2025 Subaru Outback Touring XT Review – A Genuine Automotive Icon

Okay, so let’s say it’s the early 1990s, you’re an auto executive and your company’s sales are in the toilet. Sport utility vehicles are starting to outsell cars, and you don’t have one in your lineup. Worse, you don’t have a platform upon which you could base an SUV, because your company doesn’t build trucks. So, what do you do?

Faced with this exact situation, the management team at Subaru had what turned out to be a brilliant idea. They increased the ride height of their Legacy station wagon for the 1994 model year, called it the Legacy Outback, and launched what came to be a genuine automotive icon. In fact, the Outback was so successful, Subaru dropped the Legacy part of its nameplate, making the Outback a standalone model, which is currently in its sixth generation. Moreover, the Subaru Outback was so good it spawned a number of successful imitators, two of which we’ll discuss below.

Remarkably, while Subaru went on to introduce a number of dedicated SUV models in subsequent years, none of them came close to the success of the Outback. Offered in nine states of trim, the top of the range is the Outback Touring XT, which is the version I sampled. The base price for the 2025 Subaru Outback is $29,995. The price as tested for the Outback Touring XT model I evaluated was $44,356.

2025 Subaru Outback Touring XT First Impressions

Despite its increased ride height, the contemporary Outback remains more station wagon than SUV. This contributes mightily to its desirability. In fact, crossover SUVs have evolved to be more like the Outback, in that they typically ride upon a car-like platform. This gives them the ride comfort and easy handling of cars, while also endowing them with soft-road capabilities. Because of this, the 2025 Subaru Outback Touring XT’s personality is one of adventure, with comfort and thoughtful amenities also playing a significant role.

What’s more, the Outback speaks to the good taste of its buyer, without radiating an air of ostentation. Basically, if the Outback were a person, it’d be someone who approaches life with an air of chill and worldliness but is always down for whatever comes up. The Subaru emanates a quiet strength, one that exudes confidence without being all up in your face about it.

Exterior Dimensions

Driving Impressions And Performance

My Touring XT trimmed Outback was fitted with the marque’s 2.4-liter turbocharged horizontally opposed four. Quoted output is 260 horsepower @ 5,600 RPM and 277 pound-feet of torque at 2,000. The alternative engine is a 182-horsepower, 2.5-liter normally aspirated flat four. The all-wheel drive powertrain runs a continuously variable transmission (CVT) with an overdrive function. The CVT has been programmed to mimic a traditional automatic transmission, which helps the engine avoid droning—for the most part. Towing capacity with the turbocharged 2.4 is rated at 3,500 pounds. Given the Outback’s 8.7-inch ride height, it is unreasonable to expect it to handle like a sports sedan—which it doesn’t. On the other hand, the Outback will deftly accomplish light two-track off-roading.

The package adds roughly another inch of suspension travel, as well as skid plates and a more robust suspension system. This enables it to attack rougher terrain than standard Outback models will accommodate. On pavement, the 2025 Subaru Outback Touring XT rides comfortably, is suitably quiet and goes with enough sophistication to mimic luxury models that cost more.

My driving experience is centered upon the 260-horsepower turbocharged engine, so I can’t really speak to the traits of its 2.5-liter normally aspirated counterpart. However, given I saw zero to 60 times of just under six seconds with the turbocharged flat four, I imagine the 182-horsepower version is less enthusiastic. To that end, I’ve seen quotes for it in the 8.5-second range.

Performance Specifications

Subaru Outback Fuel Economy

On the other hand, I’ve also seen quotes of 26 MPG in the city and 33 on the highway for the 2.5, which bests the turbo 2.4 by four MPG in both categories. The EPA says you can expect to see 22 in the city, 29 on the highway and 25 combined from the XT Touring. And, in fact, I did see 25 MPG overall. This is pretty good when you consider the Outback Touring XT has 260 horsepower and weighs 3,946 pounds.

Interior Design And Comfort

Another plus in the Outback’s favor is its interior treatment. Given the model is based upon Subaru’s flagship Legacy sedan, it’s reasonable to expect it to be nice—and it is. Again, though, like the Outback’s exterior styling, it’s a quietly tasteful environment that places emphasis on comfort. In that regard, leg, head and shoulder room is more than adequate at all five seating positions. Now, before you get the idea, the interior is long on functionality and short on style. That’s not the case at all. While it’s evident that functionality was a prominent aspect of the Outback’s design brief, quality and a sense of flair too. Nice materials and handsome styling are blended to create a near-luxurious experience.

