2020 Subaru Outback Test Drive Review — More Capable Than Ever?

TRAVIS LANGNESS: Is it a wagon? Is it a raised hatchback? Is it a crossover or is it an SUV? I really do not know. But what I do know is that this is the

2020

Subaru Outback. And here we are, in Northern California, taking it for a first

drive

. We'll show you what's new, what's new under the hood, and all the cool tech and safety features you can get. And we'll get him off the road. But before you do, be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel and visit Edmonds.com for

more

information. So what's new in the Outback?

Well, practically

ever

ything. Under the hood, the base model has a 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine, the same as the last generation. But it's actually a new engine, same size, new engine. This one, how

ever

, has the 2.4-liter turbocharged engine, which replaces the old six-cylinder. And this one gets

more

power, more torque, and better fuel economy—all great things for a new car. There are different sheets of metal, different styles in the front and rear - different sets of roof rack systems with tie-down sections. It also has the same tent weight rating as the previous generation. So you can put a 700-pound tent here while it's parked, or a 176-pound one while moving.

Walking down the side of the vehicle, you notice some Subaru styling. They designed it, they said, to look like a hiking boot with the rubber on the bottom but a little nicer on the top. Then you come back, different taillights, different rear fascia. And if you have the option, you can have a power-lifting tailgate and hands-free section. But it doesn't use a foot movement, like other manufacturers do, it just uses a small sensor here on the tailgate. Inside the new Outback there are many things I like. For starters, there's the big party piece: this optional 11.6-inch tablet-style touchscreen.

Now, there are a couple of things to keep in mind about this. First, it is very high quality. It is high resolution. The touch screen moves easily. It responds well to touch mode and your inputs. But it's a little small. If you look up, for example, the Apple CarPlay Android Auto player, it seems a little shrunken, because in width it is not very large. Otherwise the navigation map looks really cool. It is powered by TomTom. So there are good addresses here. This is a really good system. However, it does interfere with storage space a bit. You can't really put much in here.

There are two USB sockets here. And there is an option for the dealer accessory: wireless charging pad. Now, here on the passenger side, there is more storage space for smartphones. But it's not much. Here are some nice soft contact points on the side for your elbows. It really feels good to

drive

and relax. And the center console here has this nice little section above and then a larger section underneath to hold more gear. Now, you can't put a smartphone here in the center console. And there's a nice little addition for cup holders. These are nice and deep.

And also on the passenger side there is another part for storage. So storing small items seems like they are making do with space. When you move down to the touchscreen, there are a couple of things worth noting. You have all the controls for the driver aids here. It has systems such as automatic stop and start integrated into the touch screen. The climate control is also integrated into the touch screen. Sure, you can make the heat and cool buttons here. But the fan buttons are here. And they're small and don't always respond to your touch inputs. It is a bit disgusting.

And when you dig deeper into the display settings, you can get into things that have to do with the car and the distance traveled. So you can see the collision before braking, activate or deactivate it. Or you can access the lane departure warnings and see which ones you want to turn on and off. However, one of the best parts is that you can access the cruise control acceleration features in the menu and change them from level one, eco, two, comfort, three, standard to four, dynamic. Now, what this means is that you can adjust the level of speed the car takes when someone moves out of your way on the road and you have adaptive cruise control activated.

This is a complaint we have on tons of cars: When someone veers out of your way and the adaptive cruise control kicks back in, it takes a while for the car to recover. But in this case, you can adjust it yourself. The steering wheel is great. It's more or less the same as the previous generation, but I'm clear about it. And although at first glance it seems like it's full of buttons and you get a little overwhelmed, things fall out easily. And once you've figured it out on the road for a couple of hours behind the wheel, you'll have no problems with these buttons.

It's also nice that there is still a volume knob here, even though there is one here. And the driver's display system is brilliant. It has a good font, good contrast. And it doesn't distract you from the road. There's not much additional information there. This is, all in all, a great place to be. We are on the road. Moving to the back seat, I have the seat set up for me and I'm 5ft 9in. There is definitely enough knee room here for someone who is even taller. If I sit all the way back and upright, there is plenty of room here.

