Subaru Outback Touring 2021 Review

The 2021 Subaru Outback range has been simplified down to just three variants and a single petrol engine option. Every example of the sixth-generation Outback is also packed with more safety and tech features, making the new wagon up to $2550 more expensive than its predecessor.

Pricing begins at $39,990 before on-road costs for the Outback AWD, while the mid-spec Outback AWD Sport is priced from $44,490 (plus ORCs) and the flagship Outback AWD Touring we’re testing here sets you back $47,790 plus ORCs.

Every 2021 Subaru Outback comes standard with SI-drive (Sport or Intelligent driving modes) as well as the X-Mode drive system, which brings snow and mud modes, along with Subaru’s Symmetrical All-Wheel drive system.

Electric front seats, an electric parking brake, 18-inch alloy wheels, a boot cargo blind, rain-sensing wipers, smart key with push-button start and tyre pressure monitoring also come standard across the range.

Equipment reserved for top-spec Touring grades includes an electric sunroof, heated steering wheel, dual-memory driver’s seat, Harman/kardon nine-speaker sound system and Nappa leather interior.

There’s also a driver monitoring system, reverse autonomous braking (RAB), auto-folding door mirrors, satin finish door mirrors and silver highlighted roof rails with stowable crossbars.

Subaru covers the Outback with a five-year/unlimited kilometre warranty, while visits to the workshop are due every 12 months or 12,500km, with servicing capped at around $1300 for the first three years and $2500 over five years.

Every 2021 Subaru Outback comes with the Japanese car-maker’s Eyesight driver assistance safety suite, which includes autonomous emergency braking (AEB) as well as autonomous steering and acceleration, lane centring, blind spot monitoring and rear cross traffic alert.

A new driver assist feature for the 2021 Outback is speed sign recognition with intelligent speed limiter, which prevents the car from exceeding the speed limit.

Inside the cabin is where the Outback has been given its biggest refresh, now fitted with a huge 11.6-inch vertically-oriented infotainment system. That unit offers Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, digital radio, navigation (except entry-grade) and a single-CD player (Touring only).

You need to spend some time with the new touch-screen before it becomes easy to find your way around it, but even then some niggles stand out.

On a sunny day, the screen brightness just isn’t up to scratch, even when set to maximum, and the dual-zone climate control dials that are now integrated into the bottom of the touch-screen are fiddly.

Most of the touch buttons are too small, making it easy to select the seat heater when going for the fan control, for example.

If you want to switch on (or off) the auto hold handbrake or engine stop/start, there are no longer physical buttons to do so and you’ll need to find them deep in the infotainment’s vehicle settings.

There is, however, a button that brings up a sub-menu with those important vehicle settings, so they’re easily accessible. Again, something you’ll learn the more time you spend in it.

Those things aside, the massive display is responsive and relatively straight forward to use (after a while), but it doesn’t feel as user-friendly as the outgoing model’s unit and there’s a lot of information crammed on to the screen.

A 4.2-inch instrument cluster display provides a lot of handy information too, including digital speedo, driving range, S/I drive mode and both lane centring and preceding vehicle displays when using adaptive cruise control.

With the adaptive cruise control and semi-autonomous driving functions switched on (autonomous acceleration, steering and braking) the Outback takes the reigns and the system works well.

But it does feel like it skews the car to the centre line a little too much. Trying to steer against it (which you may well need to in an emergency) can be tough, but keeping your hands ever so lightly on the wheel results in a warning to “keep your hands on the wheel”, so there’s no happy-medium here.

As mentioned, the 2021 Subaru Outback comes with just one engine option: a naturally-aspirated 2.5-litre four-cylinder boxer engine. The diesel available in the outgoing model as well as the more powerful 2.4-litre turbo-petrol flat four offered in the US won’t be offered Down Under, at least for now.

Subaru says the boxer engine in Australia’s new Outback is a ‘90 per cent new’ version of the previous engine, with fresh components that make it 1.9kg lighter and quieter, while also increasing outputs.

