Subaru Outback 2.0D Premium 2016 Review

Subaru Liberty 2.5i Premium and Outback 2.0D Premium
Local Launch Review
Mount Gambier, South Australia

Improved stability and reduced NVH in the 2016 model year Subaru Liberty are complemented by a driver-assist safety package – Vision Assist – which also becomes standard in the facelifted Outback. Incorporated in the pack are: Blind Spot Monitoring, Lane Change Assist, auto-dimming mirror, High-Beam Assist and Rear Cross-Traffic Alert. Automatic (CVT) diesel variants of the Outback gain Subaru's EyeSight system, leaving just the manual diesels remaining in the range without the applauded camera-based feature.

Subaru's Liberty and Outback siblings enjoyed remarkable sales growth in 2015, with the Liberty finishing the year on 4097 sales – third in the medium passenger car segment behind Toyota Camry and Mazda6 in that order, and fully 3056 units (or 293.6 per cent) ahead of the sales figure for 2014.

It's a similar story for the Outback, which shares its platform and body-in-white with the Liberty. Sales of 10,927 in 2015 placed the Outback fourth in its segment and 8470 units (344.7 per cent) ahead of its 2014 result. In its segment it placed behind Toyota Prado, Toyota Kluger and Jeep Grand Cherokee in sequence.

The company has no intention of letting the grass grow under the tyres of either car, however. Already on sale officially in Australia, the updated Liberty and the Outback have been put to the test by the country's media on roads around Mount Gambier in South Australia.

We started with the Liberty 2.5i Premium, which Subaru expects will be the volume-selling variant in the Liberty range, before moving on to the Outback 2.0D Premium for a short drive programme over the course of an afternoon.

What was immediately apparent about the Liberty was its very amenable ride quality and low NVH intrusion. It was a blustery day for the drive programme, but Subaru's engineers certainly seem to have found ways of reducing the road noise transmitted to the cabin.

The 2.5-litre horizontally-opposed four-cylinder petrol engine is partnered by a CVT (Continuously Variable Transmission) that overcomes the oft-cited objection to CVTs in accelerating through 'step' changes when the driver demands more performance – and pushes the accelerator pedal closer to the floor. As a consequence, the Liberty's CVT doesn't even feel like a CVT under heavy load. The CVT still exhibits some of Subaru's characteristic whine, which is more apparent from the front passenger's seat than from the driver's seat. It's a further sign that the car is generally quieter across the board, now that the CVT's whine dominates more.

Over the drive programme the Liberty returned a fuel consumption figure of 10.3L/100km, which is decent for a commodious passenger sedan being given a hiding by two motoring journalists.

By the standards of the 2.5-litre engine in the Mazda6 the Subaru's boxer engine feels peakier and is not as sporty sounding. Once in the higher rev range, however, it does provide respectable performance for overtaking.

There were few opportunities during the drive programme to assess the Liberty for either its new Vision Assist package or the car's cornering ability. What can be said about the Liberty's handling is that it's safe, with enough front-end grip to keep the car on track, but without being easily prompted to step out at the rear on a trailing throttle. The steering is quite light and the response is about right for this type of car – not nervous, but not intractably slow either.

Unlike some Euro brands, the Liberty's driving position puts the driver fair and square where he/she needs to be for optimal control and monitoring of instrumentation. There's plenty of adjustment in the seat to suit most. Instruments are clear and easy to read and the controls are placed where they should be (i.e. indicator stalk on the right, wipers on the left).

All the controls feel properly designed and installed, with soft-damped operation outstanding for the wiper and indicator stalks. The centre fascia, dash and decorative trim are quite stylish for the money, but the sheer complexity of the switchgear on the steering wheel and some of the more arcane graphics take some pondering to interpret.

Buttons on the wheel include the S/I drive, adaptive cruise control (plus range adjustment), audio, voice control and in the lower left quadrant behind the hub and spokes, three toggles for the trip computer and scrolling.

