Before I get started with this I should make it clear that many of my favourite cars are Subarus. The automotive division of Fuji Heavy Industries has been responsible for some frightful clunkers, but it has also produced several excellent high-performances Imprezas, while at a lower level the old Impreza Sport and Forester S-Turbo still have places in my heart more than a decade after I last drove either of them.Okay, on with the show. The Outback tested here is a Legacy estate in fact if not in name, with a bit more ground clearance for extra off-road ability. There is just one trim level, and if you don't want a 148bhp two-litre diesel engine you're going to have buy another car because that's all that you can have in an Outback.The only choice you have, outside the options list, is between a six-speed manual gearbox and a CVT automatic with ratio holds called Lineartronic. The latter doesn't affect the straightline performance figures but adds £1500 to the cost and does some damage to the official fuel economy and CO2 figures.With Lineartronic, the Outback costs £31,495, and I dare say you would expect a certain refinement, a modicum of sophistication, a touch of class in return for paying that sort of money.The Outback has none of these things. The doors clang when you shut them - hell, they clang when you do nothing more than pull the handles. The mounting points for the rear number plate are so oddly placed that the plate shimmies like a belly dancer when you close the tailgate. The interior is furnished with incredibly cheap plastics, miserably inferior to those found in a twelve-year old Outback belonging to a friend of mine.In terms of perceived quality, the Outback in some ways lags behind an entry-level Dacia Duster, and you could buy three of those, and fly from Heathrow to Sydney and back three times, and still have change left over from £31,495.It's just not good enough. If Subaru wants to charge more than thirty grand for a car, it has to make it feel like it's worth more than thirty grand.To my dismay, the Outback isn't great to drive either, which is a shock considering how supremely good Subaru has been at this sort of thing in the past. There's a lot of body movement which isn't as well controlled as it has been in previous models, and the ride quality makes it feel as if the car is running on low-profile tyres even though it quite definitely isn't.However - and this is the point where Subaru and its fans may be relieved to note that the tide starts to turn in this review - it does corner pretty well, partly because the engine is in Subaru's usual "boxer" layout which provides a very low centre of gravity despite the increased ride height.That ride height certainly has its uses. I didn't do anything too adventurous with the Outback (it's not that kind of car) but I did arrive late in a hillclimb paddock and had to tackle some mildly awkward grassy banks to reach a parking space. In other estates this might have been a problem. In the Outback it was easy.The diesel engine is quite clattery from start-up but gradually fades into the sonic background. It's powerful enough for unhurried motoring, and although I'm inclined to believe my measured 46.1mpg more than the 50.1 claimed by the trip computer, I think even the lower figure is very good. Intriguingly, and very surprisingly, it's also better than the 44.8mpg the Outback achieves on the official EU test.Practicality is another plus point. Even though there's an axle taking up space under the luggage compartment the capacity is still 526 litres with the rear seats in place and 1677 when they're folded down. That's not so far off what you get in the Ford Mondeo estate, which is longer and isn't available with four-wheel drive.So, you see, there's actually quite a lot to be said in favour of the Outback. But oh Lordy, Subaru, please make it feel worth the amount you're charging for it. Engine 1998cc, 4 cylinders Power 148bhp Transmission CVT automatic Fuel/CO2 44.8mpg / 166g/km Acceleration 0-62mph: 9.7 seconds Top speed 121mph Price £31,495 Details correct at publication date
Our Rating
