If longevity is a measure of success, the Subaru Outback deserves to be on the Mount Rushmore of crossovers. Before the Honda CR-V, before the Toyota RAV4, before its Forester brother, the Outback staked a flag that flies so high, you could see it from Portland to, well, the other Portland. Since then, it’s become America’s favorite wagon, a mainstream model that’s defied the odds and continues to sell in relatively huge numbers. After spending two weeks in the 2025 Subaru Outback Touring XT, it’s easy to see why this raised, plastic-clad wagon keeps loyal fans coming back for more.
First, a little note. The Subaru Outback Touring XT is sold as the Premier XT in Canada, and that’s what we’re actually testing here. They’re pretty much identical, so think of the two as interchangeable. Anyway, on with the show!
[Full disclosure: Subaru Canada let me borrow this Outback for two weeks over Christmas so long as I returned it with a full tank of fuel, kept the shiny side up, and reviewed it.]
The Basics
As-tested price: $44,330 including freight ($50,574 Canadian).
Engine: 2.4-liter turbocharged 16-valve flat-four with direct injection.
Transmission: Continuously variable transmission.
Drive: All-wheel drive.
Output: 260 horsepower at 5,600 rpm, 277 lb.-ft. at 2,000 to 4,800 rpm.
Curb weight: 3,946 pounds (1,790 kilograms)
Fuel economy: 22 mpg city, 29 mpg highway, 25 mpg combined.
Body style: Soft-roady midsize wagon.
Why Does It Exist?
It’s hard to believe that it’s been three decades since Subaru first lifted a Legacy wagon, added cladding, and called it an Outback, but time has a habit of flying by like an Altima on temp tags. In an era when mainstream wagons still existed, SUVs were for people who actually went off-road, and the term “crossover” hadn’t been rigidly defined, the Legacy Outback was an instant hit. What do you do with a hit? You stick with it.
These days, the Subaru Outback is the OG of the midsize crossover scene, slowly adopting more SUV-like traits over the past decade while not forgetting where it came from. Considering it continues to be one of the best-selling vehicles in Subaru’s portfolio, it really makes you wonder why more automakers haven’t tried to copy it.
How Does It Look?
If you take a close look at the styling of the Subaru Outback Touring XT, you’ll find that it doesn’t take well to dissection. The grille’s a little too big, the unpainted plastic wings on the corners of the front bumper feel slightly out of place, and the wheel arch trims are oddly misshapen. However, zoom out a bit, and you’ll find the real aesthetic appeal of the Outback, namely that it still looks pretty much like a wagon.
Maybe there’s something ingrained in us about liking cars that look long and relatively low, but the fact that the Outback doesn’t look as upright as most other midsize crossovers gives it a certain elegance that allows it to get away with fiddly and odd details. Think of it like a Wellington boot — its visual appeal derives from its practical form, a focus on function that created an archetype.
How About The Inside?
Slide behind the wheel of the Outback Touring XT, and it feels like the designers paid more attention to detail than in some of Subaru’s less expensive models. For instance, the dash pad and gauge hood are one soft-touch plastic molding, the armrests are properly plush, and the door cards are less busy than the ones in a Crosstrek. If there’s one material miss here, it’s the slab of shiny black plastic around the shifter that was already scratched quite badly when I picked up my test car.
This tippy-top Outback trim largely makes its price tag known thanks to gorgeous brown Nappa leather that’s wonderfully smooth and has the right sort of coppery tint to it. You can also spec a black interior in America, but given how this brown lightens up the cabin, why would you? Complementing this, Subaru’s reupholstered the steering wheel in smooth-grain leather and that touch point alone genuinely feels worth the cost of the top trim. The steering wheel’s one thing you’re constantly touching every time you drive a car, so why not go for a nice one?
When it comes to comfort, the seats with adjustable thigh support for the driver are all-day comfortable, there’s loads of headroom and legroom on offer, and the cargo space is about the same size as a storage locker. The Outback offers a whopping 42 inches of cargo area length with the rear seats up, and with 43.3 inches of space between the rear wheel wells, you can fit a ton of stuff in the back without breaching the window line. Speaking of windows, visibility in this wagon-cum-crossover is what you’d expect from a 2000s car, not from a modern one. It’s almost panoramic, and a breath of fresh air in an age of often slim views out.
How Does It Drive?
