Ford Bronco vs Subaru Outback

What's the difference?

In many respects the reasons the Bronco is not available to Australian buyers are clear and understandable - demand remains high in the US market and it’s unclear just how many Ford Australia could sell. A pessimist would point to the modest sales of the Jeep Wrangler but an optimist would point out the sales gap between the Ford Ranger and the Jeep Gladiator and ask why Ford doesn’t think it could out-sell its competition.

Having spent so much quality time with the Bronco it’s clear it would have some major appeal to Australian buyers. The strong sales of the Ranger and Everest, as well as the entire off-road SUV market - the likes of the Isuzu MU-X, Mitsubishi Pajero Sport, etc - it’s obvious we love a rugged, adventurous vehicle.

Ford’s strength in that area, with the Ranger/Everest combination, would seemingly strengthen the case for the Bronco to join its ‘T6’ siblings, but only time will tell.

Having spent an extended period behind the wheel I’m more convinced that the Bronco would find a strong market in Australia. Both with the off-road set and those who like a Land Rover Defender to take the kids to school. 

This is an SUV with capability and personality and that should be enough to make it a success in Australia. But for now, we need to play the waiting game…

Note: CarsGuide attended this event as a guest of the manufacturer, with travel, accommodation and meals provided.

Over 30 years and seven generations of Outback in Australia, the latest might just be the best.

It's great to drive, even better to sit in, very easy to live and willing to go further than most equivalent large SUVs at its price point.

The styling is definitely divisive, with purists unhappy that the long, crossover wagon silhouette is now gone, but what we have instead is a family-friendly vehicle that pleases on so many fronts.

We’d go as far as saying the latest Outback might be the most-rounded Subaru currently available, and great value to boot. And the base AWD is all the SUV most people will ever need.

That’s not bad for something this square!

Note: CarsGuide attended this event as a guest of the manufacturer, with travel, accommodation and meals provided.

While we don’t have a history with the Bronco in Australia, it’s an iconic model in the US that was introduced in the 1960s to compete with the likes of the Jeep CJ-5 and Toyota LandCruiser.

It evolved throughout the 1970s, ‘80s and into the ‘90s eventually becoming an F-150-based SUV before being discontinued in ‘96.

For this revived Bronco Ford has gone back to its roots, taking inspiration from the ‘60s and ‘70s but also creating a car that is also very much contemporary.

It’s a great example of using retro design elements without getting lost in nostalgia.

It’s also hugely functional, with a removable roof and doors, which is a popular feature in the US where it’s legal to drive without the doors in place, and has deliberately short front and rear overhangs for improved approach and departure angles.

The Heritage edition takes this a step further with its pumped out Sasquatch flared guards, which are both functional and add to the chunky look of the Bronco.

Notably, the Bronco does not feature a Ford ‘blue oval’ badge, instead it only uses the ‘F-O-R-D’ on the grille and the rest of the badges are the ‘bucking Bronco’ - an alternative take on the ‘striding Mustang’ logo used for the iconic pony car.

The interior of the Bronco is interesting, showing very little commonality with the Ranger and instead embracing its unique history and design language.

The Heritage version also pops with its Oxford White dashboard inset, complete with bright red ‘Bronco’ lettering in front of the passenger.

Historically, Subarus have majored on quirky. Kooky even.

Think buggy ‘60s 360, offbeat ‘70s 1400, spacey ‘80s Vortex, futuristic ‘90s SVX, Alfa-esque ‘00s pre-facelift Tribeca, dorky ‘10s Exiga. We’d go as far as saying that, in over 50 years, only a handful of Subarus have looked normal. And they’ve all been boring. The beautiful ones, like the original Impreza and ’03 Liberty, remain stunning.

But quirkifying such an important family car in such a mainstream segment… that's risky. And we’re here for Subaru’s boldness. We just wish the details weren’t so heavy handed.

Longer, larger and wider than any prior version, the 2026 Outback shares its stretched platform architecture fundamentals with the latest Forester. That’s a sound basis. Just Xeroxed up by about 15 per cent. Boxy shape. Deep glass. Wide doors. Form over function. This is designed to make life easier.

