Jayco Swan vs Subaru Outback

What's the difference?

The Jayco Swan Outback is a nice solid camper, packed with features and suited for most trips away.

Sure, it's not the roomiest or flashiest camper around and – you've been warned – it is definitely not up to hard-core 4WDing, but it does come from a company responsible for sharply priced units with plenty of flexibility regarding optional add-ons so that counts for a lot.

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.

Correct me if you reckon I'm wrong, but no camper-trailer from any company will ever be in the running for a 'Gorgeous Temporary Home' award. But that's part of this camper's appeal; it's highly practical and functional, not pretty and useless.

The forward bed is to the left as you step inside; the rear bed is to the right. Its kitchen is in front and to the right of the door as you enter the camper.

Interior height is a standard 2070mm and inside is spacious, but tempers will likely fray if all four adults and two kids are standing or sitting around inside at the same time. Hope for no rain.

The interior includes a four-burner stove, Dometic 95-litre fridge (Touring models get the 90-litre fridge), stainless-steel sink, dinette seat, table, club lounge, and the two beds plus the dinette-convertible bed.

If you can't find some places in which to stow away your gear in this Outback, then you're not looking hard enough.

The 'Ezi glide' pull-out drawers include room enough for your large pots, cutlery, kitchen gear and numerous other bits and pieces.

Interior lighting includes overhead LEDs for the dining/entertainment area and reading lights for the beds. There’s a fan for the beds.

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.

Jayco campers are easy to tow and the Swan Outback is no different. It towed steady and stable – no worries – behind our long-termer 2019 2.0-litre four-cylinder bi-turbo Ford Everest 4WD (157kW/500Nm).

We did decent stretches of highway, country back-road and gravel track, deeply rutted in places, with no strife.

The extra length (305mm) over its top-tier stablemates – Hawk and Eagle – was hardly noticeable and only took a little adjustment and increased vigilance when turning in between trees on pinched bush tracks.

With a 130kg towball weight, it feels marginally livelier than Hawk (145kg) and Eagle (150kg), but nothing drastic – again, as long as the driver pays attention there's no issue.

Visibility back along both sides and over the top is good without need for towing mirrors.

The single-axle Swan Outback has a hot dip galvanised 'Endurance' chassis on Jayco’s 'JTech' coil-spring suspension with a little extra ground clearance over road-focussed Touring models. (Note: Jayco’s Outback models are made for dirt tracks and gravel roads, not 4WD-only tracks. They are not built for hard-core off-roading.)

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.