Subaru Outback (2026) Review

For twenty five years the Outback was a wagon that had been lifted, sold to people who wanted a sport utility without having to say so. The seventh generation stops pretending. The roof is higher, the fascia is upright, the glass is squarer, and the car finally looks like what it has always been. Cargo space behind the rear seats grows to 34.6 cubic feet and rear headroom improves with it.

The cabin is the real change. The vertical tablet that dominated the last car has gone, replaced by a 12.1 inch horizontal screen with physical controls for climate and volume beneath it, and a 12.3 inch instrument display. It is a direct fix to the most common complaint about the previous Outback and it makes the car far easier to operate at speed.

Mechanically very little moves. The 2.5 liter flat four still makes 180 horsepower through a continuously variable transmission, still asks for patience on a highway on ramp, and returns 27 miles per gallon combined. The 2.4 liter turbo in the XT and Wilderness trims makes 260 and drops that to 24. Symmetrical all wheel drive and at least 8.7 inches of ground clearance remain standard, and so do the resale values, which is the real reason people keep buying these. Prices open at 34,995 dollars for the Premium.