Prod the starter button and it’ll soon be apparent that the star of the Outback XT’s driving experience is the 2.4-liter turbocharged flat-four. With a Kansas-sized torque plateau starting from 2,000 rpm and peak power coming in past 5,500 rpm, it makes this family-sized crossover quicker than you might expect. Sure, the addition of a turbocharged engine doesn’t suddenly transform the Outback into a sleeper, but with an eager pull to 60 mph, it feels close to the real-world straight-line pace of previous-generation entry level sports sedans. Just as importantly, this engine has character, from the imperious way it bursts into life to the signature secondary balance of a boxer-four layout.
The only transmission on offer in the Outback XT is a continuously variable transmission. Before you rush to complain, you should probably know that Subaru’s actually done well tuning this thing. The calibration engineers seem to understand that an accelerator pedal is really a torque request pedal, so when you request more torque from the turbocharged Outback, the CVT will quickly pick a ratio and get the job done. It’s quicker and more precise than most conventional automatics in the segment, and although prolonged wide-open-throttle will have the engine screaming at power peak, in most situations, the CVT’s remarkably pleasant.
Alright, so the powertrain’s pretty good, but what about ride and handling? While the steering hardly transmits any texture to the driver, it weights up beautifully as cornering forces rise, although I’d need to try the Outback on its factory all-season tires to confirm. It’s a bit feathery on-center though, so you might find yourself making little adjustments to maintain a straight heading. As you’d probably expect from something with plenty of sidewall and ample ground clearance for when you arrive home to find the snow plow’s dumped several inches of hard-packed white bullshit against the entrance to your driveway, the ride in the Outback XT is exceptionally good, rounding off bumps and ruts nicely without ever feeling floaty. Road noise is also beautifully subdued. It’s exactly what you’d want from a midsize crossover, so it’s easy to see why so many people get on with the Outback.
Does It Have The Electronic Crap I Want?
While the Subaru Outback Touring XT has plenty of gizmos, this probably isn’t the place you’ll find the newest tech in the segment. Subaru’s familiar 11.6-inch portrait-style touchscreen makes an appearance here, and unfortunately the familiar characteristic of the screen washing out in bright sunlight has also carried over. This infotainment system is far nicer to use than the infotainment system in the Honda Passport, but it’s not as slick or as quick to boot as the user interface in the Toyota Crown Signia. Still, Apple CarPlay works nicely and Android Auto is on deck. As for the Harman/Kardon sound system, it’s probably not an audiophile’s first choice. This 576-watt setup has plenty of power and bass, but it also definitely has flaws, such as the harsh, metallic nature of the treble and a coldness baked into bass reproduction.
When it comes to other toys, you get heated and ventilated front seats, heated rear seats, and a heated steering wheel, although it is annoying having to use the touchscreen to set the seat temperature. A front-facing camera is a nice touch for parallel parking, all four windows feature automatic up-and-down functions, and the power liftgate with adjustable height and a convenient tailgate-mounted lock button for the smart key system is well thought-out. It would be nice if the USB-C port below the touchscreen had brighter illumination, if the touchscreen could hold up to direct sunlight, and if a panoramic moonroof was available, but a lot of the core features buyers are looking for including a comprehensive advanced driver assistance system suite are here.
However, the fact that much of the tech feels a bit last-generation compared to the rest of the segment means it’s pleasantly simple. You still get real gauges, real volume and tuning knobs, a real button for the heated steering wheel, and a physical shifter instead of a fiddly electronic one. The Outback Touring XT might not have all the electronic crap you want, but it also doesn’t have a lot of electronic crap you don’t want, and that’s just as important.
Three Things To Know About The 2025 Subaru Outback Touring XT
- It has 8.7 inches of ground clearance, more than most crossovers.
- The turbocharged powertrain makes it surprisingly quick.
- Its steering is unexpectedly good.
Does It Fulfill Its Purpose?
The Subaru Outback Touring XT fulfills its purpose better than just about any other competitor. It’s hugely roomy, drives well, is well-equipped, certainly isn’t slow, and still offers competitive economy. Especially in the snow belt, raised wagons just make sense, and it’s easy to tell that Subaru has three decades of experience in this genre. I’ve tested a lot of crossovers over the past five years, and this is definitely one I’d want to take home. The Outback Touring XT is so fit for purpose, there’s no wonder customers are so loyal.
What’s The Punctum Of The 2025 Subaru Outback Touring XT?
The longest-running crossover nameplate on sale today is still the king of the midsizers.
Photo credits: Thomas Hundal
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1 thing that frys my azz. A 160 mph speedo? Taking up all that vital real estate !!!
OK, my test drive is well out of date, but Thomas managed to flag one of my biggest complaints about the Outback, getting it wrong (IMO).
