Subaru Outback vs Infiniti Q30
What's the difference?

Subaru Outback

$48,990 - $62,690

2026 price

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Infiniti Q30

—

2019 price

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Land Rover Discovery Sport

Mercedes-Benz EQ-Class

Mercedes-Benz G-Class

Mercedes-Benz G63

Mercedes-Benz GLA-Class

Mercedes-Benz GLB-Class

Mercedes-Benz GLC-Class

Mercedes-Benz GLE-Class

Mercedes-Benz GLS-Class

Mini Countryman

Mitsubishi ASX

Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross

Mitsubishi Outlander

Mitsubishi Pajero

Mitsubishi Pajero Sport

Summary

2026 Subaru Outback

2019 Infiniti Q30

By Marcus Craft

By Tom White

Safety Rating

Engine Type

Turbo 4, 2.4L

Turbo 4, 2.0L

Fuel Type

Premium Unleaded Petrol

Fuel Efficiency

9.7L/100km (combined)

6.3L/100km (combined)

Seating

Likes

Maintains Outback spirit
All-around drivability
Off-road capability

Concept car looks
Willing engine
Standard safety

Dislikes

Gold edging
Needs better all-terrain tyres
More off-road goodies would add to the appeal

Concept car practicality
Lacking multimedia
Priced in the big leagues

2026 Subaru Outback Summary

The Subaru Outback holds a special place in the hearts of adventurers everywhere. It’s long been regarded by its fans as a genuine mix of decent on-road manners, family-friendly practicality and sound off-road capability. Just right for light-duty off-roading.

Now, Subaru claims, it has made the Outback even better and a new off-road-focussed variant called the all-wheel-drive Wilderness now sits near the top of the line-up.

The Wilderness is equipped with a 2.4-litre turbo-petrol, four-cylinder, horizontally-opposed 'boxer' engine, 240mm of ground clearance, improved approach/departure angles and electronically controlled dampers.

But is this new Outback all it’s cracked up to be? Read on.

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2019 Infiniti Q30 Summary

Welcome to the future - where your Mercedes-Benz is a Nissan and your Nissan is a Mercedes-Benz.

Lost already? Let me catch you up. Infiniti is the premium arm of Nissan, in much the same way Lexus is the premium arm of Toyota, and the Q30 is Infiniti’s hatchback.

Thanks to the state of various global manufacturing alliances the Q30 is mechanically, largely a previous-generation Mercedes-Benz A-Class, with a similar arrangement seeing the new Mercedes-Benz X-Class ute comprised largely of Nissan Navara underpinnings.

Recently, the Q30 has had its range of variants trimmed from a confusing five down to two, and the one we’re testing here is the top-spec Sport.

Make sense? I hope so. The Q30 Sport joined me on an 800km trip along the east coast in the height of summer. So, can it make the most of its German/Japanese roots? Read on to find out.

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Deep dive comparison

2026 Subaru Outback 2019 Infiniti Q30

Verdict

If you’re a Subaru fan chances are the Wilderness will float your boat. It’s an appealing mix of on-road refinement and more than satisfactory capability on bush tracks.

The Wilderness engine-and-CVT combination helps to make this Subaru well refined and highly responsive on-road and it benefits from punchier low-rev output in off-road scenarios.

Subaru has made a habit of producing practical vehicles and this new addition to the upgraded Outback line-up doesn’t disappoint.

Does anyone need a Wilderness version of the Outback? Probably not. Will anyone want a Wilderness edition Outback? I reckon a lot of Outback fans would fall over themselves to get their hands on one of these.

Verdict

The Q30 Sport is a left-field choice in the premium hatch segment. For those who don’t care about badge equity and are looking for something different, the Q30 provides maybe 70 per cent the feel of its well-established competition while offering decent value courtesy of standard safety and spec inclusions.

The biggest letdown is how much better it could be with just a little extra in every department. Even in this top-spec the drive experience is a bit generic, and it’s missing an up-to-date multimedia experience limiting its appeal to a younger audience.

Even with its promising mixed heritage, the Q30 hardly feels more than the sum of its parts.

Subaru Outback vs Infiniti Q30 What's the difference?

Summary

Deep dive comparison

Verdict

Verdict

Subaru Outback vs Infiniti Q30
What's the difference?