Plenty of foot room underneath. And there's plenty of headroom up top. There are also a couple of nice features here for passengers, like two USB charging ports and heated outboard seats. So it's a little cold. People sitting in the outside seats...be friendly and warm. And then here in the center, obviously, you have the data center console complete with cup holders. You have the seats split 40/60. And if you sit in the middle, it's not at all uncomfortable. Now, I wouldn't want to be here for a long road trip. But a trip to the store, no problem.

We have a hands-free tailgate and a couple of nice features in the back. For example, let's say you have a lot of stuff. You have your hands full. And you want to load it. But it's too big for this cargo cover: just push it down and it slides up. It's pretty impressive. Now, back here, you have 32.5 cubic feet of storage behind the rear seats, which may seem smaller than the previous generation because it's a smaller amount. But it's just a difference in the way ratings work. This is actually more space than the previous generation car. And there you have the folding seats with the handles.

And now you get over 75 cubic feet of cargo space, which is more than enough for two adults to lie down on a camping trip or enough to put a lot of wood. Either way, it's a roomy SUV. Many people are going to buy this car with the base engine: the 2.5-liter naturally aspirated flat-four. And I would tell them not to, because this 2.4-liter turbocharged engine is definitely the one to have. It has plenty of get-up-and-go power, 260 horsepower and 277 pound-feet of torque. And honestly, it's a really nice engine to drive. Even with the CVT, it feels downshifted.

It feels like you really have to get up and get going. I'm just a fan of this. It is not qualifying either. It is not a hissing or loud sound. And even when you're leveling up, it seems to have a nice low-end tone, unlike other turbocharged four-cylinder engines, especially when paired with the CVT. That is not achieved with this 2.4 liter engine. And this is the same engine you have in the Subaru Ascent, its large three-row crossover. Oh, it has some power. It feels good, especially on a straight like that. The brakes are good too. Delivering is good.

It actually feels kind of sporty, which is something I didn't think I'd say after driving this car for a few hours. But it feels like something I could definitely go on, like a canyon tour, which is strange for a mid-size SUV/crossover. Now, there are a couple of competitors in the class that give you the same vibe. The passport is very similar. We just made a video with the Passport and the Blazer. And while I'm not a big fan of the Blazer, I agree that it has a very sporty feel. But despite the open-air look of this interior, it's a car that really holds its own when it comes to twisty roads and getting around and having a little fun.

This is definitely not something one would think of as an SUV. It kind of gives the idea that it feels more like a truck or a car, which is a good thing in my opinion. Yes, I know everyone likes SUVs. They are very popular. That's why Subaru has made this car bigger and more

capable

over the years. But the party trick it retains is the fact that it's still very

capable

in the corners. The steering has a good center field, returning the center very easily to your hands. It has good weight. And where you don't have all this rocking and movement of the body from side to side.

And on the road, it's really comfortable: good ride quality, good seats. There's a little noise here. You can probably hear that low tire hum. But it's not that bad. You turn on the music and it gets drowned out very easily, especially with the optional Harman Kardon sound system that this trim level has. There are many passive and active features, all kinds of safety features available, optional standard on this Subaru. And some of them, like lane keep assist and blind spot monitoring, are found across the board in many different vehicles. You can get them practically everywhere. But this car has a system that is unique.

It's called driver focus. And there are infrared radar systems here that read my face and can tell if I'm looking down too long or if I'm feeling sleepy. He also knows who I am. You can store up to five driver profiles here that will greet you when you get into the car. And well, it looks like some kind of Skynetty. I like it. It's fun. And configure your seat according to your face. It's definitely a new and interesting system, but I'm happy to get used to it. So what I'm going to do here is look towards the road.

