By Ian Strachan.
It might not be on obvious choice lists, but if you’re looking for a roomy, practical estate which is comfortable, performs well on and off-road, has all the power you need and is bristling with technolgy and safety features, you don’t need to look further than the all-new Subaru Outback.
This is a high performing all-wheel drive estate car with all the extras you’d expect and more.
This Subaru looks good, with a crisp, solid but sleek profile, smart, chunky roof rails, attractive 18-inch alloys and a high, purposeful road stance. My test car came in a very nice metallic Autumn Green.
And it performs well. I test drove the petrol-powered 2.5i all-wheel-drive version with Subaru’s tried and tested 169 PS Boxer engine which is smooth, quiet and potent. Even though it’s a big estate car it will propel you from 0-60 in around 10 seconds. The engine was linked to a smooth CVT automatic gearbox.
The Outback has all wheel drive so it holds the road exceptionally well. In fact the overall ride and handling of this vehicle is very impressive indeed, despite it being a big beast.
You get plenty of extras on the Outback in Field spec. This includes Front LED fog lights, automatic headlights with pop-up washers, adaptive cruise control, hill-descent control, keyless entry and stop/start, powered tailgate with hands-free function, front and rear parking sensors with reversing camera and powered windows.
The interior is of a high quality and very welcoming, with comfortable seats and plenty of leg and head room. Interior spec includes dual-zone automatic air conditioning, heated front and rear seats, heated leather steering wheel, powered driver’s seat, satellite navigation and a nice six-speaker sound system with Apple CarPlay, voice recognition and Bluetooth.
Safety features include a novel EyeSight system which tells you if you take your eyes off the road, plus lane keeping assist, traffic sign recognition, blind spot monitoring, pre-collision braking and all-round airbags.
The whole car has a solid, quality feel with high body rigidity and good use of materials. Handling is crisp and certain.
I’m impressed with the Subaru Outback and was sorry to see it go. My test car has an on-the-road price of £37,995, which may sound expensive but you get a lot of car for your money. It’s a versatile, high specification alternative to more traditional brands. This is a car that will certainly give some more mainstream executive estate cars a run for their money.