What you make of the Wilderness’ visual features, including the dramatic grille mask, SUBARU wording, painted trim surrounds and cladding-on-cladding (behold the Kia Tasman-like squared-off wheel arches if you dare) is down to personal taste. Eyes be damned! But it is so far-removed from the elegant grace of the previous model that some might argue a name change would at least have silenced the critics.

On the other hand, besides fugly being in Subaru’s DNA, a large, lofty SUV is probably truer to the term ‘outback’ than on any elegant and gracefully-silhouetted crossover wagon.

Meanwhile, the polar opposite is true inside. It’s as if the interior designers strove for class and calm, with none of the exterior styling’s visual noise, or shouting in the Wilderness’ case. And there is the luxury of space, vision and scope, further enhancing the Outback’s usefulness. That you can’t see the body, just the beautiful cabin’s detailing, elevates this Subaru. Unlike in the previous model, which was a bit of an aesthetic and functional mess inside.

The Bronco is a big vehicle so you do need to climb up into it, but Ford has considered that and integrated handles into the side of the dashboard to help you in.

That’s just one of several small but thoughtful touches around the cabin that show the company has been very considered in designing the Bronco.

The option to have either removable soft- or hard-top is another one of those design touches that show Ford was determined to ensure the Bronco appealed to a broad market of buyers.

It does mean some peculiarities, though, such as the window and mirror controls being on the centre console, instead of the doors.

It also cuts down on small item storage space, as the doors only have small netted areas rather than any meaningful space.

In fact, small item storage is limited to just two cupholders and two small areas up front and in the car there are no cupholders at all in the rear.

Instead, rear passengers are left with the small nets in the doors and nothing else. However, rear passengers do get a USB and power outlet which will no doubt come in handy for owners.

Back in the front the instrument display combines an analogue speedo with a small digital screen that displays the rest of the information.

It’s not a particularly clear layout, with a vertical rev counter next to several other readouts making it tricky to glance at on the move, and unfortunately it cannot be changed like some other digital displays.

The 8.0-inch media screen is a good size and offers Ford’s intuitive SYNC 4 operating system, which is a plus.

In terms of space the Bronco offers reasonable interior room, albeit less than you might expect when you look at how big it is outside.

The front seats are comfortable and offer good visibility of the road ahead, while the rear offers adequate legroom and generous headroom thanks to the tall and squared-off roofline.

The boot measures a very healthy 1008 litres according to Ford, which seems generous based on our real world experience.

It certainly coped well, accommodating several large suitcases and smaller bags, though, so it doesn’t lack for luggage capacity even if its on-paper claim may be grandiose.

Obviously there’s the full-size spare mounted on the rear tailgate in case you need it. The tailgate itself opens in two parts, with the lower half coming out to the side while the glass lifts up, which is necessary because of the removable roof (with the glass section coming off with the top).

Like all Subarus, Outback boasts an interior of very high-quality craftsmanship, being built beautifully, without rattles or noises or jarring trim.

The difference here is just how pleasingly practical and easy yet attractive this environment is, from the moment that wide-opening door opens and shuts with reassuring solidity.

The horizontal dash layout departs from the Tesla-aping portrait screen domination of the previous generation, banishing the confusing and annoying virtual controls for real, live buttons.

But is it original? The layered presentation is attractive and distinctively Toyota… err Subaru. Yes, it is very much like the bZ4X-based Solterra EV’s look inside.

That’s no bad thing from an ergonomic point of view. The driving position is flawless, the seat/wheel/controls relationship considered and the placement of the climate controls, audio system, armrest and storage just right. We’re also happy to see the instrumentation display incorporate various visual choices, including digital analogue-style dials.

A particular callout goes to the slick and speedy tactility of the brand’s latest touchscreen, as well as the (again suspiciously Toyota-like) interface and graphics layout. It’s all good.

But wait, there’s more. The Outback’s front seats are claimed to be particularly supportive, and after hours in them on and off road, they seem to exceed Subaru’s claims.