Visibility? Are you kidding me? I test drove a 2019 model back when my daily was a 2005 Passat wagon. OK, that’s a greenhouse that nobody has matched in 15 years now, but still: the Subaru felt claustrophobic in comparison. Then, the same day, I test drove a 2019 Alltrack, and while visibility was distinctly worse than the Passat (RIP), it was like a convertible compared with the ‘Ru. I’ll take your word for it that there are lots of crossovers that are worse, but I doubt the Outback compares favorably with a 2015 car, let alone 2005.
Aside from the actual amount of glass, it was also a thoroughly unpleasant place to be, with aggressively chunky bits protruding into the cabin from every which way—I seem to recall the rearview mirror mounting being the size of a lunchbox—and nothing about it felt premium relative to a 15-yo wagon or a contemporary stretched Golf. I was open to the idea of switching brands (as was my wife), but I couldn’t get out of that vehicle fast enough. Yuck.
So this 2025 wagon gets worse fuel economy than my 2005 Forester, AND there’s coldness baked into the bass reproduction?!
1 Forester is not turbo.
2 Forester is 500 lb lighter
Exactly. It’s quite comparable to others in its class with similar size, power, etc.
Granted it’s a different vehicle now but back in 2014 I cross shopped the Outback and Forester and ultimately went with a CX-5, which I still have and love. The main reason? The whine of the CVT made me bonkers. In the Boston area, I know many friends with Subarus and none of them are “car people” and they don’t have the same issue witht he CVT that I do. It sounds as if it is still an issue for many, however…
“Unexpectedly good” steering doesn’t force me to “make small adjustments to keep a straight heading.” That’s about the most irritating thing any car can do, short of breaking down. Ninety percent of any ordinary car’s life is just rolling down some straightaway, so I want my car to know how to do that with my eyes shut.
It had black plastic cladding so you know it’s an off road vehicle.
They couldn’t even do ugly right, it came out more like an ungainly sad sack. And I say that as an outback dad.
With almost a year of ownership, here’s my take.
Pros:
Cons:
I’ve not left it well enough alone, but modifications are minimal:
Overall, the more I drive it the more I like it. Once you get used to a fair amount of gas pedal modulation, the turbo and CVT combination gets much more tolerable. The suspension is tight but still somehow smooth over less-than-great roads. Wind noise with the chunk roof rack isn’t bad at all. MPG in the city is disappointing, but highway is pretty good. 28 MPG at 80 MPH is good for something like the Outback and it can cruise at 80 MPH without too much drama for hours. The AWD in the snow lets you do things that make you smile.
I have a ‘22 (nearly the same, save for some cosmetic details). Would generally +1 this pro/con and add that the rubber floor mats – actually the carpeted ones too – have a cheap aftermarket feel. Given the OBW’s fit for purpose here in wet WA State, I’d have happily paid a bit more for something closer to WeatherTech quality.
The Subaru all weather floor mats are sad. I hear TuxMat are good. Weathertech are a solid choice. Had some Husky mats some time back and they were cheap quality, but I hear they are better now.
My Mercedes GLK, a blocky, stocky SUV with a 3.6 V6, can get that kind of MPGs on the open road. Why can’t Subaru beat this with a smaller four and a CVT? They remain the jack of all trades, masters of none.
There are a lot of factors that come into play. Engine efficiency at certain RPMs vs load. Drivetrain efficiency. Aerodynamics.
If I keep the speed at 60 MPH, the MPG goes up to 32. The OB isn’t the most high speed, low drag thing out there, so it’s sweet spot seems to be a lower end of the highway speed scale.
Any time a turbo engine gets to the point of producing boost, it’s fuel rate flow is not low. I think of a turbo as a device, added to what would be a low HP engine, to up the HP at the expense of MPG. If the engine isn’t producing boost, then it is acting like any other higher MPG engine.
I had a 2015 Subaru WRX that still got over 33 MPG at 80 MPH while staying off of boost. Granted it had good aerodynamic and a 6-speed manual. My V6 Accord did almost the same.
Some cars don’t make sense on the surface when looking at MPG. I had a 2000 Nissan Maxima that got horrible 25 MPG at 55 MPH. At 80 MPH is topped 30 MPG. I think it was due to some issue it had with engine timing because it dieseled at low RPMs and the transmission often tried to grenade itself.
Agreed. I do a lot of suburban driving and my OBW’s guess-o-meter tells me I’m getting 24 MPG, pretty poor. But on a recent long highway trip with sustained 70mph stretches, it showed 32 MPG. And that was with a roof rack and wearing winter tires.
