The only certainty in life is change. Ketchup is no longer purple, Skype is no longer online, and the Outback is no longer a wagon. Subaru has gone all-in on making the new seventh-generation model a crossover, and it’s safe to say that the internet wasn’t happy with this new styling direction.
However, if we look past the blockier, bulkier exterior, we can see that the new Outback rides on the same platform as the old one and uses the same engines, so does it really just keep what we already liked and add some quality of life improvements? I spent a week in one of the most affordable examples to find out.
[Full disclosure: Subaru Canada let me borrow this Outback for a week so long as I kept the shiny side up, returned it reasonably clean with a full tank of fuel, and reviewed it.]
The Basics
Engine: 2.5-liter naturally aspirated flat-four.
Transmission: Continuously variable transmission.
Drive: Full-time all-wheel-drive.
Output: 180 horsepower at 5,800 RPM, 178 lb.-ft. of torque at 3,700 RPM.
Fuel Economy: 25 MPG city, 31 MPG highway, 27 MPG combined (9.3 L/100km city, 7.5 L/100km highway, 8.5 L/100km combined).
Base Price: $36,445 including freight ($43,190 in Canada).
Price As-Tested: $38,715 including freight ($43,190 in Canada).
Why Does It Exist?
In the beginning, there was the Subaru Legacy, a midsize sedan and wagon competing against the Toyota Camry and Honda Accord. As a relatively cheap way of going after SUVs, Subaru lifted the Legacy wagon, threw on some cladding, and the Legacy Outback was born. Over the years, the Legacy Wagon faded away, but the Outback stayed, creating an implied missing-link scenario. Now there’s no more Legacy, and with the two-row crossover segment still going strong, this latest Outback basically sheds the last of its wagon roots in a gamble for greater appeal.
How Does It Look?
Look, aesthetics have rarely been the reason why people buy Subarus. There’s only ever been one pretty Subaru, and it was styled by Giugiaro. However, while the old Outback was proudly not like other two-row crossovers, the new one seems like it’s trying to sneak into the party. It’s more upright, blockier, and full of unusual elements. The weirdly jagged window line, those giant blisters atop the arches, the industrial roof rack that sadly does away with clever swivel-out crossbars. The end result looks a bit like a Ford Taurus X that’s been covered in glue and run through a plastic cladding factory. It definitely seems less SUV-like in person than it did in press photos, but you simply can’t call it a wagon anymore.
What About The Interior?
While the outside of the new Outback looks best in the dark, the cockpit is a different story altogether. Sure, the material consistency still isn’t quite perfect—the leatherette on the dashboard and the leatherette on the door cards have slightly different graining, for instance—but I can forgive all that because Subaru’s gone all-in on buttons. There’s a real bank of switches and knobs for the climate control, and a separate little climate control screen. The heated seats are controlled by buttons, the auto-hold and stability control are managed via buttons, and while there’s no more tuning knob, that’s a tradeoff I’m happy to make.
Beyond the dashboard, the new Outback’s as comfortable as your granddad’s armchair. Think a plush, yielding top layer of seat foam you sink into, accompanied by loads of space. The only thing to be careful with is the lumbar support, because it adjusts at a speed of Mach chicken. Cargo space is also abundant, although the cargo cover is a bit of a bother. It’s basically a sheet of fabric that zips up to become a hammock for small items. Handy if you need it, but I suspect it’ll mostly just be folded up and tucked into the cargo area’s side storage compartment. Oh, and while we’re on the subject of mild gripes, the armrests on the old Outback were plusher.
How Does It Drive?
It’s not often that a new generation of vehicle loses power compared to its predecessor, but the new Subaru Outback’s base 2.5-liter naturally aspirated flat-four comes in two ponies short of the old model’s standard motor, cranking out an underwhelming 180 horsepower. The tradeoff is two more lb.-ft. of torque at a peak some 700 RPM sooner. Hitched to a CVT, it’s remarkably quiet around town, but runs out of puff in a relative hurry. You often have to cane it to make real forward progress, and doing so tanks the fuel economy. The EPA combined rating is already an underwhelming 27 MPG, but I only saw 23 MPG. Sure, my tester was equipped with winter tires, but the rubber change alone doesn’t explain such a discrepancy.
