2020 Subaru Outback

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In the design process for this sixth-generation Outback, Subaru workshopped four different design ideas with potential customers. And wouldn't you know it, those folks liked the one that looks almost exactly like the outgoing model. Even design details that Subaru touts as being new, such as the scalloped black rocker panels meant to evoke the sole of a hiking boot, have roots in the previous generation's design. An available vertically oriented 11.6-inch infotainment display is the centerpiece of the interior, except in the base model, which makes do with a two-screen setup. Subaru uses two processors to keep response times quick. One controls media functions, and the other deals with climate. The Outback retains knobs for volume and tuning as well as physical controls for adjusting the cabin temperature (although Subaru has switched from dials to buttons for that task). In our experience, the new infotainment system was quick and useful, but some vehicle controls, like the ones that activated the off-road driving mode, were buried in a hard-to-navigate menu structure. Subaru's available driver-monitoring system, introduced on the 2019 Forester, uses face-scanning software to recognize up to five drivers and recall preferences for things such as seating position and climate control, a bit of convenience tech for Outbacks with a lot of drivers. Subaru heavily revised the Outback's base engine, employing some 90 percent new parts. Also used by the Forester, this 2.5-liter flat-four now makes 182 horsepower. The Ascent's 260-hp turbocharged 2.4-liter boxer-four is used in the Outback's three upper trim levels, which are denoted by an XT badge. The Outback now rides on the more rigid Subaru Global Platform, which can absorb 40 percent more energy in a frontal collision than the outgoing platform, says Subaru. The suspension is updated, too, with hollow anti-roll bars in the front and rear for weight savings, though the strut front and multilink rear layouts are unchanged. The car is 1.4 inches longer and 0.6 inch wider than last year's model. The added length went to the rear seat, which offers an additional 1.4 inches of legroom. Changes to the cargo-measuring procedures mean that the 2020 Outback's cargo space behind the rear seat, 33 cubic feet, is nominally smaller than last year's, but Subaru says that when measured using the same method, the new hold is one cube larger than in the 2019 model.