The correct word to describe what the suspension does is DAMPING, not “dampening”.
If you’re going to pretend you know something, you need to at least get the basics correct.
Well excuse me. I guess my mistake on “DAMPING” invalidates everything I ever said and my personal experience with the product. Thanks for calling that out in a condescending way.
Signed,
Mr. Pretender
The know-it-all dickhead vibe is really great. Love the moderation. Keep it up!! Woot woot!!
We have a ’21 non-XT with 42k miles. Our infotainment unit’s been fine since day one and no annoying rattles so far…and no way would I trade the CVT for a conventional slushbox. I went into this purchase not wanting one, but now I think the CVT is the best type of transmission for a basic DD. It’s smooth, comfortable, and fuck I love not having jerky 4+ gear downshifts on the interstates like comparable multi-speeds.
Part way through the current generation, I think the Denso head units were updated to a new hardware version. Subaru has been updating the software for the earlier ones to the point that most of the issues have been resolved. Early and later units seem to be fairly good with the latest SW updates.
It’s just my opinion, but I think the turbo engine probably has the CVT making more adjustments than the non-turbo. It has to vary the ratios based on when the turbo is producing boost or not. I drove a Forester with the NA 2.5L and the CVT seemed to be more on top of things and overall there was less gas pedal modulation needed to maintain steady acceleration.
A CVT can be a nice option on some vehicles for some drivers. I think Subaru and Honda have the best CVTs out there from a drivability and reliability standpoint. Toyota isn’t bad either.
Didn’t realize that outback’s were $45k now…
Really? My 2016 3.6R had an MSRP of $41k. I hear there has been inflation also.
That’s the top-of-the-line trim…have you not shopped for vehicles in the past five years? Any competitor is around that price now.
[Full disclosure: Subaru Canada let me borrow this Outback for two weeks over Christmas so long as I returned it with a full tank of fuel, kept the shiny side up, and reviewed it.]
Are there ever any other requirements? I am waiting for the day that one of these disclaimers has some really off the wall requirement of ‘make sure its delivered back to some really random dealership on the side of a mountain because we won’t have a transporter in the area to pick it up.”
Or “even if you do crash it, please make sure you still give it back to us as we would like our car back.”
“Full disclosure: car manufacturer let me borrow this make and model for two weeks over Christmas so long as I returned it with a full tank of fuel, kept the shiny side up, Mad Libs-style insert other requirement here, and reviewed it.]
I consider the outback a wagon, primarily for religious reasons
The touchscreen has two modes of visibility: washed out from the light and reflecting sunlight back in your eyes. This is my chief complaint with my 2023 and it seems it hasn’t been improved. The angle of the screen is not steep enough, I think.
Our 2023 Forester still has the smaller touch screen and physical controls for HVAC and heated seats. It’s one of the reasons we chose it over a same year Outback.
Probably smart. I have a Legacy, actually, so the Forester wasn’t a cross-shop. I wanted more interior space and while the Legacy didn’t have a ton more than the Impreza, it felt like more space when I sat in it. But yeah, the lack of knobs and that awful touchscreen makes me wish I had held out for prices to come down to buy an Accord or Camry or something.
Would be nice if they filled the gap left by the Legacy with a longer Impreza wagon. Or if they replaced the Legacy sedan with the Legacy wagon (Levorg). A shame to have the Legacy gone and the Outback poised to ditch its wagon shape in favor of traditional SUV styling, but sign of the times.
Me too – got a 23 limited. I hate everything-thru-the-tv-screen. 23 forester has a CD player too. They dropped it mid way thru ’24 model year.
“22 mpg city, 29 mpg highway, 25 mpg combined.”
And for 2025, that kind of fuel economy is crap. For CAD$50,000, it should have a hybrid/e-CVT powertrain.
If I was in charge, there would be two versions of this… a manual transmission one and the ‘automatic’ which would be a hybrid.
They’re supposed to be bringing out a hybrid next generation. Which is pretty late for a company that sells so many vehicles to the crunchy granola types. A hybrid will certainly help justify those PZEV badges they’ve been wearing so long.
You should be in charge. In your scenario, the hybrid automatic would take away the only reason I don’t currently own a Subaru: the mechanical CVT.
I’m fine with eCVTs. For the vastly better mileage, even the way the engine feels like it’s connected to the wheels by an enormous rubber band instead of a direct connection doesn’t seem much of a trade-off. I’ve grown to actually like hearing the engine rev in response to power requests rather than just acceleration requests. A regular geared transmission even seems a bit crude now.