Granted, there is a turbocharged option available for those who want to splash the cash, and the base car still gets a rock-solid structure and reasonably nice suspension tuning. Between the ground clearance and the sheer sidewall, there’s plenty of space and squish to bound over potholes and speed bumps without feeling jostled. It’s just a shame the steering on the old model was better. It weighted up beautifully with load in a way that the new car’s steering doesn’t. Still, outward visibility’s excellent, and the light steering calibration makes it a cinch to thread through underground parking garages.
Does It Have The Electronic Crap I Want?
Remember when a base model meant something? Well, this is pretty much the base Subaru Outback, and it genuinely has everything you need. Heated seats, a heated steering wheel, a power liftgate, smart key entry, a digital cluster, and a big infotainment screen, automatic climate control, auto up/down on every window switch, paddle shifters, a power leatherette driver’s seat, LED lamps, the works. Even the standard audio system is perfectly fine for the price. What isn’t so fine is how the Apple CarPlay experience in my tester was marred by periods of horrific unreliability. Sometimes it would work normally, sometimes it would crash and reboot every handful of minutes. It’s something that should’ve been figured out by now, and a blight on what is generally a slick infotainment system.
Compared to the old portrait-style screen, which took donkey’s years to boot and was completely illegible when the sun hit it, the new 12.1-inch touchscreen fires up quickly, works smoothly, and doesn’t wash out in direct sunlight. Even the menu structure makes a great deal of sense, with large tiles so you don’t fat-finger things. If Subaru were to bring the CarPlay connectivity up to an acceptable standard, this new infotainment system would be perfectly competitive against the systems in the Hyundai Santa Fe and Kia Sorento.
Three Things To Know About The 2026 Subaru Outback
- The cargo cover doubles as a hammock for small items.
- Buttons are back.
- The price of entry is much higher than on the old one.
Does The 2026 Subaru Outback Fulfil Its Purpose?
For the most part, the new Outback is still an Outback. It’s a reasonably sized, long two-row thing with all-wheel drive and enough ground clearance to make it to the hiking trailhead, even if there are some notable changes. As the level of standard equipment has risen, so has the base price. The big shock is that there’s no more true base model, which is why the new Outback looks thousands of dollars more expensive than the old one. Trim-to-trim, the most comparable outgoing equivalent to my $38,715 test car was last year’s $37,475 Outback Premium with the optional sunroof package. Adjusted for inflation, that’s only a $278 price delta, and that sort of money for loads more buttons doesn’t seem like a bad deal.
It’s worth noting that embracing the midsize crossover form factor does bring risk. The walk-in freezer-shaped Hyundai Santa Fe is more spacious, the Toyota Crown Signia is a compelling hybrid that’s priced close to a loaded Outback, and there’s even about to be some internal competition in the form of the electric Subaru Wilderness. The Outback used to be cool because it was a bit of an anachronism, the last mainstream station wagon alive in America. Now that it’s visually forgotten its roots, some things like a sub-190-horsepower base engine are a little bit harder to excuse in the name of character, even if it’s more refined overall than the old car.
What’s The Punctum Of The 2026 Subaru Outback?
While the fundamentals are essentially unchanged, this latest Outback is no longer the left-field option the model used to be.
Top graphic image: Thomas Hundal
I’ll never be able to un-see mis matched leatherette graining now!
Someone should make a Rolls-Royce Cullinan body kit for this, sort of like those Bentley kits for Dodges that were popular a few years ago.
That would be funny.
“aesthetics have rarely been the reason why people buy Subarus”
I don’t think that’s true. There’s a bunch of people who actually care about how things look, and either really don’t like what the current market has to offer, or want a car that telegraphs I don’t give a fuck about what my car looks like, yet for one reason or another need to drive a new car.
The number of architects, graphic designers, art dealers, set designers, and other creative types who drive Subarus is pretty noticeable.
They might talk about how much they would love to drive a vintage Citroen, or a 1970 country squire, but they need a car that shows up on time and isn’t as ugly as a Lexus
Is there a full sized spare at least? Back in the days when it was a jacked-up wagon, one of the shortcomings was that the spare well was designed for the Legacy sedan, which has smaller overall diameter tires. The Outback had to run compact spare. Not only that, your full sized tire will not fit into the spare well.
I believe I own a pretty Subaru: 2013 BRZ.
Know several Outback owners. It’s existence as a nice, lifted wagon is why they own them. They won’t want this boxy SUV version.
