The 2024 Subaru Outback Continues to Deliver | MotorWeek Road Test 

I don't miss him. He became nothing more than a paid product pusher in his last couple of decades.

I have a 2024 XT and my only complaints are some wonky infotainment behavior at times and poor city gas mileage in the winter.

It’s called Infotainment Fatigue and some car manufacturers are also going back to physical HVAC knobs, enough of those Jumbotron screens, it’s a car after all not a home movie theater.

The response time is terrible as well.

Yeah that close-up on the screen really showed how bad it was.

@@Khrrck having to take my eyes off the road to change the temperature might honestly be a deal-breaker for me. I'm looking to buy a new car later this year, and while the Outback is on my list to consider, I'd lean heavily towards a design that still includes rotary controls for the audio and HVAC.

I have 24,000 miles on my 23 Limited. The screen is great. Yes, occasionally a little slow to respond... But the negativity about the climate controls are, in my opinion, completely unnecessary. How often are people changing the automatic climate controls? There are dedicated physical buttons to make it warmer or cooler. There are dedicated physical buttons to turn on/off the front and rear windshield defoggers. What more do you need to adjust frequently? Plus, everything else is always accessible at the bottom of the screen. It's well laid out and works well. I was concerned about this, only because it seems every online car review seems to hate it. I like it a lot. The large screen for Android Auto/Apple car play is great. Plus, as people have pointed out ways to improve it, Subaru has made those changes and updated them "over the air." You won't see that happening with physical buttons.

Their hybrid history is a bit unsavory. The last one got worse MPG than the NA powerplant.

@@trekster9269 And they're coming out with a new hybrid in '25 (late '24) using the Toyota hybrid system. That takes care of the "unsavory" issue.

Why do you act like you have so much invested in Subaru? Is there really that little to your life? This is the hill you choose to die on? @@eskieman3948

Are they coming out with a remodel in 2025?

Definitely not fast as wrx.

305k miles on my 93 loyale wagon

Infotainment sucks on my 2023 OB Touring, slow like molasses, doesn’t always responds to tactile commands and sometimes it just doesn’t recognize your smartphone like stepping out to the convenience store and back, your phone won’t connect anymore till next time you turn off the car. They must have installed a processor that was available during the Cold War. and not something that can handle that 11.6” monstrosity of a screen.

Yea, that 2 seconds is vital to life when you need your radio to light up. 😁

That’s on a good day.

Who cares if you have to wait a few seconds,at 75 years old,I have owned plenty of junks,tires,bad,batteries bad,exhaust systems bad,radiators bad,should I go on,you poor little cry babies!I know it in your DNA,one more reason they should of never done away with the military draft,a lot of whiners out there!

That’s a feature. 😂

by the looks of it , its a mandatory experience by all subaru owners@@RabbiJesus

??? Got to let negativity go……..

keep smoking the reefer @@martinr8278

Hard to let consistent battery drain negativity go when reliability falls off so drastically; replacement batteries are of little solace when you are stuck somewhere remote or even at home repeatedly. Dealers have had no fix.

That seems like the roles the Forester and Crosstrek are already providing, both of which also offer Wilderness trims. As far as any beefier than that, moving forward, Subaru is not going to make a body on frame vehicle, or a vehicle with a solid rear axle, or a vehicle with a two-speed transfer case. It'll compete with the Bronco Sport, but never the Bronco. They are enjoying tons of sales by leaning into the "car based offroader" market with their Wilderness models.

Looks like literally every other car nowadays. Kinda of resembles a Hyundai or something.

That may be but these hold up VERY well in severe impacts. Interior compartment structural integrity is among the best available

My guy, this is so the body panels crumple against impact with a pedestrian or other cars.

Paint fumes

Those are nice.

Cue the fanboys who get emotionally attached to inanimate objects.

Subaru was one of the last hold outs because of comments like yours, it cost them millions in lost sales. They even wrote an article on it a few years back. Turns out that statistically your demographic doesn't have the expendable income required to qualify it as a product line. (we want it, but can't buy it new)

They did that with LL Bean.

I feel like it's definitely a SUV now. Very tall both in suspension and body height. Compare to one of the other few wagons available in the US like the ones from Volvo or Audi and it's quite distinct.

It has been an mpv for the last 15 years. They call it a crossover since that is what the west wants to call it. When it stopped being a legacy trim after the 05-09 model it has not been a wagon or even related to one. They tried calling the 5th gen legacy mpv a wagon (that one is a non lifted outback and not based on the 5th gen legacy sedan.) The 5th gen legacy isnt even on the legacy platform. The 1st gen levorg was a wagon on the legacy pkaform. That is what the outback would look like with no lift it was a wagon. The outback crossover has a high waist line, vertical seating, and would not be a sedan if you lowered it and tried putting a trunk on it.

GM's 'clam shell' wagons had forward-facing 3rd row seats.

It's a wagon and no jump seats don't make a wagon.

“Wagon” classification has to do with the body style combined with the length/height ratio. The Outback is indeed a wagon.

It is a good thing the Toyota Crown Signia will be here in a few months.

I average almost 32mpg with the base engine.

You should get a Prius then. And drive 60 MPH in the fast lane, infuriating everyone behind you.

