More powerful Subaru Outback turbo on cards for Oz

The sixth-generation Subaru Outback has launched this week with only a single powertrain – an upgraded 2.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine.

But the Japanese brand has now revealed that it’s working on a case to bring a more powerful 2.4-litre turbocharged petrol engine to Australia to crown the new 2021 Subaru Outback range.

Local executives are also studying a new ‘Wilderness’ sub-brand to be launched soon by Subaru in North America, which is designed to meet demand from owners who’ve been calling for more off-road capability from Outback, Forester and other SUVs.

The arrival of the new 2021 Subaru Outback has seen the previous 2.0-litre turbo-diesel engine (110kW/350Nm) deleted – a move that eliminates diesel power from all Subaru models in Australia for good.

The previous 3.6-litre six-cylinder petrol engine (191kW/350Nm) has also not been carried through to the new generation.

That leaves only the 2.5-litre naturally-aspirated four-cylinder petrol engine (138kW/245Nm) to motivate the new Outback, and while Subaru executives are confident Aussie buyers will embrace the new model, general manager Blair Read has revealed to carsales that the US-market 2.4-litre turbo-four is in his sights.

This powertrain is a member of Subaru’s latest FA24 boxer family that is set to slot into a variety of models, including the incoming 2021 Subaru WRX and 2022 WRX STI, and in the Outback it generates 195kW/375Nm – considerably more than the 2.5 atmo.

Subaru’s local chief said there were “definitely options” for the 2.4-litre turbo to be deployed in Australia across all models built on the Subaru Global Platform, which underpins the new Outback as well as the current Forester, XV and Impreza (including the incoming WRX and STI).

“We’re working with the factory to determine where the best fits for market are, and we’ll review the different opportunities that that presents,” he said.

Asked specifically about its application with Outback, Read said: “There are a lot of calls for the 2.4 turbo and we’d be silly not to be reviewing that option for the future.

“We’re confident that [the 2.5 atmo] is going to meet the needs of our customers and the market. [But] we’ll review options and look to what’s available and what customers are after.

“If I’m honest, we look at anything and everything that’ll meet customer needs!”

Read said the 2.4 was not currently available to the Aussie market, but he made it clear that “we’re working on that”.

In a similar vein, he also confirmed there is no hybrid powertrain option for the new Outback – as there is for the Subaru Forester and XV – “at this point”.

Hinting that it’s a candidate for introduction during the sixth-generation model’s lifecycle, he said: “That [unavailability of hybrid] is an immediate proposition though.”

Subaru’s executives have also now confirmed that diesel is dead for the brand in Australia. On that point, national corporate affairs manager David Rowley said: “We believe so, yes.”

He added that “diesel has been on the wane in Outback for some time”.

As for the new ‘Wilderness’ sub-brand in North America, Read said he’d seen reports of the harder-core variant of the new Outback being prepared for launch, and that he was interested “in seeing whether it’s applicable for the Australian market”.

Announced to US dealers at the recent NADA show, Wilderness variants will bring measures such as higher ground clearance, off-road-oriented tyres and extra body protection, with some more rugged exterior elements thrown in for good measure.

“There’s definitely a large off-road scene with the American customer base, and there is a portion of that here in Australia,” Read said.

“So we’ll do some work on understanding what level of demand there would be from our customers, and if that’s something they desire more of.

“We think the current Outback is hugely capable off-road, and it’s something that’ll meet customers’ current needs in that space. But it [Wilderness] is something we will review.”

Even with a single powertrain, Subaru is confident the new Outback will be a strong sales performer and one of the brand’s top three models in Australia.

Read our launch review of the new 2021 Subaru Outback here.