I'll bow my head. And in a second, the car should realize...yeah, do you hear that beep? The car just realized I wasn't paying attention and told me to keep my eyes on the road. So if you're looking at your cell phone, which you shouldn't be doing at all, it will make that noise too. One of the great features of the interior of this car is that everything is a little low and far away. It's out of my field of vision. It's a great flat board, lots of forward visibility. And there really are no discernible blind spots in the Outback.

But there is an optional 180-degree front-view camera that comes in handy when you're out on the trails. And there is a large rear view camera screen on this 11.6-inch tablet. Now, these seats... they're pretty comfortable too. From the moment you reach for them, you realize that you really don't have to adapt much when you're on the road. There is good reinforcement support. There is adjustable lumbar support. That was a lane change. I ran out of the way of a truck coming in the opposite direction. Now, when it comes to driver aids, they can be a bit sensitive.

But honestly, it's probably still one of my favorite systems on the market. There are other systems, such as the Honda One, which is a little more sensitive and I'm not a big fan. But this Subaru system is really intuitive. And you can adjust things, like how quickly it moves away from adaptive cruise. And someone gets out of your way. And you can turn off some of the systems completely. And it turns corners pretty well... look at that. So what's the Outback like on the road? Honestly, it's really good. Same as the last generation. It handles well.

It steers well. Of course, it's not a sports car. This address is a bit vague. But it's definitely more connected than any of the frame SUV competitors. And it's got a nice weight in your hands, nice return to center field here. And I would enjoy driving this on any back road. Now that we've done some on-road stuff, let's do some off-roading in this Subaru Outback. And really, there's a difference between this kind of off-road driving and the kind of stuff you might see in Jeep commercials. Here we go through a few water passes through some furrows.

And there's plenty of ground clearance, because this Subaru, like all of its Subaru SUV siblings, has 8.7 inches of ground clearance in the lowest spots. It has good approach and departure angles. But it has dual X mode. So it's the upgraded version of the base X-Mode. This is deep mud and it activates mode X. Okay, so let's get into the system here. X mode is activated. And I will advance through the deep mud. I did very well. Honestly, that wasn't that deep. So we'll ignore that part. But the X-Modes come in two available software systems. Thisthe basic X-Mode, which lets you control inclines and descents, things like that, manages the traction of the all-wheel drive system.

And then there's Dual X Mode, which is on this car and allows for areas of sand, snow and rocks. It gives you a little bit of wheel slip so you can get out of sticky situations. So if you live in an area where there's a lot of snow, or know you'll be hitting trails more often, maybe opt for one of the Outbacks with dual X mode. Now, as we move through this section, you can see that I'm walking past a felled tree. And it's really precarious... to find something maybe two or three inches wider... I wouldn't make it through there.

And one of the good things about this vehicle is that it has smaller dimensions than some of its larger competitors, such as its predecessor. Here too on the trails, most of the things you will find are not Moab. Look, I know jeeps are cool. I know the precursors are good. I know a Raptor can go anywhere and jump in the desert. But the vehicles you want to live with every day are vehicles like the Outback. Well, I'm not a big fan of CVTs. But this one is really well tuned. And the 2.4-liter turbocharged engine has plenty of power.

It also has plenty of space in the back. And unlike a tall SUV, it has a nice low cargo floor. So you can fit large, heavy items—your camping bags, your kids' strollers, whatever—in the back more easily than if you had something higher up, like a truck or SUV with a body. on frame. It has its benefits. And it will also be less expensive than some of those competitors. So there's a good reason to check this out first. Does the

2020

Subaru Outback deliver on all its promises? Absolutely. This is one of the most comfortable, capable, spacious and high-tech midsize SUVs on the market today.

It's hard to say yet whether it will outperform major competitors, such as the Honda Passport. But once we get it in-house at Edmonds and do a full instrumented

test

, we'll be sure to let you know. So to learn more about vehicles like this and all of its competitors, visit Edmonds.com. And feel free to subscribe to our YouTube channel and visit Facebook or Instagram for more great content.