It now delivers 138kW of power (at 5800rpm) and 245Nm of torque (over 3400-4600rpm), which is up from the previous donk’s 129kW/235Nm. It’s also paired to an all-new continuously variable automatic transmission (CVT) that Subaru says offers better acceleration and improved fuel economy.

In the real world, we didn’t see our test car’s fuel consumption come close to Subaru’s claimed combined average of 7.3L/100km. Instead, ours didn’t drop below 10.0L and sat as high as 11.3L after a mix of highway and suburban driving plus a little squirt off-road.

The Outback’s CVT is one of the better examples we’ve tested and is good on the move, despite presenting a few minor jerks when slowing down to a stop.

The steering wheel-mounted shift paddles also work well in eight-speed ‘manual mode’, but don’t expect lightning-fast shifts from them, and the S/I drive modes (sport or intelligent) come in handy when you’re after a hastier experience (in high-revving sport mode), which can be quickly selected via a button on the steering wheel.

As for towing ability, the 2021 Outback’s rating has been upped to 2000kg (previously 1500kg) with a braked trailer and a maximum tow ball load is 200kg.

Around town, the 2021 Subaru Outback is comfortable, but with steering that errs on the heavier side.

It doesn’t feel like a large car on road and it’s easy to drive, park and manoeuvre in small areas. You also get front seats that are mounted high and offer a commanding view with plenty of vision out every window.

There’s no 360-degree camera offered in the Outback, which is a shame, but the central display brings up a clear (albeit small) image from the reverse camera, along with side-view options to see how close you are to the kerb.

The top-spec Touring’s leather-clad seats are cushiony and soft, but like other SUVs the brake pedal sits much higher than the accelerator pedal which is just annoying (and cramps up your ankle) when you’re in stop-start traffic.

All of that, however, becomes irrelevant out on the open road, which is where the Outback really shines. Its heavy steering subsides and cruising at speeds above 80km/h is bliss.

Its ability to go from a comfortable drive on tarmac, to an even more comfortable machine off-road is profound and encourages you to explore places you wouldn’t be able to go in the soft-roaders that buyers skew towards these days.

And while the Outback’s 213mm of ground clearance won’t exactly take you anywhere, it’s more than enough for deeply rutted trails, debris-littered roads and serious creek crossings, and its confidence-inspiring ride will likely surprise many.

The suspension feels excellently calibrated for both on- and off-road surfaces and passengers are well catered for all round.

Cabin noise well supressed, with the only sounds you’re likely to hear being the boxer engine revving hard under load or the luggage or roof pod whistling in the wind if you’re carrying gear on the roof. The special Harman/kardon sound system fitted to the Touring is loud and crisp too.

Rear seat space is adequate for two adults, but head room is sacrificed due to the Touring’s sunroof. Other creature comforts for those in the back include door pocket storage, three child seat anchorage points (two ISOFIX), two USB ports, a centre armrest, rear air-vents and even heated outboard seats in the range-topping Outback.

In the boot, there’s 522 litres of cargo-loading capacity as well as a full-size spare tyre under the floor.

There’s no doubt the higher pricing and lack of a diesel option in the 2021 Subaru Outback may steer buyers in the direction of a range of accomplished mid-size SUVs (including Subaru’s own Forester) or larger SUV rivals.

However, as a package, the Subaru Outback AWD Touring is a really good thing that will surprise and delight many existing Outback owners for many years.

Like the model it replaces, it doesn’t take the cake for being the best at any one particular attribute, but its ability to be a jack of all trades will have broad appeal.

The 2021 Subaru Outback feels more at home either out on the open road or traversing muddy or gravel roads, but will also serve faithfully as an urban runabout.

Adventurous Aussie families would be mad to overlook it in the sea of SUVs on the market.

How much does the 2021 Subaru Outback AWD Touring cost?
Price: $47,790 (plus on-road costs)
Available: Now
Engine: 2.5-litre four-cylinder petrol
Output: 138kW/245Nm
Transmission: Continuously variable automatic
Fuel: 7.3L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 168g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety rating: TBC

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