Have you been on the M1 motorway lately? About once a fortnight I need to drive from Newcastle upon Tyne to a small village near Banbury. It’s about 240 miles. I reckon half of those will be done in 50 mph roadworks, in which you’ll be lucky to reach 50 mph the majority of the time. They’re busy constructing escape lay-by areas caused by scrapping the emergency lane.

I suppose I could avoid the motorways altogether and head cross country. The going does get a bit tricky, so something like the Subaru Outback I drove recently would be perfect for the job.

SUV or Estate Car?

The Outback is an estate car with attitude. To a lot of manufacturers this is fairly new trend, but it’s something of a Subaru trademark because its cars are aimed at folk who need to keep going when other cars grind to a halt.

The Subaru Outback is a bit old school in one respect because, although at one time car manufacturers were dead keen to have a proper estate car on their books, most have ditched them in favour of SUVs. The only snag with that of course is that SUVs are becoming increasingly similar, spot one in a car park and you’d struggle to tell which particular model it is.

Subaru, meanwhile, has continued to plough its furrow and stick with the Outback. Hurrah. The model you see here is the 6th generation of the Outback and it’s the smartest version yet. Gone are the days when the Outback, indeed most Subarus, were aimed at the huntin’, shootin’ fishin’ mob. They’re now a terrific alternative for the holiday trip, school, run, weekly shopping trolley and rubbish tip holdall.

I think it looks rather good and, yes, you couldn’t mistake it for anything else.

It’s also up for the job. The Outback’s 4x4 system is one of the best and can handle tricky terrain. If you happen to saunter along to a country fair or visit a horse event, it’s no fluke that Subaru Outbacks are fairly thick on the ground. All-wheel drive is permanent and you can select for snow, deep snow, mud and dirt. Hill descent control is also standard. There’s a decent towing limit of 2.0 tonnes, which is good for those of you with a trailer, caravan or horsebox.

Powertrain and Trims

When it comes to choosing which Outback you fancy, it’s a fairly straightforward job. Engine choice? Only one. A 2.5-litre petrol, 167bhp, 4-cylinder Boxer unit matched to a CVT gearbox.

Trims? Three - Limited, Field and Touring. Paying £36,990 gets you into the Outback Limited. Add around £2k to move up to the next trim level.

No matter which one you go for, they all do 0-60mph in 10.2 seconds, have a top speed of 120mph and have an overall official fuel consumption of around 33mpg, although on a steady motorway journey with just the driver aboard I got close to the 40mpg mark. 

The black plastic bumpers, wheel arch extensions and door sills give the Outback a distinctive appearance, but they are there to ward off brambles and bushes if you venture onto country lanes.

Out on the road

The Outback is surprisingly good to drive. Okay the CVT gearbox, like all CVTs, is slightly disappointing for the simple reason that it doesn’t make the engine sound very good. However, once the revs settle, the Outback becomes a remarkably relaxed cruiser. The 561 litre, well-shaped boot will cope with an entire family’s holiday paraphernalia. For the rest of the time, the family Labrador never had it so good. 

Interior

The 2024 Subaru Outback has been given a minor refresh. The most significant changes are to be found inside

Every Outback now comes with powered front seats, LED headlights, heated front and rear seats, reversing camera, rear parking sensors, DAB radio and a whole host of safety kit. Recent additions have been to the 11.6-inch central touchscreen. It now gets smart phone mirroring. There’s also Eyesight Driver Assist Technology system which keeps an eye on the road ahead and prepares the car if it thinks there’s going to be a collision.

If you want sat nav, powered tailgate, sunroof, leather upholstery etc, move up the trim range, but to be honest, I reckon the Limited trim is ideal for most of you and, at under £37k, represents really good value for money.

The interior is smart but functional. Everything looks and feels seriously solid. This is a car that’s built to last and cope with a few rough and tumbles (inside and out) along the way. 

Owner Retention

Subaru has one of the highest levels of owner retention. In other words, once you’ve got one you tend to go back for more. I can fully understand that. The Outback is the go-to car for the country estate folk who can’t stretch into the Range Rover league and thankfully for the rest of us, it’s also a terrific alternative to the swathes of SUVs and will be perfectly happy as a family workhorse. I’d highly recommend.

words: Graham Courtney
pictures: Subaru