And I love manual transmissions enough to buy them, even if commuting in heavy traffic was my fate.
But the mechanical CVT has been a no-go, and will remain so. They’re decent enough, but I know too much about the engineering trade-offs involved to actually want one.
CVT moans are bearable if you have sufficient power. My Ford C-Max, with its eCVT, groans like a whipped ox when I floor it. In a few seconds I’m at the speed I want, so it’s no problem.
It doesn’t moan. It works fine. People just love to bitch about it, mostly ones who don’t own one.
That pretty sad. My partner has a 2019 Honda Pilot (a much larger vehicle with a 280 hp V6) that gets similar mileage. Is it the awd?
Need to consider that the OBW has 9.5″ of ground clearance, more aggressive all-terrain tires and lower gearing as well vs the standard Outbacks. All of that contributes to the lower MPG rating.
Give it literally any transmission other than a CVT and I’d be all over it as my eventual Dad Car….the wife is already starting to grumble about me needing a softer, bigger car in the future. This would be a good compromise if it had a transmission option that didn’t suck ass. Hell I’d suck up driving manual in DC traffic if they offered it.
I alluded to it below, but for years I’ve been convinced that at one point in Subie’s history, the following discussion occurred:
“We need 4-5 more mpgs to stay competitive. We can either move to a part-time AWD or we can put CVTs in everything.”
And the latter won the battle because it was easier, and because they could continue to brag about their core competency, which is all four wheels being driven all the time.
No shade intended, I just might have preferred the other choice.
They also more or less avoided hybridization for as long as they possibly could. Saddling everything with a hateful CVT was a great way to make their CAFE numbers better without having to add electrification. As you said, it seems to have worked out fine for them from a business perspective but it sure would be nice to have an option other than CVT in their wagons, because pretty much everything else about them is neat.
Yeah, I thought I might live with the CVT, but I drove an Outback XT a couple years ago and it felt like the transmission didn’t like letting the engine accelerate. Once it got going it was…fine. It had the power and acceleration, the transmission just didn’t deliver them in a way that felt good to me. Subie fans tell me the computer would have gotten used to me or that I needed to use the paddle shifters, but it just didn’t make me want to buy, especially when I could get better gas mileage elsewhere. What I wanted was the wagon form factor, but I settled for a RAV4.
Interestingly, I would later drive a used Ascent, and it didn’t feel as laggy, so the computer getting used to a driver may have some merit (or they tuned the CVT differently for the larger vehicle). Maybe I need to try driving one of these again.
Perhaps! I’ve only driven one Subaru with the CVT and it was a Forester my sister was looking at back in 2020. I thought the car had surprisingly decent inputs (granted this was back before I knew much about what’s considered “good” on that front) but it was wheezy and anemic when you put your foot down. The only other Subie I’ve ever driven was a manual Crosstrek and I found it to be a hateful little thing with absolutely no power, a coarse sounding engine, and a rubbery transmission with a vague clutch.
I honestly think I would’ve taken more power and lived with the CVT in that car over being forced into the base engine with the stick. It was a truly unpleasant shifting experience but some people love Subaru sticks and I’m not exactly a manual diehard so I may remember it to be worse than it actually was.
The CVTs on the Subaru is substantially improved a lot over the last few years. I only have manual cars but my employer has had a VW Golf and Skoda Yeti with the DSG which were awful to drive especially in traffic and were eventually traded on a base outback which is just really smooth and works extremely well unless you are hammering it (when it drones a bit).
This is 100% true. The CVT in Subarus made within the past handful of years is really quite good. It’s super smooth, very quiet, and always knows where it’s supposed to be. In day to day driving, it actually feels somewhat luxurious due to how smooth it is. I also drive manuals and own sports cars that I track and muscle cars. For daily driving, I love my 2023 Subaru w/CVT.
I didn’t realize that Outbacks are now so heavy. Almost 4000 lbs…
That’s light in 2025, unfortunately….
That would be a good article for this site: why are cars so heavy in 2025? I get EVs, and probably some safety standard stuff, but that doesn’t seem to account for an ICE car weighing this much.
Based on recent spy photos, the Outback’s lifted wagon days will soon be over, replaced with boxy Accent-like proportions best described as “Frankenstein’s Monster on wheels.” Outback fans used to the wagon profile are naturally outraged, but with the Legacy defunct, there’s no longer a mid-sized sedan/wagon platform for Subaru to use for the Outback.
The Legacy going away doesn’t take a platform away from the Outback.
This. The Outback isn’t built on the Legacy platform. The Outback and the Legacy are both built on the Subaru Global Platform. You can ditch one model without the other missing a beat.
