Test – Subaru Outback or how to opt for the crossover

Are we heading towards the twilight of SUVs? This question that made people smile or laugh a year or two ago is now on everyone’s mind. With sales peaking at over 50% early last year, the format’s continued growth seems to have come to a halt in recent months.

And within a generally depressed and transforming global market, more and more top executives in the automotive industry are beginning to evoke the hypothesis of a true beginning of decline.

The SUV threatened by its weight

The latest, Vincent Cobée. The old patron of the Citroën marque -qui a quitté ses fonctions en février dernier- confiait quelques semaines avant son départ ainsi qu’on arrivait sans doute à une “end de l’ère SUV, even if they chiffres ne me donnent pas raison for now”. With arguments that make you think, even before considering these vehicles as naturally heavier and more polluting than sedans.

Even within the current development dynamics and in particular electrification, the SUV architecture is increasingly criticized.

“In a battery-powered electric vehicle, if your aerodynamics are bad, the penalty in terms of range is huge,” explained Vincent Cobée.

From then on, “people will start to limit the weight and size of batteries, whether through taxes, incentives, regulations, names, and shaming. Regulation killed mini city cars, the SUV segment big will be the aerodynamics and weight”, he adds.

It is true that the automotive industry has managed, and continues to manage, to transform at spectacular speeds and propose new formats to satisfy the needs of a clientele that, even before technology and performance, favors space, comfort and practicality. The SUV is experiencing its golden age in the face of an aging world population, more accustomed to getting in and out of their car without having to lean back. But if the SUV disappeared for political and fiscal reasons, what alternative then?

The crossover, the versatile alternative

One manufacturer that has always stayed the course, even if it seems anachronistic at times, is Subaru. For decades, the Japanese manufacturer has built a worldwide reputation with its terrifying Impreza WRXs, multiple world rally champions.

But the brand is also and above all known by the general public for its robust and practical Forester and Outback crossovers, refusing the SUV format. With a high waistline, but designed more like large lifted pickups, Subaru crossovers are the essence of an SUV… without being one. With, at the end of the day, a significant additional asset: being truly efficient off-road or off-road, whereas the vast majority of SUVs on the market often don’t have the capabilities.

The Outback is the largest Subaru crossover available on the market. At 4.70 meters long, it’s even bigger than many average SUVs. And with 21 centimeters of free height to the ground by 1.60 meters in height, we left on our feet. Very spacious and light, very well finished, it will certainly make hi-tech enthusiasts and other geeks smile as it is “old fashioned”, no frills but very well equipped.

Also note a coherent but not intrusive central display on the dashboard. The latter brings together many of the vehicle’s practical functions, but without giving up physical controls.

The seats are comfortable in nice leather, the very large rear seat will accommodate three passengers without feeling cramped, and everything gives an impression of robustness and quality with a certain “American” character. The trunk is also generous, logically longer than in an SUV but no less practical on the contrary, with 561 liters and even 1822 once the rear seat is folded down. A real highlight.

The strong point: a capable engine, impeccable traction

Under the hood, while Subaru now has hybrid powertrains (notably in the smaller Forester), the automaker has preferred to equip its Outback with a serious 2.5-liter Boxer engine, the same as the Toyota GR86 we had the pleasure of. to test it beforehand. “Deflated” to 169 horsepower, favors torque and lengthens it, and gently propels this 1.7-tonne machine, with perfect traction (4×4) and not without dynamism. And while it’s long, wide, and heavy, and its automatic transmission sluggish, this Outback proves to be an excellent street-and-street machine, thanks to well-tuned suspension and steering that never really takes you off track. .

But it is rather in the field that this crossover will give its full potential. Because unlike the vast majority of SUVs sold every year in Europe, the Outback is a true crossover made for off-road and off-road rides.

Muddy ruts, rocky or sandy roads, wet pavement, uphill and downhill rough terrain, the Outback pulls through with formidable efficiency, for a versatile, family-oriented vehicle. It is true that the right tires could allow you to go even further in the difficulty, but its capabilities are remarkable, all this again with a very appreciable level of comfort.

The bad: discouraging consumption

But this versatility, the Outback makes it pay dearly in fuel consumption. And in this, the crossover does not do better than an SUV with comparable capabilities. With 8.5 liters per 100 kilometers, the machine is gluttonous. It will have a hard time getting below 10/11 liters in urban driving, because of its weight, its all-wheel drive, and the architecture of its great Boxer engine, an excellent provider of torque but with a ferocious appetite. And with 193 grams of CO2 per kilometer, the Outback is eligible for a particularly disadvantageous fine of 16,810 euros this year. For a machine billed at a base price of 48,825 euros, pain has an apt name.

To sweeten the note, Subaru dealers privately offer the installation of a perfectly approved Borel LPG kit guaranteed for 5 years. Compact (the tank is mounted instead of the spare wheel, at the base of the boot) and not restrictive, it allows you, for performance without change, to refuel at 80 cents per liter, and see the ecological penalty reduced to 2,544 euros ( emissions thus drop to 157 grams per kilometer). Billed 4,700 euros, this device is clearly worth it financially and fiscally.

These consumer considerations aside, the Subaru Outback is a serious alternative to the run-of-the-mill SUV, while embracing many of its qualities and adding some pretty amazing versatility. Few machines on the market will allow you to get to and from the office every morning, drive around the city, comfortably navigate the highway and take you with your family on weekends on country roads, whatever the weather, in excellent condition. of comfort and service.

The only competitors may be the Volvo XC-70 Cross-Country or the significantly more expensive Audi A4 AllRoad. If the crossover takes over from the SUV, the Subaru experience will therefore be an option to choose.