The seats felt less supportive and ultimately a little less comfortable than others we've tried in other mid-size passenger cars, and other Subaru models for that matter.

While the Liberty presents as a car for the older driver – with an appreciation for engineering – the Outback is more a family wagon for the bloke (or blokette?) who owned a WRX while single, but now needs more of everything.

The Outback's ride is firmer than the Liberty sedan's, but it is appropriate for light-duty unsealed roads, where speed might be a factor. Damping is stronger than the Liberty's – and right for the sort of 'jump-ups' that might be encountered at speed. On the curiously smooth 'unsealed' roads formed from limestone around Mount Gambier the Outback felt very composed.

Although the Outback is a safe handling unit on bitumen or dirt, oversteer could be provoked on a trailing throttle. When that happens the stability control is immediately pulling the car back into line. In some circumstances the safety aid may be unnecessary or counter-productive.

The Outback offers fairly responsive turn-in and there's adequate feedback through the wheel. On gravel the Outback remains quiet inside, with few stones flicked up to rattle around under the body.

The horizontally-opposed engine (which posted a figure of 7.8L/100km by the end of the drive programme) is quiet by diesel standards. There's none of the clatter often experienced in older generations of diesel powerplant. Unfortunately it's not the high-torque mill expected of a 2.0-litre diesel in modern SUVs. Due to its unconventional configuration it needs some revs to be building the sort of torque other, similarly sized engines produce from below 2000rpm. This is where the CVT helps; it provides such a range of ratios that the diesel can build revs to the point where there's much less effort required to generate useful torque. In other words, the CVT irons out the low-rev shortfall in the diesel.

But unlike the CVT in the Liberty, the transmission in the Outback would continuously shift its ratios, holding the engine to fixed revs rather than stepping up to a new ratio as (traditional) epicyclic automatics do. Under lighter pedal pressure the CVT would work its way up through contrived steps, but mostly the Outback's CVT operates more as one expects of a CVT, drawing on the diesel's native torque to accelerate.

In both cars the CVT comes with shift paddles and a manual detente for the shift lever. The CVT can only be shifted manually and sequentially through the paddles. There is no sequential/manual shifting available from the lever.

Most of the interior packaging of the Outback is lifted from the Liberty, but the steering wheel is slightly less complex and the wagon body of the Outback delivers more rear-seat headroom, even with a sunroof fitted. Both the Liberty tested and the Outback provided effective dual-zone climate control for optimal passenger comfort.

Legroom in the rear is comparable with the Liberty sedan's and both cars come with adjustable vents in the rear of the centre console, plus full-size spare wheels under the boot floor. In the Outback there are levers to flip forward the rear-seat squabs – in a 60:40 ratio split – to an almost flat position. Something of a boon for kids and parents alike, the Outback features big cup-holders in the door bins, which are capable of accepting smaller bottles for each outboard occupant.

Despite their styling, neither of these cars leap out at you. Yet both are properly packaged and nicely refined for families in the market for a passenger car like that. And if Subaru has its way, you'll be seeing a lot more of them on the road during the next few years.

2016 Subaru Liberty 2.5i Premium pricing and specifications:
Price: $35,990 (plus on-road costs)
Engine: 2.5-litre four-cylinder petrol
Output: 129kW/235Nm
Transmission: Continuously variable
Fuel: 7.3L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 167g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety Rating: Five-star (ANCAP, 2015)

2016 Subaru Outback 2.0D Premium pricing and specifications:
Price: $44,990 (plus on-road costs)
Engine: 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel
Output: 110kW/350Nm
Transmission: Continuously variable
Fuel: 6.3L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 165g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety Rating: Five-star (ANCAP, 2013

Also consider:
Mazda6 Touring (from $37,280 plus ORCs)
Skoda Superb Outdoor (from $52,690 plus ORCs)
Volkswagen Passat Alltrack (from $49,290 plus ORCs)