I can’t understand the logic with the upcoming model. Subaru has a great-selling vehicle that is one of the few wagon-like cars on the market in the US, and they want to replace it with a slightly shrunken Ascent.
71-76 GM full-size wagons would like to have a word. When they’re done, the 68-77 A-body wagons are next.
Finally, an article for me
Test drove and liked the XT, but the wife couldn’t bear to give up the manual, so we got a GTI. I know, right?
The XT has a rubber isolator in the steering column. You can buy an aftermarket bracket that eliminates the isolation to give you steering feel at the cost of some vibes.
That and the tires lean towards the very touring/slightly off roadish. Easy to get them to squeal under full throttle.
Its a very comfy car for 4 people in a near luxury sort of way, but looking like you live off cliff bars and coconut water. If they still put a stick in it I’d have one right now.
Oh, and get the XT, not the 2.5. the 2.5 is a dog and they get similar mpg and both use 87 octane. And get it now before they screw it up on the redesign next year to more appeal to the “average American consumer”.
The Youtube channel Sarah-N-Tuned says you can manual swap in the gearbox from a WRX into that car. It’s the same engine, so she says it should be plug and play. I’m no wrencher, but that would solve the car’s biggest drawback.
Saw that video. Thing is i haven’t seen anyone do that. Not sure how messy the electronics would get
That was my take-away. I could have 100 more hp and get the same mpg’s I do pussy footing the NA engine? Sign me the fuck up.
All OBs have that rubber joint in the steering column; the Perrin steering damper lock is an easy-to-install fix.
I am pleasantly surprised at the fact that I managed to go throughout a whole Thomas’ Subaru article without having to chew through a mountain of oversweetened bombastic hyperboles. It’s almost as refreshing as seeing that there are still car brands that can design classic, beautiful, simple gauges.
I will still decry the CVT and am mildly shocked at the disappearance of the three-knob HVAC controls that Subaru was a defender of, but all in all – it’s fine.
Once again America’s hat is getting a steal of a deal.
At today’s exchange rate they are paying about $35K USD for this vehicle.
Which begs the question, has anyone here ever successfully imported a brand new Canadian vehicle and registered it in the US? I know there are paperwork hurdles and import duties and such, but at some point it has to become worth it when the MSRPs are so unbalanced.
I’d be curious, as a consumer, how would taxes work in this case. Would you end up paying both?
And I know there was a lot of noise the last time there was a significant pricing imbalance about not honoring warranties.
When you leave Canada as a US citizen you can request a refund of their VAT/sales tax.
I assume you’d pay US taxes either at the border or when registering?
The warranty thing seems to vary by manufacturer but in any case a 5 figure savings allows you to buy an extended warranty and still be ahead. Or worst case you just take the car back to Canada for manufacturer coverage.
Is the Outback built in Indiana like the Crosstreks are? If so, you’d have zero import duty and it would have the required EPA sticker on the engine.
To be 100% clear, I’m not looking at importing an Outback but this article gave me an opening to ask the question to the group.
The car I actually do want to import is also built in the US so hopefully would fall in the same boat.
I live in Canada, and I’ve known several people who have imported cars from here into the US. They all say that the best thing to do is find a good broker to handle the process for you — it’s worth the money, and you still come out ahead.
Built right here in Lafayette, Indiana.
The biggest hassle is trying to find a gas station in the US that sells by the litre to fill up when you need to. The navigation system should help by at least telling you how many French miles away there is one.
This is not a “crossover.” It’s a station wagon. A jacked-up wagon, but a wagon.
Agreed. Been saying for years as both a Crosstrek and Outback owner that they are cars, not crossovers.
As Wayne would have said in Letterkenny, “Crossover? Cross the f** off!”
It’s a truck for CAFE, and that’s all that matters in this world 🙂
The next Outback will definitely be a regular crossover. There’s no more Legacy model to base it on.
Anecdotally, there’s no need for a Legacy to keep the Outback assembly line running.
I do a double-take when I see a Legacy sedan (any gen). Sometimes I don’t even recognize it.
But not necessarily. The Crown Signia, despite not being actually related to the Crown (*in terms of body panels, obviously they are on the same platform), definitely feels a lot more ‘lifted wagon’ than the Venza crossover it replaces. I’m hoping we get a lot more longroofs in that regard and the ‘blob-shaped’ crossovers (ahem Blazer, Edge) can die for good.
It’s one of the closest things to a wagon available in the US, but the slope of the rear glass… To me, the back needs to be vertical to be a true wagon. Having had a V70 and Outback, the V70 was a wagon, the Outback is wagonish.
