The Subaru Outback brought together combi-shape in a rustic look and all-wheel drive as early as the mid-90 years of the last century. With the trendy label "Crossover", however, only imitators of the concept could prevail on the market, the Japanese remained more of a niche product. The fifth generation, which was launched in the spring, now wants to convince customers with its refreshed design and modern technology. We asked him to do the daily test with the well-known 110 kW / 150 PS boxer diesel.
First of all: The rustic component has given up the Outback. The fourth generation drove straightforward, the current generation has sharpened a few more edges. The front plays - in line with the trend of the time - the SUV shape card. And the outback has grown big and long. With a length of 4,82 meters, it is only around ten centimeters below the dimensions of the A6 Allroad or Opel Insignia Country Tourer.
That would take us to the chocolate side of the outback. Its space for both passengers and luggage is impressive. The rear users can enjoy sufficient headroom, the Subaru designers have dispensed with the fashionably sloping roof line. Lademeisters do not have to show any fate when stowing luggage, just open the lid and invite. The trunk volume varies between 559 and 1.848 liters and is also sufficient for longer shopping trips. However, you should always take some time: the tailgate swings up very slowly.
The new multimedia system, including navigation and reversing camera, responds faster than the systems previously offered. Here, the creators of the outback have put a lot of effort into it. However, this is sometimes at the expense of practice. For example, the beautifully fitted display surrounded by piano lacquer in the center console is sometimes difficult to read in the sun. Overall, however, there has been significant progress in the interior. One almost wants to ask: should this be a Subaru? The usual, rather dreary hard plastic landscape is a thing of the past. The connotations with easy-care and high-pressure cleaner also do not want to arise. Clearly, Subaru wants to move away from the forester and hunter image towards more lifestyle.
The loyal customers in the green robe should not be neglected: The outback has all-wheel drive as standard, excursions on muddy forest paths are still possible. The non-hunters and forest watchers are looking forward to the extra traction, especially in winter. The Japanese gives the comfortable travel companion over asphalt, bumps in the road are usually well filtered out. However, he doesn't like it when you run over sills on the street too quickly and shows his unwillingness to do so with an unusually hard return to the buttocks.
Subaru has also taken on the issue of assistance systems. In the off-road station wagon, two cameras observe the road in slightly different angles, modeled on the human eye, and calculate the distance of objects from the small differences in the image. With the system called "Eye Sight", emergency braking systems with collision warning, lane keeping assist and adaptive cruise control are integrated. The system normally works very reliably, but sometimes the eyes of the vehicle look too hectic. In tight bends, they register obstacles that are still far away too early and beep accordingly. Which in turn frightens the driver unnecessarily.
Nice on the other hand: If the cameras notice when driving in a traffic jam that the vehicle in front is moving, but you are staying in standing mode, there is a subtle plong and the display shows that the vehicle in front is already more active than yourself.
Speaking of active: with the 150 PS diesel you should get rid of all hectic activity. On the one hand, the CVT transmission has a smooth acceleration style. Although the former rubber-band as well as loud extension of the corridors is a thing of the past, a quick reaction to desired tempo changes is not necessarily his strong side. But serenity is also the order of the day for another reason: the powerful, smooth-running boxer tends to indulge in more than one can approve of. On average, 8,2 liters of diesel flowed through the lines, and under hurried conditions the on-board computer also showed double-digit values.
Our test vehicle in top equipment costs from 42.900 euros. But everything that Subaru has to offer in terms of comfort and safety features including leather, 18-inch alloy wheels, navigation and the assistant is part of the standard scope. Only the metallic paint is included as an extra with 540 Euro in the list. That makes you calm when browsing through the price list.
Author: Elfriede Munsch / SP-X