The fantasy of the 2025 Subaru Outback Touring

If you were to filet my brain open, you might be surprised at what falls out. Actually, let’s be honest – you totally would not be surprised. It’s mostly car related. Sure, some room for the wife and kids. Life in general. But over 50% is dedicated to cars in some form or fashion.

And it’s because of that fact that I am very jealous of whomever gets to own a 2025 Subaru Outback Touring. Imagine getting 50% of your brain back?

The 2025 Subaru Outback Touring XT Overview

It’s true, I am jealous. I have to park all the way in the back always and forever because I don’t want anyone near the M3. I shoot them, write about them, watch F1 racing, even go to car shows. It never ends. Cars are my job, but they are also my life.

What if none of that mattered? Last night I was outside washing my car, and I looked over to see my neighbor putting his car seat on the trunk of his car, clearly not worried about scratching. I freaked out for him.

The truth is, this Outback would be too good for him, even if it is designed to occupy a very small space in your brain. It’s reasonably priced, with our loaded Touring XT example coming in well under $50k. It’s not fast, or particularly grippy, but its all-wheel drive will get you out of any trouble you happen to find yourself in. Dare I say it even likes to get dirty.

It wasn’t always like this. The Outback used to be lifted Subaru Legacy – an offshoot of the main model. It wasn’t that long ago that you could buy a Legacy with a turbo engine and manual transmission. But it’s all gone now – the Legacy is dead, and the Outback has become one of Subaru’s best-selling models.

Is there anything left of the Legacy’s legacy? Let’s find out.

Performance Score: 4. Wheeze your way

There’s good and bad to the performance of the Outback. It offers what you expect, mostly stepping aside to allow you to focus on the Cheerios you just dropped on the floor or whatever. Yet when taken as a whole, I enjoyed this drive.

Engine

You can get a cheaper Outback that comes with a 182-horsepower four-cylinder, or opt for this Touring model with its turbocharged four and 260 horses.

Due to many different factors acceleration feels sluggish, and though I can’t imagine just how slow the base model is, I don’t know if this upgraded engine is worth it. Thanks to a CVT that we’ll get to in a minute, the engine sort of drones and lugs even when you’re pushing it.

Flat engines are never smooth, even in a Porsche. And there’s no reason to ever reach its 6,000 RPM redline. 

All that said, if you don’t push the engine, it’s absolutely fine for daily duty. Just watch those highway on ramps.

Transmission

There is no redeeming virtue for a Continuously Variable Transmission. It handicaps the engine’s response, delivers poor gas mileage, and makes these awful whiny sounds. There’s a manual mode to “simulate” different gears, but you’d never want to use it.

About the only good thing is a seamless four-wheel drive operation, allowing for smooth starts no matter the traction level. A snappier transmission would also help make that turbo four feel less neutered. 

Steering and Chassis

The Outback offers terrific steering feel that’s just a bit loose off-center. The Germans could learn a thing or two from the Japanese – and this is with dirt all-season tires. Loved the heft it gave too.

The chassis itself is designed for comfort and loose surfaces, offering a Mercedes-smooth ride that never gets upset over bumps or ruts in the road. I can feel that rally heritage when aiming the nose off-road too – with 8.7 inches of ground clearance, it’s as capable as any SUV minus the “I got jump-scared” looks. That loose steering suddenly makes more sense too.

But all that means this wagon leans over in corners big time, resulting in handling that never likes to be pushed. Sorry, no WRX playfulness here.

It’s not a particularly heavy car – 3,900 lbs and change, but it’s enough to keep the Outback feeling soggy. Overall though, this is a car you could drive for a very long distance without much fatigue, and I can appreciate that.

Brakes

Work well enough. Single piston units clamping vented discs are nothing exotic, and the pedal is slightly soft, matching the rest of the car’s responses. If you’ve faded the brakes in your Outback, my friend, we need to talk about your driving habits. 

Despite what seems to be an average driving experience, I enjoyed being in this car. That amazingly-smooth ride and hefty steering offered some joy, and the rest of the Outback (minus you, CVT) never gets in the way.

Lifestyle Score: 10. The anti-SUV

The entire point of this car is practicality, and it’s hard to be disappointed with the 2025 Subaru Outback Touring in that regard.

Start up front – what amazing seats! Sorry, but as I get older and the curve of my spine goes from “Mulsanne Straight” to “Circuit de Barcelona”, I really appreciate seats that are both supportive and long-distance comfortable. You don’t want to get out of a four-hour road trip feeling exhausted just from sitting, and these seats are far beyond what a Toyota Crown offers.

