Change can be good

2015 Subaru Outback 2.5i Premium

Being able to adapt and evolve is important to the continuation of any species. That same premise applies to today’s vehicles. You don’t want to be the “dinosaur” on the market, refusing to show change. My tester this week shows that change can be good without abandoning your true identity.

The 2015 Subaru Outback is still very much the “oddball” of the crossover segment. It’s more station wagon than SUV. The Outback sells well and has a loyal following of “Subie” fans who swear by it as a great vehicle on and off the road. And those loyal Subie fans are right: the Outback is special in its own right. Despite a few superficial cosmetics, the 2015 Outback is mostly unchanged from the previous model year. It maintains its rugged appearance, as a crossover that really is capable of venturing off the beaten path. The Outback’s roof rack shows it’s ready to be a weekend warrior and almost begs to hit the dirt road with 17-inch wheels and foglights furthering its playful appearance.

There are two very different engine options for the Outback. A 2.5-liter 4-cylinder engine is standard ,while a 3.6-liter V6 engine is there for those who want more power more than the tamer 4-cylinder option. My tester was the 2.5-liter horizontally opposed engine which makes a mere 175 horsepower. This number may seem less than ideal, but really isn’t. The Indiana-built Outback doesn’t drive like it’s lacking power. Truly the only issue with the powertrain is the continuously variable transmission, which is the only tranny available for the Outback. The CVT seems to hold shifts late and then overshift at times. This is fairly common with most CVTs, which is a transmission intended to improve fuel economy. However, with this Outback, whatever fuel savings it provides, it works detrimentally against the overall driving experience.

As is the case with all Subarus, the Outback has standard all-wheel drive. This makes for superior handling and a comfortable ride. New for this model year is a driver select mode known as X-mode which offers Hill Descent and Hill Assist as options. While this is superfluous for highway driving, in any off-road adventures, this is a phenomenal addition and shows that Subaru knows its buyers. And Subie owners do take their cars off road, especially the rugged Outback.

Subaru has never been a brand to give much attention to a vehicle’s interior. This is where I, as a reviewer, would put my critic’s hat on and beg for some upgrades. Most Subarus I had driven seemed to be relics when it came to interior quality and technology. However, I’ve driven two different Subarus in this model year and can say that vast improvements have been made to the interior, including to this Outback.

The 2015 Outback is the best Subaru I’ve driven as far as interior quality. The seats are comfortable, and my tester even had leather heated seats. Rear legroom and headroom is phenomenal; three adults would be quite comfortable in the back seat.

A nice improvement to this model year is a lever that makes folding the second-row flat a cinch. Upon doing that, the Outback has 73.3 cubic feet of space. That turns this vehicle into a versatile hauler ready for whatever you can throw at it.

Another usual area of weakness for Subaru is in overall technology. While the Subaru engineers probably know their consumer, I believe they deserve a modern infotainment system and a quality sound system. The 2015 Outback makes huge advances in this regard. A 6.2-inch touchscreen is standard for all trims, but my tester had a 7-inch touchscreen. My tester also had a navigation system which had a much more modern feel than previous Subarus. The 12-speaker Harman-Kardon sound system produced average sound quality and didn’t do a great job of shielding out the noticeable road and engine noise.

With the addition of the CVT and the exterior minor tweaks, Subaru is boasting an improvement in fuel economy for this year’s Outback. My tester had an EPA rating of 25/city and 33/highway. I struggled to find anywhere close to the high end 20s or the 30s ever, whether on the highway or not. In a week’s worth of driving, I averaged 27 mpg.

There are four trim options (along with two engine options) for the Subaru Outback. My tester was the 2.5i Premium with a starting price of $27,295. It came with extra options like the Eyesight package which brings with it lots of good safety features like pre-collision braking, adaptive cruise control and lane departure warning. The final MSRP of my tester came to $30,111.

In an automotive world consisting of numerous crossovers that lack personality and distinction, it’s refreshing to find a vehicle like the Subaru Outback which continues to hold true to itself and offer a rugged, spacious crossover that looks and drives like a station wagon. This station wagon also happens to be ready to go mudding.

Jimmy Dinsmore is a freelance automotive journalist. Email him at jimmydinsmore@yahoo.com.