Topic: Preview: 2015 Subaru Outback

[Autos_Editor]

Subaru launches its refined 2015 Outback crossover in the big city, but it's still a ruggedly handsome and capable utility vehicle fit for country living.

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[Steve C]

This looks like a practicle vehicle. Closer to a station wagon than pretty much anything else out there. Lots of room for gear when on a road trip or camping, with the extra clearance and AWD to get through our nasty winters. My question is, can the 4 cylinder get out of it's own way? This is not a small vehicle, and with AWD, 175 horsepower doesn't seem like much.

[OliverD]

I'm surprised that they are even bothering with a manual transmission for Canada considering we buy 1/20th the number of Outbacks that the U.S. does. They'll sell all of 250 of them here!

This Outback is a huge improvement over the old one in terms of styling. The last gen model never grew on me; those headlights were just too much IMO.

[tazcubed]

I'm sitting on the fence on this one. Better that it's FINALLY gotten rid of the aftermarket stereo (I can't stand the Panasonic unit in my '12 Forester), and it's improved on a number of fronts. I kinda like it from a practical point, but really wish they'd bring over the Legacy Wagon again with a sportier attitude than this crossover blend. I would imagine the Outback is more utility than fun.

[Northernridge]

Still considering an Outback to replace the Ridgeline as our next cottage vehicle...at the moment I'm preferring the 4Runner though.

[bombastic]

Not bad. Why is the loading line so high?

[redman]

This looks like a practicle vehicle. Closer to a station wagon than pretty much anything else out there. Lots of room for gear when on a road trip or camping, with the extra clearance and AWD to get through our nasty winters. My question is, can the 4 cylinder get out of it's own way? This is not a small vehicle, and with AWD, 175 horsepower doesn't seem like much.

I would agreed with you at one time until I drove the 2.5 boxer engine. Torque peak arrives at a lower RPM than conventional (ICE) engines and aides in the feeling of a larger engine giving you the get up and go when you need it most. The downfall of the engine came at it's peak RPM range, petering out lower then "V" or inline engines. I find that the CVT transmission lends itself well to the newer FB engine than the previous EJ engines especially with the previous 4sp auto which hit it's highway limits quickly. Few non aspirated engines give you that nice lower torque feel (save BMW inlines)
Having gone through this snowy and icy winter gave me some good insight with Subaru's CVT, unlike my wife's 4sp auto Forester I found the CVT has a rear wheel bias and will tend to fishtail instead of plow when accelerating into a curve (experimenting only ) I drove with the stability turned off most of the time which minimizes the use of ABS and let's the Subaru AWD shine.

Peak horsepower, @ rpm    170 @ 5,800 rpm    
Peak torque, lb-ft @ rpm    174 @ 4,100 rpm
http://drive2.subaru.com/Win11/itsWhatMakes.htm

[Noto]

This sounds like a VERY positive direction for Subaru - hopefully some of those extra niceties will show up in the Forester and Crosstrek line (incl Impreza).

In particular, the "finally up-to-snuff" infotainment unit, cross-traffic alert/blind spot detection, nicer interior quality materials, and the tap once 3 signals on the stalk.

It'd be nice to have the above on the new WRX

[evil_twin]

Definitely the right direction.   Overall shape is pretty similar but nicer individual details make it a lot more handsome, though not beautiful by any means.

[blotter]

agreed this is certainly an improvement.

while the overall shape is similar, it really looks to have been shaped a little bit back toward wagon and less SUV.   At least the front end certainly seems to look that way.

I'm looking forward to seeing it's arrival and taking it for a spin.

[evil_twin]

agreed this is certainly an improvement.

while the overall shape is similar, it really looks to have been shaped a little bit back toward wagon and less SUV.   At least the front end certainly seems to look that way.

I'm looking forward to seeing it's arrival and taking it for a spin.

Was thinking of your shopping thread.  Seems about perfect for your needs if you can live with a little less towing capacity.

[SaskSpecV]

JY, did you get confirmation from Subaru Canada reps that the M/T is only the base trim, and not available on the mid-level Touring trim?  The current Outback and Forester Touring trims are still available with M/T (but not the Limited trims).

This new version looks better than the current Outback - but that isn't very hard   Seems a little less "bloated", even though it is marginally larger.  I'd like to see it in a nicer colour than beige though!  And maybe different rims...

I hope Subaru maintains decent towing capability with this new Outback (unlike the 2014 Forester).  Looks like it is definitely worth a test drive for me.

[blotter]

agreed this is certainly an improvement.

while the overall shape is similar, it really looks to have been shaped a little bit back toward wagon and less SUV.   At least the front end certainly seems to look that way.

I'm looking forward to seeing it's arrival and taking it for a spin.

Was thinking of your shopping thread.  Seems about perfect for your needs if you can live with a little less towing capacity.

current towing capability is 3,300lbs
I'm not sure if the new CVT will change that?

I think if we could stay with a 2,000lbs trailer, this would work.

wife is currently on the truck thing and worried about safety. (towing safely)

[nlm]

Thanks for including info about their use of torque vectoring on both AWD systems!

I welcome the tweaks to design but wished for more oomph out of both engines. Wood panel stickers....really?!?

[blotter]

Thanks for including info about their use of torque vectoring on both AWD systems!