What are those grab handle looking things at the tops of the wheel arch cladding. And why so many seams in the cladding?
These are modern mysteries…
This is gonna kill their sales. Subaru owners want a wagon not an SUV, no matter how much it feels like a wagon. It needs to LOOK like a wagon.
Don’t know that it will kill their sales but it took me away from Subaru. I just replaced my 17 Outback (after having also owned and 05, 10 and 15) and because of this new model it wasnt with a fifth Outback. I like the wagon form factor. If I had to own an SUV it wasn’t going to be this terribly ugly one. Subaru lost me as a customer with this. Now a happy CX70 owner.
My question to Subaru is now, what’s the point of the Forester? These are basically the same vehicle now.
The Outback has significantly more cargo room than the Forester.
Now it does. They used to be virtually the same with the Forester just a a boxier shape. So, again did Subaru just make the Forester pointless? Unless you absolutely have to have a hybrid before the Outback gets a version.
The Forester at least has a hybrid version. It’s mind boggling that they would bring out a 2026 car with no hybrid option.
Agreed.
Ugh….still lookin’ ugly in my book. Sorry to hear they cant get their smartphone compatibility issues corrected. My wife’s 2019 gets no connection to our phones as it just keeps connecting and disconnecting. System updates apparently dont fix that. Even the built in GPS/maps will lead you astray.
never one problem on my forester
Neighbors have a new Silver one. The looks have grown on me, I think it looks fine in person. The Wilderness though, woof. Just way too overdone.
I’ll keep my Baja.
“There’s only ever been one pretty Subaru, and it was styled by Giugiaro.”
I owned a SVX. I was a pretty car and a great GT cruiser. Back then “sports cars” were rarely AWD. I always had to convince the winter chain control checkpoints that it was in fact AWD and did not require chains. Usually requiring them to finally notice it was a Subaru.
So you’re the one.
This is a 2026 Aztek on Toyobaru mechanicals. Apparently the Autopians love that so why all the complaining folks?
if the Hyundai ioniq 5 can be a crossover the Outback can be a wagon. fight me flame suit on!
My biggest problem with this car isn’t that it’s swelled into an SUV. Honestly having seen a few of them in person, I think it’s still at least more wagon than SUV.
My real problem is that, styling wise, this thing is a complete MESS.
Lines, angles and surfaces EVERYWHERE, and none of them are cohesive.
The front overhang appears to be longer than the rear. The taillights look like they were pulled from the 2026 Cherokee. For that matter, the headlights and running lights look like a squared off version of a 2014 Cherokee. The fender wells look like they were pulled from a GMC pickup, the wheels have a Kia look to them, and the upper edge of the doors have this upward curve that is almost invisible yet impossible to ignore. It’s so busy and unprortional to me, and it looks better in photos than in person.
Worst of all, I really think if someone photoshopped a 7 slot jeep grille on the front, it would look more like an old Cherokee than the new Cherokee.
I’m sure it’s a great car, as most subies are. But this one’s gonna take some time to get used to.
the vertical grille and square wheel wells are the biggest offenders but everyone complains about crossovers being blobby and “the same” so subaru does something a little different and people lose their damn minds. but subaru buyers don’t buy subaru for beauty they have ALWAYS been the most homely automobiles always.
I get that, and that’s a super valid point. Different is good, I LOVE different. But to me, it just comes across as really overdone here. A lot of manufacturers are going back to boxiness, because it looks tough, rugged, and it’s striking. There’s a reason70’s and 80s pickups, jeep cherokees, samurai’s and even Subarus late 80s models are so easy to look at. But I think these designers try to evoke that boxy tough look, but they seem to make a boxy face, and then boxy arches, and then boxy cladding, and then boxy windows, and then sharp lighting, but they stick it all in the dish without blending any of it together. And they forget to add that little dash of simplicity that allows any body style to become timeless.
There are a few that come to mind that have nailed this, Ford with thier bronco, Hyundai with their Santa Fe and Ioniq 5, most Recent Land rovers, the Ineos Grenadier, Mercedes by virtue of just not messing with the G wagon at all, the Honda Passport, the latest RAV4, the new Scout, even the little Slate! Perfect example of different and boxy done right. The key in all these cases is that everything kind of has its rightful place, every detail works together as a team.