Interior Dimensions

Technology And Ease Of Use

The centerpiece of the Outback’s interior design is an 11.6-inch touchscreen, which is just larger than the 11-inch iPad Pro and iPad Air models. To Subaru’s credit, knobs and a few buttons are offered to support basic audio and climate control functions. Pretty much everything else relies on that touchscreen though. The Harman Kardon audio system pumped 576 watts into 12 speakers.

and Android compatibility are standard. My Outback Touring XT was also equipped with Subaru’s native navigation system and a CD player(!) in the console beneath the center armrest. The Outback Touring XT also hosts smart cruise control with lane-centering, forward-collision warning and automated emergency braking. Blind-spot monitoring and rear cross-traffic alert, in addition to reverse automatic braking, as well as front and rear camera systems were also included.

Cargo And Storage Space

The Outback will provide 75.6 cubic feet of carrying capacity when you fold its second row away. That number gets reduced to 35.6 cubic feet when the second row is deployed. To give you a frame of reference for this, one group of testers fitted 11 carry-on suitcases in the cargo compartment with the second row in place. They then got the Outback to hold 23 of them with the second-row seats folded flat. The Subaru’s loadover height measures 28.4 inches.

2025 Subaru Outback Vs. Its Competitors

The two models closest to the Outback are the 2025 Audi A6 Allroad and the 2025 Cross Country. Like the Subaru, both models are based upon station wagon platforms. However, while the three share basic mission portfolios, the price differential between them is broad. The base price of the Audi is roughly $40,000 greater than the Subaru’s. Meanwhile, the Volvo’s base price is approximately $20,000 more than the base model Outback.

How The Subaru Outback Compares To The Audi Allroad

With its handsome styling, capacious cargo compartment and genuine off-road capability, the Audi Allroad is a convincing SUV alternative. And this is before you factor in its luxury quotient. Even better, you get a lot for the money despite the relatively high price of acquisition. The Allroad comes pretty much fully equipped, so optioning one up isn’t really necessary. Power comes from a 335-horsepower 3.0-liter turbocharged V6, which is also good for 369 pound-feet of torque. A seven-speed automatic transmission feeds the Audi’s Quattro all-wheel-drive system, which benefits from an adjustable air suspension system. Pricing starts at $70,500.

How The Subaru Outback Compares To The Volvo V60 Cross Country

Easily the prettiest station wagon currently offered by any manufacturer, Volvo’s V60 Cross Country is sleek and sophisticated. What’s more, its interior treatment is just as lovely as the exterior’s. Like the Audi, the is an outstanding choice for those who need light off-road capability—but don’t want to sacrifice style, quality and, of course, the all-important prestige factor. The Volvo’s turbocharged inline four displaces 2.0 liters and generates 247 horsepower and 258 pound-feet of torque. This, of course, has it playing second fiddle to the Subaru in the performance department, but it readily eclipses the Subaru in every other category—save one. The Volvo’s pricing starts at $51,495, compared to the Subaru Outback’s $29,995.

Our Recommendation For Which Model You Should Buy

All three models have strong points in their favor. The Subaru does pretty much everything the other two can do, for considerably less money. The Audi is far more powerful and luxurious than the Subaru, while the Volvo offers just as much sophistication as the Audi—at a better price. Meanwhile, the Subaru will go anywhere either of the other two will go—and offers some nice amenities—for a lot less money.

Perhaps this is why more people go for the Subaru over the other two here in the San Francisco Bay Area. Plus, the Subaru doesn’t give off an air of ostentation. Everyone knows it’s pretty affordable, which is a virtue among the social set here in metropolitan Northern California. After all, this is an area in which former SF Giant baseball great Barry Bonds is quoted as having once quipped, “Where I live, rich people drive Volkswagens.”

However, I find peeling my eyes away from the Volvo’s seductively flowing contours to be a difficult thing to do. The V60 Cross Country is also quieter and offers a more premium interior experience than the Subaru. Yes, it’s down on power compared to the Outback, but the V60 Cross Country is smoother, and it handles better too. Meanwhile, the Audi offers the best qualities of both models, with way more power than either of them—but at a much higher price. Personally, I’d go with the Volvo.