I welcome the tweaks to design but wished for more oomph out of both engines. Wood panel stickers....really?!?

more oomph is always welcomed but here's some interesting numbers:

Horsepower
Subaru Outback 3.6R 256 (2014)
Toyota Tacoma 236
Jeep Cherokee V6 271
Honda Ridgeline 250

Weight
Subaru Outback 3.6R 3682 lbs (2014)
Toyota Tacoma 4275 lbs
Jeep Cherokee V6 4075 lbs
Honda Ridgeline 4521 lbs

[mc-ornell]

"Pricing is not yet announced, but we expect Subaru to continue the trend of reducing Canadian prices to match the US MSRPs despite the recent decline of the Canadian dollar."
Really? Canadian msrp of the 2014 Outback is $5000 higher, auto trans. is $1300 vs $1000 and freight/dealer prep is double
($1650 vs $825). Plus there are $332.45 in additional fees, whatever they are. So before tax, a base manual Outback is $30,077.45 in Canada and $24,320.000 in the US. That's a difference of $6,157.45.
Or, to put it another way, even a base XV Crosstrek in Canada is more expensive than a base Outback in the US.
Ouch!

[Noto]

"Pricing is not yet announced, but we expect Subaru to continue the trend of reducing Canadian prices to match the US MSRPs despite the recent decline of the Canadian dollar."
Really? Canadian msrp of the 2014 Outback is $5000 higher, auto trans. is $1300 vs $1000 and freight/dealer prep is double
($1650 vs $825). Plus there are $332.45 in additional fees, whatever they are. So before tax, a base manual Outback is $30,077.45 in Canada and $24,320.000 in the US. That's a difference of $6,157.45.
Or, to put it another way, even a base XV Crosstrek in Canada is more expensive than a base Outback in the US.
Ouch!

All manufacturers charge more for freight in Canada - fewer people to disburse the cost.
All manufacturers have higher MSRP in Canada than in the US.
You don't have to pay the $332.45 dealer fees - unless you want the vehicle pronto, and others also have fees, but tell you about them later.

and let's not forget that our dollar has fallen to the toilet and is now $1.10 for every $1 USD:
$24,320.00 USD = $26,837.12 CAD at today's exchange rate for a difference of $3,240.33, not $6,157.45.  When Canada starts selling 10x more vehicles, our prices can come down, too.

Price it out in Australia and tell me how you feel.

[blotter]

"Pricing is not yet announced, but we expect Subaru to continue the trend of reducing Canadian prices to match the US MSRPs despite the recent decline of the Canadian dollar."
Really? Canadian msrp of the 2014 Outback is $5000 higher, auto trans. is $1300 vs $1000 and freight/dealer prep is double
($1650 vs $825). Plus there are $332.45 in additional fees, whatever they are. So before tax, a base manual Outback is $30,077.45 in Canada and $24,320.000 in the US. That's a difference of $6,157.45.
Or, to put it another way, even a base XV Crosstrek in Canada is more expensive than a base Outback in the US.
Ouch!

All manufacturers charge more for freight in Canada - fewer people to disburse the cost.
All manufacturers have higher MSRP in Canada than in the US.
You don't have to pay the $332.45 dealer fees - unless you want the vehicle pronto, and others also have fees, but tell you about them later.

and let's not forget that our dollar has fallen to the toilet and is now $1.10 for every $1 USD:
$24,320.00 USD = $26,837.12 CAD at today's exchange rate for a difference of $3,240.33, not $6,157.45.  When Canada starts selling 10x more vehicles, our prices can come down, too.

Price it out in Australia and tell me how you feel.

On top of that (at least the last time I looked) you can't compared say the 3.6R in Canada with the 3.6R in the US.   The Canada version comes with more options.   For whatever reason it's not in sync.   So in the US, when you build the car (online) you have to add some package to match apples to apples.   Yes it was still cheaper in the US, but the gap really came down.

[S. Aureus]

All manufacturers charge more for freight in Canada - fewer people to disburse the cost.
All manufacturers have higher MSRP in Canada than in the US.
You don't have to pay the $332.45 dealer fees - unless you want the vehicle pronto, and others also have fees, but tell you about them later.

and let's not forget that our dollar has fallen to the toilet and is now $1.10 for every $1 USD:
$24,320.00 USD = $26,837.12 CAD at today's exchange rate for a difference of $3,240.33, not $6,157.45.  When Canada starts selling 10x more vehicles, our prices can come down, too.

Price it out in Australia and tell me how you feel.

Could you please elaborate? How do I avoid paying PDI or whatever it is called?

[jyarkony]

JY, did you get confirmation from Subaru Canada reps that the M/T is only the base trim, and not available on the mid-level Touring trim?  The current Outback and Forester Touring trims are still available with M/T (but not the Limited trims).

This new version looks better than the current Outback - but that isn't very hard   Seems a little less "bloated", even though it is marginally larger.  I'd like to see it in a nicer colour than beige though!  And maybe different rims...

I hope Subaru maintains decent towing capability with this new Outback (unlike the 2014 Forester).  Looks like it is definitely worth a test drive for me.

yes, base trim 2.5i only - the options list on Touring trim starts with the CVT, which for '14 you could still get with manual. I'll confirm.

agreed about the less 'bloated' look, and only after looking back at old pictures did i realize how much nicer these headlights are... how about that orange they have on the Crosstrek? yikes!