If you’re expecting regular mid-sized SUV levels of interior space, be prepared to be impressed, because the Outback’s extra sizing outside seems to be multiplied inside. There’s ample room for long legs, big hats, broad shoulders and buxom hips. It all works so well. This is probably one of the best modern SUV interiors, period. Nothing seems to have been overlooked.

The rear seat is presented to please, too. It can seem a bit drab in the lower-line models, but the same virtues of effortless entry/egress, seat comfort, convenience (including air vents, USB ports, cupholders and armrest placement) apply. We noted the lack of road/tyre noise intrusion at speed, too.

Behind the very sixties Jeep Wagoneer-looking rear is a vast luggage area, complete with a low floor, remote rear-seat folding handles, 12V outlet and quality trim. And that space-saver spare lives underneath.

Subaru seems to have designed this car from the inside out and it shows. A rare 10/10 from us.

Bad news first. Model-for-model, each Outback grade is now up around 10 per cent compared to the preceding, more petite and prettier version.

This means the cheapest of the five grades available, known simply as AWD (for all-wheel drive – this seems almost redundant for a non-BRZ Subaru), now kicks off from $48,990. All prices here are before on-road costs.

This includes a proper off-road mode, climate control, synthetic leather trim, a 12.1-inch multimedia touchscreen, 12.3-inch electronic driver display, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, a powered tailgate, heated front seats with powered driver’s side, chunky roof rails, 18-inch alloy wheels (with a space-saver spare – thank you, Subaru), nine airbags and comprehensive Advanced Driver Assist Systems (ADAS). Check out the safety section further down for more details.

Notes for the facelift, Subaru: Why can’t the base grade come with cloth, rather than clammy vinyl seats?

Next is the AWD Premium. From $53,490, that’s a reasonable ask given its 360-degree-view monitor, sunroof, heated steering wheel, powered front passenger seat and 12-speaker Harman Kardon audio upgrade.

The $56,990 AWD Touring includes Nappa leather, ventilated front seats, heated outboard rear seats, a wireless charger, active lane change, auto-fold mirrors with self-dipping in reverse (c’mon, this should be standard) and glossier alloys.

From here, we’re in new Wilderness territory. Two grades, AWD Wilderness from $59,690, adding more cladding upon cladding, a turbo engine, electronic dampers, 20mm extra ride height, broader 'X-Mode' off-road functionality, a wireless charger, claimed water-repellent seat trim, different fog lights, black-finish alloys and more.

But, strangely, you lose the sunroof, sat-nav, 360-degree view monitor and premium audio. Subaru demand another $3.0K to restore these in the flagship AWD Wilderness Apex from $62,690.

Still no cloth option, though. We’d like a new base AWD grade with the Wilderness mechanical gear and stance but not the extraneous cladding and visuals, and with coarse fabric upholstery, manual option and steel wheels. Maybe call it Leonie for fun.

Anyway, does new Outback represent value for money? One of its main rivals in the sparsely-populated five-seater large SUV class (most have three rows) is the Mazda CX-60. The AWD slots nicely between the slightly cheaper but very basic four-cylinder RWD Pure yet undercuts the much-sweeter six-cylinder AWD version, so we’d answer that with a yes.

Furthermore, when you tally up all that extra stuff, size and space, today’s out-stretched Outback offers comfortably more over the old model than that modest 10 per cent price hike suggests. That’s a win for buyers.

The Heritage edition is powered by Ford’s EcoBoost 2.3-litre four-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine and can be paired with a 10-speed automatic. 

However, our test car was equipped with a seven-speed manual gearbox, but not in the way you might think. Instead of seventh gear being an overdrive for highway cruising, the extra ratio is actually for extremely low-speed off-road use.

Known as the ‘Crawler’ gear Ford says it makes the Bronco ‘almost unstallable’ when you find yourself in a tricky spot.

Specifications for the engine aren’t quite as straightforward as you’d like, with Ford offering power and torque figures for US standard and premium grade fuels.

