Subaru Outback: carsales Car of the Year 2021 wildcard

Few cars offer the packaging and driving dynamics to straddle the divide between passenger wagon and SUV quite the way the Subaru Outback does.

Based originally on the Subaru Liberty wagon, the Outback practically pioneered the concept of family car for buyers who can’t make up their minds.

In its latest guise, the sixth generation of Outback – now built on a modular platform – delivers a roomier interior, an improved engine, better towing ability and leading-edge driver assist technology in this sector of the market.

Subaru offers the new Outback in three trim levels, but with just the one powertrain.

Critics demand more power from the engine which has been heavily revised almost to the point where it could be considered all-new, but the perceived shortcomings of the engine haven’t held back buyers.

They’ve lifted sales for the year to date by more than 100 per cent, compared with the superseded model in run-out – and notwithstanding last year’s COVID-induced downturn.

The Outback scored very highly in RedBook’s cost of ownership analysis, but the carsales judges were less effusive.

Still, the Outback has achieved enough to warrant a wildcard entry among the finalists – and that could make it a real dark horse for the 2021 carsales Car of the Year, proudly presented by Bingle.

There are plenty of pundits (and some buyers too) who argue that the market will support an SUV that’s more like a wagon. Subaru has sold around 7300 examples of the new Outback for the year to the end of September, which kind of supports the argument.

The Outback is a compromise solution for families. It offers just enough go-anywhere ability for trips to the snow and the odd jaunt around Fraser Island. Yet it’s not as agricultural as some of its hard-core rivals in the large SUV segment.

Unlike those competitors, the Outback is sufficiently practical for daily commuting throughout the year. It’s a presentable machine, comfortable and composed for touring, with family-friendly safety features that will meet the wholesale approval of parents.

The Outback will appeal to a broad spectrum of buyers, most of whom will recognise the Subaru brand’s excellent retained values across its product range.

And this vehicle is no longer a left-field purchasing choice, if indeed it ever was. Outback buyers are guided by function and practicality above almost any other measure.

On its release in Australia back in January, the new 2021 Subaru Outback had risen in price by $2550 at entry level. However, it remained a whisker under $40,000 for the base-grade model at $39,990 plus on-road costs.

The flagship Outback Touring variant is priced $7800 higher at $47,790 plus ORCs, and the mid-spec Outback Sport comes in at $44,490 plus ORCs.

It’s the Outback Sport that was selected to campaign for Car of the Year, and this variant is just $550 more than its predecessor at this position in the range.

All three Outback variants ride on 60-series Bridgestone tyres fitted to 18-inch alloy wheels. Across the range, the Outback comes equipped as standard with adaptive cornering lights, auto-on/off and self-levelling LED headlights with automatic high beam assist, dual-zone climate control, electrically-adjustable front seats and a multifunction steering wheel.

The Outback Sport gains sports pedals, satellite navigation, a powered tailgate, water-repellent seat upholstery (in lieu of cloth), and front and rear seat heating.

The infotainment system incorporates an 11.6-inch touch-screen, six-speaker audio, digital radio, Apple CarPlay/Android Auto, Bluetooth, voice command, two USB ports and an auxiliary jack.

For safety, the Outback offers eight airbags and an extremely high level of driver assist technology: tyre pressure monitoring, adaptive cruise control, lane keep assist, lane centring, lane departure prevention, lane departure warning, lead vehicle start alert, autonomous emergency braking (AEB), multi-collision braking, autonomous emergency steering, driver fatigue monitoring, blind spot monitoring and brake light recognition, and more...

The warranty cover for the Subaru Outback is five years/unlimited kilometres with 12 months’ roadside assistance. And the service intervals are 12 months or 12,500km, with a capped-price service program offered.

A variety of carsales reviewers have got behind the wheel of the Subaru Outback since its media launch back in February.

Alexandra Lawrence drove the Outback for that local launch and made particular reference to the fact that the new model does away with the diesel engine option of its predecessor and is priced higher than before.

“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,” she said.

“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.”

Ken Gratton also drove the Outback (in both Sport and Touring variants) on home turf and opined that the new Outback had effectively “skipped half a generation”, such was the breadth of improvement.

“From the moment you get behind the wheel it’s plain to see (and feel, and hear) that the new 2021 Subaru Outback is demonstrably better than the car it replaces,” he said.

“Subaru has kept what works and moved on up with new ideas,” he noted, while also praising the Outback for its “purposeful and aggressive” design.

“Little wonder it’s selling so well,” he concluded.

Let’s see how well it stacks up against a disparate band of contenders for carsales Car of the Year 2021, proudly presented by Bingle.