The 2026 Subaru Outback has been revealed on the New York motor present, wanting extra like an SUV than the high-riding wagon it has at all times been.
Subaru will manufacture the brand new Outback in Japan, together with the extra rugged Wilderness which was beforehand produced solely within the US. The brand new-generation mannequin received’t be manufactured within the US in any respect.
We’ve contacted Subaru Australia to verify when the new-generation crossover shall be launched in Australia.
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It’s launching within the US in late 2025, with the extra rugged Wilderness following in early 2026.
The brand new seventh-generation Outback shall be supplied with a selection of two petrol engines, just like the outgoing mannequin, each of that are mated with a repeatedly variable transmission (CVT) that includes a handbook shift mode with eight synthetic gears.
All fashions now additionally characteristic Subaru’s Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive system and a sooner centre differential lockup than earlier than, whereas Wilderness fashions characteristic new electronically managed dampers.
The bottom engine is a naturally aspirated 2.5-litre flat-four with 134kW of energy and 182Nm of torque, whereas a turbocharged 2.4-litre can be obtainable with 194kW and 376Nm.
Solely the latter is obtainable within the Wilderness.
No point out was fabricated from a hybrid powertrain, although it’s seemingly Subaru will ultimately introduce one.
The ‘common’ Outback has 221mm of floor clearance – the outgoing mannequin has 213mm in Australia – whereas the Wilderness bumps this as much as 241mm.
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Outback
Off-road angles are as follows:
| 2026 Subaru Outback | 2026 Subaru Outback Wilderness | |
|---|---|---|
| Strategy angle | 18 levels | 20 levels |
| Breakover angle | 19.4 levels | 21.2 levels |
| Departure angle | 21.4 levels | 22.5 levels |
The styling is boxier than earlier than, with a extra upright entrance fascia and a flatter however 51mm greater roofline. Up entrance, there’s additionally a bigger grille, which on the Wilderness options huge black ‘Subaru’ lettering.
Wilderness fashions additionally characteristic matte black exterior mirrors and cladding, plus a restyled entrance bumper, hexagonal fog lights, and varied anodised copper-finish exterior accents.
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Outback Wilderness
19-inch alloy wheels are newly obtainable on some Outback variants, although the Wilderness is obtainable completely with matte-black 17s in Bridgestone Dueler all-terrain tyres.
Whereas it hasn’t launched full dimensions, Subaru says there’s extra cargo and passenger area than earlier than.
Subaru claims there’s 980L of bags area, up 57L because of a 51mm taller load space. There are tie-down factors for gear.
Within the cargo bay there’s additionally a washable tonneau cowl constituted of recycled supplies, which can be utilized as a partition to safe pets or to cowl the rear bumper to forestall scratches.
The usual raised roof rails have a 363kg static load capability and a 100kg dynamic load ranking.
The corporate additionally claims that for the primary time ever on certainly one of its autos, it could boast a lateral load capability ranking of as much as 100kg from the perimeters of the crossbars, permitting you to hold a hammock or clothesline.
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Outback Wilderness
Inside, all Outback fashions together with the Wilderness characteristic a 12.1-inch touchscreen with wi-fi Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, powered by a brand new processor promising larger responsiveness.
The touchscreen returns to a landscape-oriented format and grows from 11.6 inches, and incorporates a vertically oriented shortcut bar and cloud-based voice recognition.
Forward of the driving force is a brand new 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster which options varied show modes, together with a map show in addition to a Calm Mode aimed toward minimising driver distraction.
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Outback
Subaru has returned to a conventional local weather management array with buttons and knobs, whereas storage consists of bigger bottle holders within the doorways and “extra accessible” cupholders – the latter now positioned to the facet of the shifter.
The X-Mode swap, which lets you choose completely different terrain modes, has been moved to the steering wheel.
Wilderness fashions characteristic unique water resistant StarTex upholstery in addition to extra anodised copper-finish inside accents.
Out there luxurious options in sure Outback fashions, together with the Wilderness, embrace Nappa leather-based upholstery, ventilated entrance seats, and a single-pane sunroof.
The corporate has additionally employed extra sound-absorbing supplies within the roof and headliner, and claims to have lowered wind noise by 10 per cent because of “aerodynamic parts within the physique sides and roof rails”.
Headroom is up, naturally, whereas there are new “low-fatigue seats mounted straight onto the chassis” which Subaru guarantees “enhance long-distance consolation and scale back head motion on longer drives”.
To that finish, Subaru claims lateral sway within the Outback has been lowered by 42 per cent in contrast with its predecessor.
The Outback makes use of a model of the WRX’s dual-pinion digital energy steering rack which Subaru claims supplies a “extra direct and pure steering really feel with larger responsiveness”.
It additionally has the newest technology of Subaru’s EyeSight energetic security and driver help expertise, powered by a mixture of digital camera and radar.
Commonplace security gear consists of:
- Acceleration Override Help
- Adaptive cruise management
- Autonomous emergency braking
- Emergency cease help (brings automotive to a halt when adaptive cruise is on if, for instance, driver falls unconscious)
- Entrance cross-traffic help
- Lane centring
In its presentation on the present, Subaru took some swings on the competitors.
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Outgoing Outback -
The corporate claims the Wilderness is extra succesful off-road than the Hyundai Santa Fe XRT and Ford Bronco Sport Badlands, and claims 96 per cent of all Outbacks offered within the US over the previous 10 years are nonetheless on the highway as we speak, greater than the Toyota RAV4 and Honda CR-V.
The launch of the seventh-generation mannequin coincides with the thirtieth anniversary of the Outback nameplate.
Final yr, Subaru delivered 10,227 Outbacks right here, making it the model’s third best-selling mannequin right here behind solely the Crosstrek (11,545) and Forester (13,445).
It was additionally the third best-selling Subaru within the US, a key marketplace for the model. Final yr, simply over 70 per cent of all Subarus – or 667,725 autos out of 941,758 – had been offered within the US market, with the Japanese market (103,522) a distant second.
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