The back seat continues the good vibes, with plenty of legroom even if the front seats are pushed back. It’s better in here than most SUVs.

Wanna bring things? The turbo motor allows you to tow 3,500 pounds, and the trunk offers copious amounts of room. It’s wide, flat, and expansive, and the Outback’s seden-level ride height means loading up is easy.

I love wagons, and the Outback’s versatility makes me question why sedans are still a thing.

Fuel Economy: 2. What’s the point?

If the Outback’s powertrain is the automotive equivalent of eating your veggies, then there should be some payoff. So let me give you some numbers:

• 25 Combined /22 City / 29 Highway MPG
• 27 Combined / 25 City / 30 Highway MPG

I’m sure you’ve guessed at which numbers belong to the Outback. The other is from a 2025 BMW X3 M50. That car weights 600 pounds more than the Outback, and has 133 more horsepower.

Now clearly the X3 is a much more expensive car, but the point I want to call out is that the combination of a turbo four and awkward transmission equates to some pump pain. It doesn’t need to be fast, but it should be frugal.

Features and Comfort: 8. Not your Dad’s Legacy

Fun fact: I briefly had a 2012 Impreza that would serve as a fine vessel to take me to work each day (and preserve the E92 M3). Here we are 13 years later, and Subaru’s features remains much the same in good and bad ways.

Outback Steakhouse

There are no less than nine Outback trim levels that span about $15,000 in price difference. Regardless of the one you select, the Outback is made of nice material inside.

Our fully-loaded Touring XT has baseball-glove inspired Nappa leather that’s very soft and is dispersed liberally throughout the cabin. Lot’s of moo for sure.

There’s an upgraded 11.6-inch display that’s CarPlay compatible, and houses everything from dual climate control to ventilated front seats and the Harmon Kardon stereo. 

Subaru is a big seller of “safety” – in fact they list those features first on the Monroney label, an unusual tell. I continue to dislike them, mainly due to Subaru’s EyeSight system. It’s very aggressive if it thinks you’re following too close, and will brake so hard you’d think you already hit something. And the Adaptive Cruise Control with Lance Centering leaves waaaayyy to much room to the car in front, even on its closest setting. That gives people the chance to jump in front of you, and then you slow down even more. I just turned the damn thing off.

Things beep and borp at you all drive-long. Listen, I got it Subaru. Maybe the mommy with the phone in her hand and and radio blaring should pay better attention. I digress.

Overall tons of features in here, so while it’s a lot more than a base model, $44,356 is still cheap for a car with this much inside. Luxury automakers better step up their game.

NPC

Painted Cosmic Blue Pearl and shod with 18-inch machine-finished dark metallic wheels, this Subaru is…perfectly designed to blend in.

If you look closer, you’ll see an identity crisis. Chrome trim around the windows and satin silver mirrors scream “luxury!“, while unpainted black plastic trim yell “adventure!“. But it’s not very convincing as either. Rocks are going to spray well beyond those unpainted wheel arches, and the only brush you’re going to avoid better be no taller than a blade of grass. But just for fun, they have a matte silver lower lip on the front bumper, probably the most exposed bit.

The 2025 Subaru Outback Touring does get some cool kit – LED auto-dimming responsive headlights, a butch-looking roof rack and large sunroof are standard on the Touring. But if you’d like more butch, the Wilderness trim actually does look the part while being slightly cheaper.

Others wagons and sedans to consider

• 2025 Toyota Crown
• 2024 Volvo S60 T8 Recharge
• 2018 BMW 33oi xDrive Sports Wagon

The 2025 Subaru Outback Touring XT isn’t pretentious. Are you?

The history of Subaru is fascinating. Starting out as the Nakajima Aircraft Company, they ended up designing and supplying a vast majority of planes for the Japanese in World War II. Once the war ended, they were forbidden to continue making things with wings, so the company shifted its focus to the automotive industry as Fuji Heavy Industries. If you’ve ever looked at your Subie’s car payment, you’re now making the “ooohhh” face.

Nakajima was known for its innovative designs, and they brought that same kind of thinking to Japan’s blossoming car industry at the time. Now nearly a century later, that same thoughtfulness is still evident in cars like the Outback.

Yea, Subarus are still quirky. A flat four? Every car not named BRZ with all-wheel drive? That weird wagon shape? It all works to help them stand out a bit from the Altimas and Camrys of the world.

But the Outback still requires a very small portion of your brain to operate, and that is perhaps its greatest strength. 

I still better not see you put a car seat on your hood.