This is immensely better fuel economy than the WRX, I would think it’d be a fair trade to drop a couple hp to get those kinds of numbers.
But, honestly, while the base 2.5NA-H4 is perfectly cromulent, it’s a shame we’ve long lost the Forester XT with a 6MT & turbo4.
Until I get so old that I never beat on my cars I will never be comfortable with a cvt
Well, the 6MT one was only in Japan, anyway. But in a few years, they’ll be 25 years old, and you’ll be able to import one, if you want one with the steering wheel on the right!
You can get a 2004-2008 USDM with a 5MT.
Every Forester XT since 2009 has been automatic (09-13 had the 4EAT, and after that they all went CVT).
Before the CVT models, people were swapping 6MT transmissions from the STI into the models that came with 4EAT and 5MT, but it’s a pretty expensive and involved process, since you have to change out all the hubs and axles, and tune the ECU for it.
I’ve been looking for the 09-14 Forester XTs with a manual and now I see why there are none lol.. Wikipedia does not note that they did not come in manual.
The 4EAT is a pretty decent transmission in its own right and the later versions are an improvement over the early ones. The 09-13’s have a smart ECU that learns your shifting style and can feel almost peppy.
I have 2 FXT’s (’10, and ’11) – you can use the “sport” shifter to get a good amount of control, and there’s also a flappy paddle option (available only from Subaru of Japan, but worth the $300 shipped to get) that really wakes this transmission up. It’s an underrated car in my opinion.
Swapping in suspension stuff from the WRX/STi of that generation can transform the handling, too.
Can confirm the fun that can be had in an auto, older FXT. I bought my wife a 2010 FXT a few years ago, and it has been a joy to drive and own. Since she’s a stay-at-home mom, I steal it frequently to drive to work. Definitely not as much fun as my old STi with the 6-speed, but it’s a strong transmission, and lots of fun! Just make sure you find a well-sorted one. The EJ255 of that generation can be a bit problematic.
There’s a reason I have two from that generation!
One of them puked its ringlands at 205K. We’re currently making plans to get it back on the road, though – it’ll make a great first car for my 16 year old.
The best part about the FXT (especially 3rd gen ones) is that it flies under radar, in a couple of significant ways. First, unlike WRXs on the used market, it usually hasn’t been modified to hell ,and it’s not typically overpriced, and it can often be found with one owner, well-taken care of. Secondly, it just doesn’t attract the same kind of Imperial attention, if you get my drift.
At the end of the day, you have a WRX dressed like a grocery-getter, which is pretty dang entertaining.
Agree on all fronts! I’ve been a Subaru guy (brainwashed cult member) for over a decade now, and when my wife’s old Cobalt finally bit the dust, I jumped at my chance to get her into a proper awd car since we live in Chicagoland and can have pretty gnarly winters.
I’ve owned a couple turbo Subarus back in the day (04 STi & a 04 WRX wagon) and was actually looking at regular n/a Foresters and Outbacks for her at first. I wanted to get her something fairly cheap that I could buy in cash since she doesn’t drive much. After a week or two of searching, I came across her XT at a Subaru dealer in Miami Florida. Not only was this thing spotlessly clean, but it had a clean carfax full of maintenance done at that very Subaru dealer. It also was about a grand cheaper than all of the comparable Foresters that I had looked at around the Chicago vicinity (and didn’t have 13 winters worth of salt under it’s belt).
I flew down with my dad, and drove the car back, and it has been flawless ever since. I changed every single fluid from the coolant, the diffs, the atf, did the plugs, pulled the turbo oil line mesh screen out, and have done a bunch of little mods to it since then (projector retrofit in the headlights with new lenses, carplay radio, better speakers, and the stock wheels off my 23 Crosstrek)
Sitting at 165k, and hoping I can get it to 200 like yours! It definitely flies under the radar as well, especially in that boring newport blue pearl color hers came in!
Nice paragraph to preempt the “rabble rabble CVT…..rabble rabble too slow….rabble rabble unsafe because slow….rabble rabble.”
Seriously, comments sections for Subaru articles going back to the Old Site all quickly turn into a bunch of people either lamenting a WRX hatch/wagon (guilty as charged) or talking like anything with Subaru’s CVT is suddenly the equivalent to driving an Isetta on the freeway…..
I’ve now owned 3 generations of their CVT and the improvement has been very noticeable.
Please expand.
Are they still programming ‘shift points’ into them? I didn’t hate the cvt in a ‘14 Impreza—but still have my doubts about the longevity.