With the former the 2.3-litre makes 205kW/427Nm, while if you put better petrol in you’ll get 223kW/440Nm - so it will pay to spend a bit more at the pump.

Don’t worry, Subaru traditionalists. The Outback again offers a pair of horizontally-opposed 'boxer' four-cylinder engines.

The regular Outback versions are powered by a 2.5-litre twin-cam petrol unit making 137kW of power at 5800rpm and 254Nm of torque at 3700rpm.

Choosing the Wilderness switches things up to a 2.4-litre turbo version delivering 194kW at 5600rpm and 382Nm between 2000rpm and 3600rpm.

Both use a continuously variable transmission (CVT) with eight artificial ‘steps’ for a more torque-converter-like experience. Sadly, no manual gearbox is available.

Not surprisingly a large SUV powered by a relatively small, turbocharged petrol engine is not particularly fuel efficient.

The USA’s Environmental Protection Agency estimates the EcoBoost four-cylinder will use 11.7 litres per 100km on the combined urban/highway cycle.

That didn’t ring true in our real-world test, which did include long highway stretches as well as a lot of urban running around, with the car’s trip computer saying we’d used 13.6L/100km.

While that’s not particularly miserly, at least there’s a 64-litre fuel tank to provide a driving range of nearly 550km, so you can cover some distance.

Where the Outback regresses compared to its predecessor is efficiency.

Despite a modest 50kg weight rise, the substantially boxier shape is probably behind the jump in petrol consumption, rising nearly one litre per 100km compared to before in the Outback, and nearly 2.5L/100km, in the heavier Wilderness.

The combined average consumption figure for the 2.5-litre naturally aspirated engine is 8.1L/100km, for a carbon dioxide emissions rating of 183 grams per kilometre, while the 2.4-litre turbo manages 9.7L/100km and 228g/km.

Filling the 63L tank, expect an average range of about 777km in the former and just 648km in the latter. Surely, the coming hybrid version can’t arrive soon enough for some buyers.

At least both engines can drink from the standard 91 RON petrol bowser.

So much for the theory. Out in the real world, over a solid day's testing on- and off-road, we found there was a difference of about 1.5L/100km between the regular Outback and the Wilderness.

The Bronco is designed for off-road use, it isn’t a ‘soft-roader’ and has been created specifically for those who enjoy getting off the beaten path.

Ford claims an approach angle of 43.2 degrees, a breakover angle of 29.0 degrees and a departure angle of 37.2 degrees, plus 294mm of ground clearance and up to 850mm of water fording capability. 

We, unfortunately, didn’t get a chance to drive the Bronco that way, instead spending three days behind the wheel driving it through US cities, along highways and winding our way through some picturesque mountain roads.

But despite being out of its element, the Bronco felt perfectly at home.

The fundamental qualities of the ‘T6’ platform, that makes the Ranger such a capable and popular offering with Australian buyers, shines through with the Bronco, too.

It steers with accuracy and has nicely weighted steering, rather than feeling too heavy and slow as some off-roaders can.

The ride is comfortable, too, which isn’t too surprising as it rides on 17-inch alloy wheels with huge 35-inch tyre, with bumps soaked up with ease.

Ford’s drive select system has modes for on-road - 'Normal', 'Sport' and 'Eco' - as well as off-road - 'Mud/Ruts', 'Sand' and 'Rocky' - so you’re covered whatever you want to do.

As for the powertrain, the EcoBoost engine does an admirable job most of the time, feeling powerful enough around town to move this sizable SUV.

However, there are times it will struggle and labour, most obviously when needing to overtake or climb a hill. There were several instances when we found ourselves shifting down from sixth to fourth gear to keep momentum up.

Confession time. The way the previous Outback drove was profoundly disappointing. The steering felt numb, the ride was too stiff and the car seemed wilfully dull, even in the turbo version.

The contemporary Forester ran rings around it for driving pleasure and refinement.

But Outback number seven is completely different and maybe the best-driving non-WRX Subaru right now.

