Subaru Outback News

This is the list that's most fun to write but it’s sometimes hard to pick winners when you review as many cars as I do!This year has proven (once again) that the market is ruled by SUVs and Australia’s love affair with them isn’t slowing down any time soon. So, you may be surprised that only a few of them made the cut.Out of all of the cars I’ve been cruising in this year, these were my favourites (in no particular order).The LandCruiser got me good. There are enough old-school elements mixed in with premium tech and features to satisfy everyone (it has a CD/DVD player!). Rear passengers enjoy the same luxurious comforts as front rowers and you get one of the most practical shaped boots I’ve sampled. For adventuring families, it has great off-road and towing capabilities with effortless power and grunt. It also drives like a dream and is a comfortable road tripper. I love it and miss it.Station wagons are my favourite type of family-hauler. Technically this sits in the same category as a Toyota Prado (ahem) but it looks and behaves like a wagon. This is one of the smoothest driving experiences you can have. It has AWD and the old-school elements are seamlessly blended with easy-to-use tech. High comfort for longer journeys and its only downside was being a bit thirsty.It hurt my soul to hand the keys back. The driving experience is finely tuned with great power delivery and on-road comfort. The sedan/wagon hybrid style took a little while to get used to, but the practicality was a big win for my little family of three. It could fit the hubby’s golf clubs, do a big grocery haul and carry all the junk my eight-year-old seems to accumulate over a week. The boosted sound experience on the engine is one you simply have to hear once in your life.The Touareg is a great looking family SUV that caters to everyone with comfort and tech. It’s smooth to drive with power that is promptly delivered. The on-road experience is also a lesson in refinement, which a few other European brands can take notes on. Efficiency and ongoing costs are also good – what’s not to like?It made the list last year and the updated model won my heart again. Just a solid all-rounder that delivers great on-road comfort, steers well, has decent power and good features for a base model. The hybrid efficiency is hard to question and it’s a smart-looking sedan thanks to the substantial facelift. Annoyingly, it is heavily associated with ride-share and taxis but I’d have one in a heartbeat.It’s only fair to include my eight-year-old's top-five cars, as he tests them with me and is very loud with his opinions on them.He loves the ambient lighting in Mercs and whooped with joy whenever I had to get up to speed. The engine sounded cool and there were enough comforts in the rear.He loved all of the features in the second and third rows, including cupholders that are well-positioned on the doors.He loves a good ute and the manly internal styling won him (and my husband) over. The tray was the winning feature and acted as a cubby house.His nickname for it was the Batmobile. That really sums up how much he liked it.

Despite the Outback being axed in its native Japan, Australian owners can rest easy knowing it is safe here in Australia. And better yet, a new generation models is in the works.

Subaru is bringing Outback sales to an end in Japan after 30 years of production but don’t worry, the niche lifted wagon remains safe in Australia.

It looks like the already swelling ranks of mid-size hybrid SUVs is set to expand even further with the emergence of a Subaru trademark for the name ‘e-Outback’ pointing to an upcoming electrified version of the evergreen Aussie family favourite.As reported by AutoGuide Subaru has registered the term e-Outback with the Japan Patent Office, a clear signal a new variant of the five-seat crossover wagon could be heading our way sooner rather than later.While it’s possible an e-Outback would follow the path already established by ‘e-Boxer’ mild-hybrid Subaru Crosstrek and Forester models it’s more likely the newcomer will adopt a full series-parallel hybrid powertrain as used so successfully in its corporate cousin, the Toyota RAV4 Hybrid.Toyota owns 20 per cent of Subaru (as well as smaller stakes in other Japanese carmakers like Isuzu, Mazda and Suzuki) and technology, even model sharing, is common between the two brands.Already, shared models like the Subaru Solterra / Toyota bZ4X BEV twins and the long-established BRZ / GR86 sports cars are in market here and Subaru is on the record saying future Subaru hybrids would start to adopt Toyota's drivetrain technology.Reports out of Japan point to an upgraded version of the Crosstrek small crossover using hybrid tech from the Toyota Corolla Cross could arrive before the end of this year with a revised Forester featuring a Toyota-sourced hybrid powertrain set for launch in Japan in Q2 2025.A complete move away from Subaru’s focus on horizontally-opposed ‘flat’ engines would be a marketing challenge and it’s likely the e-Outback will retain its boxer engine and adopt Toyota’s hybrid transaxle in place of the current CVT auto.Of course, another, less likely scenario is the e-Outback arrives as a pure battery-electric  vehicle, but conflict with the Solterra would seemingly rule that possibility out.Powered by a (138kW/245Nm) 2.5-litre naturally-aspirated four cylinder engine in its three lower grades and a (183kW/350Nm) 2.4-litre turbo four in top-spec XT trim the current Outback returns between 7.3 and 9.0L/100km on the combined (urban/extra-urban) fuel consumption cycle.By comparison, the RAV4, which dominates the medium SUV segment and is now offered in hybrid form only, boasts an official combined cycle figure of just 4.7L/100km.CarsGuide has contacted Subaru Australia for comment on the e-Outback’s potential for the local market and this story will be updated in line with any response. 

Subaru Australia has announced a special edition of its popular Outback lifted wagon. 

With production ending in 2025 after 36 influential years, the Subaru Liberty has had an impact, not just for the brand, its class, the market and, ultimately, even the wider world, but also in important and even culturally significant ways. Here, then, are the 10 major legacies left by the Subaru Australians know as Liberty.

Subaru is freshening up its Outback wagon and Forester SUV line-ups with two new special editions. The Outback Premium and Forester Luxury special editions are due to arrive in dealerships later this month.

Some carmakers have some very conspicuous gaps in their product portfolios. There’s no rhyme or reason why, and no consistency across brands. Just the glaring holes that would surely make their lives – and not to mention their associated dealers – happier if filled with the right models. Here are the main offenders.

No mid-life facelift just yet, the Outback soldier on with a few choice changes and $1K price bump.

Ever since the new-generation Ford Ranger ute and the related Everest SUV launched in Australia, the pair have been in hot demand.