2026 seems to be a “big shift” for car design. reminds me of 1996. it’s like this dramatic styling change that every brand made you can look at a 90s car and almost immediately tell if it was made before or after 1996 by the styling alone. some trends stayed like the 96 explorer every SUV looked similer to it eventually. other trends did NOT last like the Bubble ford Taurus it was polorizing and some cars had similar bubbles like the new beetle, and cars like infiniti j30 but bubble cars were quickly ditched. We are at the early stages of it right now , maybe everyone else makes similar designs to subaru and then subaru is just blending in again… Is the outback design a ford explorer design or is it a ford Taurus design?
Agreed. It’s not as bad as the Chevy Volt, but it’s headed in that direction.
Using today’s 0.73 CDN to USD conversion, Canada gets the as-tested car for the equivalent of $31.5K USD. Probably not all of that is tariffs, but a considerable amount of it is.
Though the cladding isn’t to my taste, I still think it looks like a wagon. Compared to the CR-V and RAV4, it’s a long roof.
“The end result looks a bit like a Ford Taurus X that’s been covered in glue and run through a plastic cladding factory.”
COTD.
“Transmission: Continuously variable transmission.”
So it is disposable garbage…
Nah. Its fine. really smooth and unobtrusive unless your putting in the boot and far better around town than DSG.
I would however ignore the sealed for life and get the CVT oil changed once in a while.
I looked up a Monroney label for the 2026 Outback and the EPA classifies it as SUVs cars.
Seriously. The label states: “SUVs cars range from 13 to 115 mpg. The best vehicle rates 146 mpge.”
The Monroney on the 2026 Trax states: “Small station wagons range from 21 to 52 mpg. The best vehicle rates 146 mpge.”
So at least the Trax is still considered a ‘small station wagon’. 🙂
The Outback has been classified as an SUV since 2010
Yeah, I get about 115-146 MPG w/ my Fuel Shark… it’s so awesome and I’m so impressed w/ it. I can’t believe how much gas I save!
“The EPA combined rating is already an underwhelming 27 MPG, but I only saw 23 MPG. Sure, my tester was equipped with winter tires, but the rubber change alone doesn’t explain such a discrepancy.”
Our 2023 GMC Envoy went from 16 mpg with all-season radial tires to around 11 mpg once I swapped those all-seasons for General Grabber XP winter tires.
Grippy tires can really suck down your mileage.
So can sub 5C temps. That will tank your mileage as well as the engine isn’t as efficient then.
No. Just no.
To me this is not the Outback. The Wilderness, aka e-Outback in Europe, aka Toyota BZ Wagon, is. I would argue that the EV drive fits it even better, harking back to the amazing smooth and quiet 6cyl boxer engines of the past generations – the 4cyl never fit the format.
Personally don’t care what it is classified as, since it is butt ugly. Have a 19 Outback we inherited. MIL had a 25 XT that she traded in, so I’m fairly familiar with Outbacks. Far as I can tell is that the interior is much better on the new one but the looks are polarizing. I think it’s ugly. My daughter just bought a new Forester and she said they tried to talk her into a new Outback. Her comment of “that’s ugly” just saw them shake their heads like they knew it was coming.
Fix the front end and give it a hybrid and it’ll be fine.
Fix the wheel arches too.
Agreed. Put off about the grille enough that I forgot about the awful wheel arches.
It still looks like a wagon to me. A taller wagon, but still a wagon.
And who the hell at Subaru thinks it’s a good idea to release a vehicle like this without a hybrid or plug-in hybrid powertrain option right out of the gate?
With the current powertrains, this new Outback will be unsellable in a lot of markets like the EU.
It’s not about whether Subaru thought it was a good idea, it’s about whether rich uncle Toyota thinks it’s a good idea. Because there’s no hybrid at all without Toyota.
The aggressive pivot to EVs several years has delayed the introduction of hybrid options so that Subaru has to wait its turn. Bestseller Forester has the option… the Outback is likely not far behind. And then possibly the Ascent, though that model could use the extra oomph of a plug-in system.
I wonder if this Outback is a US only model. The slapdash styling and interior tells me this is not a global model.
I was hopeful these things were better looking in person until I saw one, but YEESH! The Subaru Outback looks like a failed Lego design cobbled together from random video game NPC vehicle parts; an effect made worse by its gruesome dashboard. The only thing the Outback has going for it is it’s not as big as it appears in photos.