The 2015 Subaru Outback's continuously variable transmission delivers smooth acceleration and good fuel efficiency, while the new X-Mode feature enhances its standard all-wheel-drive system's off-road capability.
The available EyeSight system combines adaptive cruise control and collision prevention. However, minor quibbles only, but the six-cylinder engine pulls a little too hard on initial throttle tip-in.
The premium audio system exhibits panel rattle with heavy bass tracks. The 2015 Subaru Outback offers an easy driving experience for urban and rural environments, but the four-cylinder version will meet most needs.
When I drove to town, the 2015 Subaru Outback's navigation system piped up with, "Turn left at the second set of traffic lights." I found that voice prompt exceptionally useful as I looked down the street and saw two sets of traffic lights in my immediate future. The direction was visual and simple, not requiring me to search the corner infrastructure for a street sign.
Subaru 2015 doesn't sit on the cutting edge of technology, but its adoption of helpful features, such as this very human-oriented navigation system, makes a difference in everyday driving situations. Similarly, I am a big fan of the Subaru EyeSight system, which uses two forward-looking cameras and image processing to enable adaptive cruise control and forward collision alerts. The Outback I happened to be testing did not have that particular option.
Subaru stuck with its strengths, maintaining the five-passenger crossover style, and general exterior styling, as well. The model has puffed up a bit, gaining about half an inch of length and over 2 inches in height. The Outback 3.6R Limited model I was driving, the top trim, also weighed in 162 pounds more than the previous matching model. The price of this top-trim model comes in at $32,995, while the base model in Subaru's Outback, dropping two cylinders and many of the nicer cabin appointments, goes for $24,895, not bad considering all-wheel drive is standard across the range.
Australian buyers will be looking at AU$40,226 for the base model, and how can they resist considering the country-appropriate model name. Subaru hasn't announced pricing for this new generation in the UK, but the previous base model there, with a 2-liter diesel engine, goes for £23,366.67. This Outback sets itself apart from its sibling majority with a 3.6-liter six-cylinder engine, arranged in the same flat opposed cylinder format as the 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine available at a lower price. The 3.6, sticking to conventional port injection, makes 256 horsepower and 247 pound-feet of torque.
As a change from the previous generation, it comes with a continuously variable transmission (CVT), a type of gearless transmission using belts to constantly change the drive ratio for the best power and efficiency combination. CVTs can often be more fuel-efficient than fixed-gear transmissions, and also offer smoother acceleration. The available 2.5-liter engine also comes mated to a CVT, and produces 175 horsepower.
Where the 3.6 achieves 20 mpg city and 27 mpg highway, the smaller engine turns in 25 mpg city and 33 mpg highway, a pretty substantial difference. Mixing urban, freeway and mountain back roads in my driving, I came in at just 21.1 mpg. Unless you plan on loading the Outback with five adults and their luggage, and towing a trailer, you can probably get away with the smaller engine. As with all Subaru models, the flat engine format moves the weight down, leading to a lower center of gravity than with a V-format engine.
Subaru also equips the Outback with what it calls "active torque vectoring," a system that adds a little braking to the inside wheels in a turn, further aiding handling. Despite these features, the Outback was prone to understeer when cornering and didn't inspire me to power down any long twisty roads. Subaru offers the WRX STI for folks who enjoy that type of driving. I found the electric power steering to exhibit a natural feel, proving easy to turn when stopped and offering a comfortable amount of resistance at speed.
Outback comes standard with Subaru's all-wheel-drive system, its hydraulic differential shifting torque between front and rear axles based on sensor inputs. In most driving situations, you won't notice it at work, but get into the slippery stuff and it could make the difference between a safe journey home and calling a tow truck. Subaru enhances its all-wheel-drive system with X-Mode, an off-road program affecting torque split and traction control, available at the push of a button on the console.
As for the navigation system I mentioned at the beginning, it shows up in a dashboard touchscreen, with touch buttons on the surrounding bezel for a home screen and quick access to the map display. I noticed the system was occasionally slow to render its flash memory-stored maps, but not enough to interfere with navigation. And live traffic, obtained through satellite radio, covered many surface streets along with highways and freeways.
Audio sources include the usual suspects, such as USB, iPhone, HD radio and Bluetooth streaming. Subaru includes Pandora integration and the StarLink app offers many Internet-based sources. I like that the audio interface puts all these sources on one page, rather than separating radio and onboard media, as some systems do. The system made browsing music libraries easy, but only with USB devices. For Bluetooth streaming, I still had to select music using my phone. I was pleased that this Outback came with the optional 12-speaker Harman Kardon audio system, the top offered by Subaru.
It did a credible job reproducing the range of frequencies from the tracks I played. However, I noticed panel vibration from deep bass tones. As one final trick, the Outback is one of the very few US cars to offer MirrorLink, a technology that shows your phone's navigation, audio and other features on the dashboard interface. Unfortunately, only a handful of phones in the US support MirrorLink, and it seems a bit superfluous given the Outback's own navigation system.
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