From the moment you climb on board this vast SUV from Japan, everything feels right – from the driving position and relationship with the controls, to the sumptuously comfy seats and commanding vision all around the vehicle. That’s a promising start.

Push the ignition and press the accelerator down, and the regular Outback 2.5 quietly, gently and smoothly moves off the line. With modest power outputs and a CVT, you might expect it to also sound revvy and droney, but instead the acceleration is strong and throttle responses determined.

We drove this for hundreds of kilometres and never found the performance lacking, even with three adults and their luggage on board, over hilly and even mountainous terrain. Yes, it is possible to have the CVT whining at higher revs, but not within normal driving scenarios. And the quietness and lack of road noise is terrific.

Moving to the Wilderness and its 2.4-litre turbo powertrain, the same applies, except of course mid-range response is significantly faster and with a slicker, more refined delivery. Press and squirt, this is deceptively quick, because the car does a great job in masking the noises and vibrations that working an SUV hard often elicit.

We only wish there was a manual option. With steel wheels, cloth seats and without the Wilderness' add-on gargoyles.

Now, it also seems that Subaru listened and learned from previous criticisms like ours, because the Outback’s newly-redesigned steering is a delight, with a natural, fluent sweetness and ease that’s combined with a pleasing connection with the driver.

The result is balanced, controlled and enjoyable handling, backed up by reassuringly stable road holding. We drove through a sudden, heavy thunderstorm near Bathurst on the first, hot summer afternoon’s test session, and found the Outback to feel impervious through such slippery conditions.

And this all largely applies to the Wilderness as well, though its 20mm-higher ground clearance (to 240mm) makes it feel a little less composed than the glued-down regular model. Both feature a stiffened body and multi-link rear suspension, by the way.

More progress has been made in the Subaru’s ride quality. Gone is the hard suspension feel, for a far-less firm set-up, providing a comfortable and queasy-free ride. Even in the loftier Wilderness. This is the model’s greatest advance over its predecessor and we’re extremely happy with the outcome.

Finally, other than the at-times over-eager driver-attention monitor, the ADAS tech provides subtle, nuanced back-up, with quiet lane-keep intervention, a measured adaptive cruise-control functionality and no jarring buzzes and warnings.

We also enjoyed a session taking both grades off road, to show off their 4WD prowess. The clearances are ample, the hill-descent tech effective and the ability to scramble over wet rocks impressive. The Wilderness especially may even live up to its name!

This is a difficult SUV to fault. The Outback’s breadth of capability on and off the beaten track give it an unusually wide bandwidth for what is a monocoque bodied family convenience. That there is so much sophistication and fun to be had as well make this so much better to drive and live with than the disappointing old version.

We can’t wait to get to know the latest Subaru better on more familiar roads.

There is no ANCAP crash-test rating at the time of publishing, but anything less than the full five stars will come as a scandalous shock from Subaru.

The Outback’s aforementioned ADAS tech runs to AEB front and rear, rear cross-traffic alert, blind-spot monitoring, emergency lane-keep assist, lane-departure warning/prevention, a pre-collision braking system, adaptive cruise control with full stop/go functionality across all grades. Also present are traffic-sign recognition and new acceleration override tech to help prevent collision. Nine airbags are fitted, while a front-centre airbag is new to the series.

No AEB performance parameter information has been released as yet for Australian models.

Finally, there are two outboard rear-seat ISOFIX child restraint points and two top tethers available.

These are questions for another time unfortunately, with Ford Australia still unlikely to add the Bronco to the range in the near future.

Subaru offers a five-year/unlimited kilometre warranty, and that also comes with 12 months of roadside assistance.

Now, that's pretty average nowadays, so nothing special, particularly when other SUV companies like Mitsubishi, Nissan and MG offer conditional 10-year warranties.

Service intervals are at 12 months or 15,000km for both engines. There is a capped-price servicing offer covering this timeframe. They are currently listed at approximately $350, $530, $405, $705 and $370 for an average of $472 per workshop visit.

There are 128 dealers or authorised Subaru service centres across Australia as of January 1, 2026.