Initial acceleration has improved with each iteration. ’14 Impreza was super sluggish off the line (had to put into “manual” to make fast starts if merging from a stop. Was largely addressed with updates in my ’18 Crosstrek. ’24 Outback improves on the rolling acceleration with no noticeable concerns from dead stop.
And for the record, I’m largely not a fan of the CVT. Would prefer other options, but it is not as bad when you are using it for a daily driver as a lot of folks who think everything should be a sportscar say it is.
Thanks.
I’m no longer militant anti-cvt if they can last 100k plus with fluid changes. But I will keep a manual analog car as long as the old knees hold out
Yes, still has the stupid shift points. That’s my only beef with the CVT in our 2.5L ’21.
I have to admit the fake shift points infuriated me to an unreasonable degree when I drove my Dad’s Impreza. Like, ‘The whole shtick of a cvt is perfectly matching revs to power demand: what IS this heinous fuckery??’
Thankfully, time tends to mellow us.
To be fair, they’re only present during heavy acceleration, not normal driving…but that’s unfortunately the worst time for them to be present, power-wise. The base engine is NOT fast, so I need all the horsies!
The thing that started that rant with my father in the car was the flappy paddle shifters. (Eyeroll)
Now, also being fair, he read me the part in the manual that those were for downshifting for snow—and that it would hold the lower ratio up to a very high rpm.
-Important as they live on a steep ridge: one side is where I test our conditions in my snow-beater wrx
Lol! They do certainly come in handy, either in the snow or coasting down long grades.
What’s your opinion on everyone saying you need to change the CVT fluid every time there is a full moon? Got 100k on my Outback and she’s reliable as ever. Shifts from reverse to drive are getting a bit slow though.
Haven’t needed to go beyond standard maintenance so far, but just hitting 100k on my Crosstrek. Impreza didn’t make it that far thanks to Nebraska panhandle hail storms.
One of my closest friends is a Subaru dealer tech, and he’s told me that he recommends 60k changes in them, even though Subaru claims the fluid is lifetime rated. I plan on changing the fluid in my 23 Crosstrek at around that mileage just for peace of mind. This is my first CVT Subaru, so I had my concerns, but the more recent CVTs are supposedly vastly improved over their earlier iterations.
He’s seen 200k miles on multiple original CVTs without issue, which is reassuring. Just my $.02
The only Subaru with a CVT I would ever consider owning is a Justy. /s
I miss the station wagon version. Also, how is this very different from the new forester?
Outback is slightly larger than the Forester, despite the slightly lower roofline.
I wonder if not car people will be able to tell them apart.
They’ve been selling a ton of both and the Crosstrek for years with unclear segmentation between the 3, so I think they’re ok there….
I wouldn’t say it was unclear, there’s a good 7-8″ in length from one size to the next, so it becomes apparent pretty quickly. The pricing actually can overlap a lot, but that’s true of others like the Mazda CX-30/5/50 too.
It’s easily recognized that the Crosstrek is a compact and the other two are mid-sized.
The distinction between the Forester and Outback is indeed murky, but it can be explained that Forester = short in length but tall and Outback = short in height but long.
For example, the Forester’s packaging makes it better for driving in town and the Outback’s packaging makes it better for highway use.
Outback is much longer and lower roofed than the Forester.
This was #1 on my car shortlist before I discovered the new CR-V, to be honest. And for a long time. I’m coming from an AWD wagon, so it was a logical transition. But tbh, the excessive screen in the 2019+ models, plus the encroachment of cladding, and the move to a turbo 4 over the H6 (with very minimal changes in power or economy) weren’t really steps in the right direction. Also, lots of horror stories about Eyesight being one of the most intrusive safety suites really turned me off.
Those niggles aside, it’s still a great car for probably 80% of the entire population — if we turn a blind eye to fuel efficiency, at least. Hybridization has started to spoil people and Subaru has notoriously been behind the curve there. Their insistence on mechanical AWD ended up forcing them into CVTs as a stop-gap efficiency measure (and they’re not bad! Just a little odd). I wonder how long that will translate into sales.
Here, let me go ask my dogs. OK, it’s unanimous.
To be fair, the dog vote usually wins
Another reason dogs are smarter than humans: they actually like outward visibility.
I think the next model Outback with some Toyota backing and hybrid boxers are going to be a game changer. Now they need to bring back a small wagon based on the levorg.
Every once in a while I see the unicorn, the last non-Outback Legacy GT in the US (was it 2004?) and I still think that was Peak Subaru.