Driving Sports

In the last couple of years, Subaru has definitely become a bigger car company. Not that the company itself is larger, although they’ve remained profitable through the worst automotive economy since the 1930s, but their cars have tended to swell even as the economy is shrinking.

The basic Impreza is still a C-segment car, but the Forester was built on the same chassis, and used to be about the same size. The Legacy sedan and Outback wagon were a little larger, and then there was the big Tribeca minivan. But now both the Forester and Outback have grown taller, wider, and longer until they’re all about the same size as the Tribeca.  Example: Compared to 2009, the 2010 Outback is 6% bigger in interior volume, 2.8 inches longer in the wheelbase, 2 inches wider, and they’ve raised the roof for more headroom.

I’m sure there’s a focus group somewhere that told Subaru that Americans wanted big cars, but I can’t fathom why they’d take the compact and useful Forester and inflate it, then inflate the perfectly comfortable Outback to match. If you buy the Outback with the 3.6-liter 6-cylinder engine, I’m not sure what kind of market that leaves for the Tribeca.

But that’s all insider baseball, and it’s not my job to psychoanalyze Subaru’s product planning division. Let’s get down to brass tacks – what’s this new Outback like?

The big development (apart from physical development) on the Outback is Subaru’s new “Lineartronic” continuously variable transmission. This replaces the venerable 4EAT and 5EAT automatics that used to grace Subaru’s entire lineup. Like most modern CVTs, this transmission allows the driver to select a “gear” (really a drive ratio) with a set of paddle shifters, and it’s a nice box. Of course, the CVT supports Subaru’s signature symmetrical All Wheel Drive system as well. If you buy the 3.6-liter Outback, you get the 5EAT, which is a perfectly nice traditional automatic.

You can buy your Outback starting at an attractive $22,995 with a 6-speed manual transmission, or $23,995 with the CVT. The model we tested was the upscale Premium Limited version, which is priced at $27,995, but includes heated leather seats, nice stereo, moonroof, and dual-zone climate control. Ours will also cost $300 more because it’s rated as a PZEV, or Partial Zero Emissions Vehicle. That’s some extra pollution control and something of a misleading name from the EPA. I don’t know what “partial zero” is, and I can’t imagine anyone else does, either. It’s like being “partially pregnant” or “partially married.” Although generations of men on business trips have used the latter formulation to fool women with great success, so maybe there’s something to this after all.

Driving the Outback was a pleasure. I didn’t care much for the 2010 Legacy, which seemed slow and soft. But the Outback is firm in its ride and the 170 horsepower 2.5-liter engine gives it plenty of get-up-and-go. Handling is ok for a big car, although we were surprised at the level of understeer. Take the Outback onto a wet street and it plows like a John Deere!

Inside, the new Outback is indeed roomy. The age-old rap about Subaru interiors does not apply – this interior is nice. Even the fake plastic wood grain on the Premium Limited edition is unobtrusive. The total effect is quite comfortable and pleasant to use. And the Outback gives you as much cargo space as a 747 –  which is critical to the whole Golden Retriever plus Camping Gear equation.

The bottom line is that the 2010 Subaru Outback remains a good value and will certainly continue to be the official family vehicle of Oregon and Washington. As winter approaches, if you’re looking for a capable AWD wagon-crossover-thingy, you should certainly place the Outback at the front of your list.