What can I say? I liked Velma.
I admit my bias for Subaru products. Not only am I a Coloradoan, a (less-than-successful) fisherman and former owner of Subaru products – I love the independent nature of the company. Recently, they embarked on a program to redesign their midsized car to become more competitive (read: larger) in the segment, the results for the Legacy were mixed and I expected the same for the Outback.
Much to my surprise, the Outback is something else.
Okay, I don’t like the looks much. Although, it is a much better design in lifted wagon form than its sedan brethren. The plastic cladding is not very convincing as the front skid-plate looks like a silver painted plastic piece which serves no true protection for the undercarriage – which it is.
My tester was green and it looked better than some of the other colors; even a bit smaller. That’s the key here; the physical presence of the new Subaru Outback is massive compared to its svelte brother from last year. In fact, place the new Outback next to a midsized SUV like a Ford Explorer or Lexus RX350 (as I did) and you may be stunned at the shear size of the thing.
I could go on about the appearance; however, the photos speak for themselves.
Once you get past its appearance, things change – for the better. This is where the size of the Subaru comes in handy. There is TONS of room inside and every seat is extremely comfortable. The trim is well made and at Toyota levels for fit and finish. Most of the interior follows suit with excellent build quality and a generally handsome place to be. Sure, there is fake metal and very plastic-looking wood trim, but it is no worse than many other top end Japanese automakers’ interiors.
Did I mention that I thought Velma was kind-a hot?
The space for family and cargo is what has truly been renovated. I was able to place a complete 5-piece drum set, 3 guitars, 2 small amplifiers, and a keyboard with plenty of room left over for one of my kids and an adult passenger. Another neat trick is the rolling cargo concealing cover. Subaru was smart enough to add a separate storage space for this thing which gets it out of the way under the floor when you need all of the cargo room. It’s simple and ingenious.
The roof can easily accommodate cargo thanks to its clever swing-out roof rails that stow length-wise when not used for aerodynamic benefits.
Other than better space, Subaru kept its outstanding all-wheel-drive (AWD) system and reengineered the H6 3.6R to happily suck on regular gas. The output is competitive at 256 horsepower and 247 lbs feet of torque. Good for what is an approximately 3,400 lbs vehicle. This is coupled with a smooth shifting 5-speed automatic with steering-wheel mounted paddle shifters. MPG is not too bad for a permanent AWD car with a 6-cylinder at 18 mpg city/25 mpg highway. Using the poor Subaru Outback as a cargo-hauler and driving through post Thanksgiving snow like a hyperactive plow, I averaged about 19 mpg – which is damn good.
Prices start at about $23,000 and can easily top the $32,000 mark.
Cornering on dry roads is just about the same as a Toyota Venza (review: HERE ) or Honda Accord Crosstour (review: HERE). Feel is reasonable being that this is no performance machine and the ride is never unpleasant. On-center feel is light at best.
Acceleration was slower than the older turbo Outback I tested a few years back. It’s this damn high altitude that made the Subaru clock 0 to 60 mph times a few ticks under 10 seconds. Keep in mind, that’s about the same times as its AWD competitors – except for the screaming fast (by comparison) Toyota RAV4 (review: HERE ).
Freeway ride has drastically improved. I dare say that the rather large Outback derriere looses its grip sooner than the older one when pushing (way) too hard around corners. I slammed my right foot down on a tight right hander and felt the rear cut loose. Simply letting up on the accelerator allowed the AWD system and traction control to rein in my stupidity. I did the exact same thing with the older model and it took more power to break the rear end free.
“So, it’s not quite as toss-able as the older one.” I noted.
Then it dawned on me, “This is NOT a replacement
for the old Outback – it’s a completely different vehicle!” Indeed,
take the 2010 Subaru Outback at its face value and you will be pleased
at how pleasant this new SUV is. ‘Cause that’s what it is… a new
crossover SUV and NOT a new station wagon.
What rightfully shows through is this big wagon’s overall competence, safety and accommodating nature. The 2010 Subaru Outback is smart, strong, eminently capable and the companion of choice for bad weather locations. In many ways it reminds me of sweet Velma.
Yes, that was a compliment.
Click HERE to watch a video review of the new Outback
Click HERE to view a slideshow of the newest Subaru.
Automotive media, racing, vehicle evaluation, wrecking yards, and car
sales are just a part of Nathan Adlen’s vehicular past. He writes out
of high octane passion! To read more reviews by Nathan Adlen or just to
enjoy more of excellent writing please visit him on at his examiner.com
page HERE.
Comments