Subaru Outback a neglected stepchild in desperate need of love

The South African new car market is quite a curious case. There are vehicles of questionable quality that sell like hot cakes. Then you get decent offerings that hardly sell under one badge, only to sell out when wearing another badge.

And then there are proper cars that just don’t sell. One such an example is the Subaru Outback. This “SUV wagon” as Subaru terms it, having evolved from starting out life as a station wagon like its Forester sibling, does not get any love from local buyers.

Since an updated version of the Outback was introduced in May, only 33 were sold in its first seven months. To put this into perspective, more Foresters (41) were sold in November alone.

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To be clear, this is by no fault of the product itself. The updated Subaru Outback is a very spacious, comfortable and an extremely safe car. The 2.5i-Field ES derivative we recently had on test also offers exceptional value for money at R699 000.

While we can’t tell you why the Outback Subaru is treated like the local motoring industry’s ugly stepchild, we can at least tell you why it shouldn’t be.

How much power?

The SUV wagon is powered a naturally aspirated 2.5-litre Boxer engine producing 138 kW of power at 5 8000 rpm and 245 Nm available between 3 400 and 4 600 rpm. While the mill has been a regular in the Subaru stable, the Japanese carmaker claims that this version consists of 90% new inner components.

The powerplant sends the twist to all four wheels via lightweight Lineartronic CVT. The CVT system has benefitted from an upgrade too – an 80% improvement according to Subaru.

A very nifty addition is the eight-speed manual mode which can be operated from paddles mounted at the back of the steering wheel.

While we are not fans of CVT, it is relatively well behaved in the Subaru Outback under normal acceleration. It contributes to a smooth drive and power delivery which is perfect for daily city driving.

Easy does it

Under harder acceleration the engine gets noisy and the transmission starts living up its CVT-billing in typical erratic style. This combination can be tolerated during overtaking, but what it does show is that Subaru Outback definitely is not meant for hard driving. Losing almost a fifth of power to the oxygen deprivation o the reef also doesn’t help its cause.

Trying to compensate for that might be why we only managed a fuel consumption number of 13.2-litre per 100 km, a far cry from Subaru’s claimed 7.2 L/100km on a combined cycle.

The Outback offers a choice of two driving modes, Normal and Sport, while X Mode also provides two settings for terrain or conditions with limited traction.

The Outback certainly looks ready to tackle the rough stuff. It has very good ground clearance of 213 mm with black cladding under the front bumper and around the fog lights continuing around the wheels, under the doors and onto the rear bumper.

C-shaped daytime running lights, black roof rails with green accents and 18-inch black and silver alloy wheels completes the exterior picture on the Field derivative.

Space galore

On the inside, there is no shortage of space. Leg and shoulder room has been increased courtesy of the new Outback being 50mm longer and 35 mm wider.

The cargo area floor has been widening by almost 50mm to offer very generous boot space of 522 litres. With the rear seats folded flat, volume is increased to 1 267-litres with access having been improved thanks to the tailgate electric motor being incorporated into the rear door’s struts.

Interior features include a new 11.6-inch portrait-oriented touchscreen infotainment system with Bluetooth and smartphone connectivity, a 12-speaker Harman/Kardon sound system with subwoofer, eight-way power-adjustable front seats with memory function, four USB ports, steering wheels heating and seat heating in the first and second row seats.

Safe as a house

Safety as is good as you can expect to find in a Subaru … and then some. Starting with a new Inner Collapsible Body Structure, standard safety equipment includes eight airbags and the Subaru Vehicle Dynamics Control, a suite of electronic safety aids that includes ABS, EBD, ESC and Active Torque Vectoring.

The EyeSight driver assistance system also comes standard and comprises of Adaptive Cruise Control, Automatic Pre-Collision Braking, Lane Departure, Sway Warning, Lane Keep Assist and Lead Vehicle Start Alert. But wait there’s more.

A suite of systems ensuring rear detection called Subaru Vision Assist also comes standard. It uses radar to assist in keeping track of vehicles and objects behind the vehicle and include Blind Spot Monitor, Lane Change Assist, Rear Cross Traffic Alert, Reverse Automatic Braking and EyeSight Assist Monitor.

Making its South African debut in a Subaru Outback is the DriverFocus Distraction Mitigation System. This comprises of a facial recognition camera that monitors the driver for signs of fatigue or distraction and then warns the driver.

This incredible system definitely works as only a few seconds after I looked over to my wife in the passenger seat showing me something, I was reprimanded by a warning in the instrument cluster.

Conclusion

The more we think about it, the more perplexed we are as to why the Subaru Outback does not get more love in South Africa. Maybe its achilles heel is our brand snobbery or brand loyalty. Or maybe it’s the station wagon-like design. But either way this car deserves mote love than it is getting.

It is a very solid offering that is comfortable, spacious, extremely safe and good value for money. Being a Subaru, it will probably last a very long time too. Just a pity so few buyers will ever know this.

The Subaru Outback is sold with a three year/75 000 km maintenance plan and a five year/150 000 km warranty.

For more information on the Subaru Outback, click here.