I range from 22-29 with 24--26 being my average with smarter daily routes and keeping my foot in check. Really closer to the 22 if I'm all city, and honestly get the 28-29 with all highway. Took it on a 1000 mile trip from PA to Florida and was getting 28 most of the waydown, and on the way back up about 25 with some extra weight, heavier traffic, heavy footed sprints to pass and more up hill.

no, this is fine.... not everything needs to be cutting edge and unproven...

A new one is expected for 2025

@allentoyokawa9068 you are mistaken...pull your head out a d get some glasses pal.

@@witsendcottage595 Allen is a homer. He thinks anything Japanese is perfect.

Agree with you. It's a great roof rack if you need one. I don't use it and I don't see lots of Outback owners using it on a daily basis . Could take the shift paddles off too and spend the money on user friendly HVAC and radio knobs.

Lol get over yourself

@@tyhyhh 🤦‍♂️ I see you’re a student of economics. 🙄

Agreed. Subaru hasn't had any significant improvements, well ever.

@@trekster9269they were a great vehicle in the 90’s. Now they’re just par for the course. Lack of innovation.

@@RabbiJesus Umm they STILL are innovating and STILL are great vehicles

Shoulda ordered a '21 Crosstrek Limited like me then.

Go eyeball some junk from Tesla, that'll change your mind about the frontend looks of a Subaru.

@@danielfair4675 i like the styling on the teslas. I wish the Outback could have a more refined look, like Audi or Mercedes.

Built in Indiana, so colour me surprised…

Get a new line. Nobody buys hotcakes anymore.

The off-road performance so bad and not anywhere close to the old automatics that could lock the center coupling. It won't go anywhere a fwd car wouldn't.

@@zanzabar4ky7 Guarantee my OBW will go almost anywhere a jeep will go.

Not true. Their AWD is proportioned 60/40 and is always on unless there is slip. Some of you folks know nothing of this vehicle.

I’ve driven mine on Assateague Island in soft sand as many other Subaru owner have just fine.

@@bills.520 that is not how ats works. I think you are mixing up and combining the old 4act locking coupling and the vtd center diff (it works like 2nd gen dccd with a fancy planetary center diff.) The old locking 4 act system can go anywhere a jeep can. Ats and 4act are couplings not diffs. There is no way for them to drive both axles without slip at anything other than 50:50 without gewr correction. A coupling takes a fixed drive axel and puts a shaft with a clutch pack or torque converter between that and the off axel. The off axel in some systems (like 4act) can lock to act like a transfer case. In most modern versions like ats there is a non locking fluid coupling. With an up to 60:40 split that means the front axel has to rotate faster than the rear since the non distributed force has to be equal. The only way it can drive the rear is if there is front slip or the rear stalls so there is a difference in of speed at the front and back of the diff that overcomes the difference in the applied torque split. You essentially need there to be a 6:4 ratio in wheel speed for the ats system to drive the rear. Otherwise the road will drive the diff and the coupling slips. It is "full time" since the coupling cannot fully disengage, but you will never drive the rear without slip. It also means if you are say free spinning the front tires so the rear gets power like x mode 2 does, you will stop driving the rear if the front grabs. Without xmode 2 you are not going to do well climbing up a slippery hill with ats, and it is only really useful from a stop if you send it and don't dig your front tires in. Ats will not you crawl like a 4x4 or the old 4act system Subaru had. Audi had a great video explaining the difference of their haldex and sport haldex couings. The sport has gear correction and does what you are thinking, the normal works like ats. Toyota also has a great video about the Yaris gr and it has a non locking, locked, and overdriven gear correction for their coupling.

Any better alternatives out there?

@@cpg8000 There are tons of CUV choices out there for around $40k. Toyota is a good place to start.

They lost any cool when they dumped the manual transmission

@@mumwifeteacher that certainly didn't help. I learned to drive stick on a 1990 Legacy wagon. Loved that car.

My 2024 outback CVT has already failed twice with less than 2200 miles!

Argh. If you need to disparage others please at least get the car right - that’s the Forester.

You just failed by saying the wrong model. That's the Forester not the Outback.

So how are your Mom's doing?

Well, as a straight white male with a wife and 3 dogs and an Outback, I applaud their car choice.

Rescued pitbulls with bite histories.

It would be great if they made a standard version of Outback wagon without the Tupperware experience. They could then add the plastic or rubber bits to an off-road use version. Most people are not taking the hills with these every weekend anyway. The steering is going to be improved for 2025 model. A new exterior is on the way as well. I like the current look of the CrossTrek, though it has more Tupperwear than need be. The new Forester, judging by photos only, is to my eyes better than before, but not overly exciting. It should be a design which holds the looks over a decade, which is a good thing. And the CrossTrek is the same -- not over-the-top styled, just kinda a sporty looking smaller hatchback. Oh, I guess they call them cross overs -- cross from hatchbacks :))

Nah, Tesla owns that title, and it's not leaving anytime soon.

@@danielfair4675 lmao I definitely won’t argue with that 🤣

Apparently you don’t own one but now your an expert. Hurray

@@martinr8278 yet I’ve driven a few on numerous occasions for upwards of 300 mi round trip and as I said, interior feels and looks cheap, and their infotainment system is garbage. Considering the demographic for Subarus I don’t get why they thought going for an iPad looking touch screen was a smart idea.

apparently the engine is that way too