you bought an Outback diesel I would congratulate you and wish you well. If you bought a 2.5 I would give you an odd look, shrug my shoulders and walk away. If you bought the 3.6 R I would lock you in a windowless room and call for the militia.

It's not that it's a bad car. On the contrary, I rather like it. It's much quicker than any other Outback (none of them can approach its 140mph top speed or 7.5-second 0-62mph time), its 256bhp six-cylinder 3.6-litre petrol engine is quiet when relaxed and pleasantly burbly when stressed, the five-speed automatic gearbox shifts smoothly from one ratio to another, and the handling is, as tends to be the way with Subarus, wonderful.

But holy crap, it costs nearly £8000 more than the second most expensive car in the range; combined fuel economy is 28.2mpg on the official EU test cycle, which means you probably won't beat 25mpg in real life, especially if you use any of the performance; and the 232g/km CO2 emissions (a figure beaten handsomely by some Porsche Cayennes) mean you'll be paying £445 a year in tax. And okay, if you can afford the car you can also afford to contribute £445 to the Exchequer each year, but still.

The extra performance isn't really useful, and ignoring any other considerations I would still go for the diesel if I had to use the Outback's off-road potential (which, for what is basically an estate with unusually generous ride height, is considerable).

If you can easily afford this car you may simply decide that you like it, disregard everything I've said and buy one. Fair enough. But in terms of value for money the 3.6 R is full of wrong, as we fashionable internet types say, and is comprehensively eclipsed by the far more sensible diesel.

• Subaru Reviews
• More Road Tests