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Subaru Outback 2023 review: Sport XT long-term | Part 2

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The Subaru Outback is tougher than you might think! (Image: Andrew Chesterton)

Likes

  • Wagon styling suits
  • Punchy turbo engine
  • Practicality for days

Dislikes

  • It's not cheap, with an extra turbo premium
  • Electrification would aid fuel use
  • Safety system overzealous
Andrew Chesterton
Contributing Journalist
15 Sep 2023
5 min read
1 Comment

It is month two with my trusty Outback XT Sport, and I find myself in a position to report on something I didn’t see coming.

And I mean that literally — I really didn’t see the elderly gentlemen who crashed into the back of my Subaru while I was stopped at a crossing coming, but I certainly felt his arrival.

Car accidents always suck (although slightly less so when you’re blameless, I must admit), and no matter how small the impact, they cause instant doomsday-ing, your mind going straight to worst-case damage scenarios. 

But, I’ve got another unexpected tick to put in the Outback’s plus column this month. His car, an older sedan, was not looking so good, with a crack in its bumper and much paint missing.

But the Outback? Barely a scratch, and certainly no dents, with the worst of the damage being some of the other driver’s blue paint that was pretty easily wiped off.

The other driver simply hit the wrong pedal, by the way. A small-scale disaster in a car, but something far more serious had I been sitting on a motorbike...

I can report the Outback holds up better than its competition in small impacts. (Image: Andrew Chesterton)
I can report the Outback holds up better than its competition in small impacts. (Image: Andrew Chesterton)

It’s a perk I hope you never have to experience for yourself, but I can report the Outback holds up better than its competition in small impacts.

Of course, it’s an advantage you will only get to experience should you be able to get your hands on an XT Outback (XT meaning the turbocharged engine variant, which is absolutely the one you want) with wait times now stretching four months, following a record year for Subaru sales across its most popular variants.

Subaru says supply is now improving, and in even better news, is suggesting the turbocharged engine could also appear on the entry-level Outback, lowering the cost of entry, but the brand isn’t giving any concrete timeframes.

Subaru says supply is now improving, and in even better news, is suggesting the turbocharged engine could also appear on the entry-level Outback, lowering the cost of entry, but the brand isn’t giving any concrete timeframes. (Image: Andrew Chesterton)
Subaru says supply is now improving, and in even better news, is suggesting the turbocharged engine could also appear on the entry-level Outback, lowering the cost of entry, but the brand isn’t giving any concrete timeframes. (Image: Andrew Chesterton)

For now, the best engine is only available on our XT Sport, and the top-shelf XT Touring, and I must admit I’m enjoying my time with the former immensely.

There have been a couple of quirks, though. The first is that I’ve never encountered a more finicky wireless Apple CarPlay system in my life.

Sometimes it works, often it doesn’t, and I’ve had to delete my device and reconnect probably half a dozen times to try and spark a connection.

The best engine is only available on our XT Sport, and the top-shelf XT Touring, and I must admit I’m enjoying my time with the former immensely. (Image: Andrew Chesterton)
The best engine is only available on our XT Sport, and the top-shelf XT Touring, and I must admit I’m enjoying my time with the former immensely. (Image: Andrew Chesterton)

Doubling my frustration is the fact that, for some reason, my iPhone cable won’t create a wired connection, either, but that’s possibly my fault for using an el-cheapo cable. I will source a real one this month and report back.

Quirk two isn’t unique to Subaru, but it annoys me. When you’re on the move, much of the multimedia and communication options are locked away behind a safety nanny, meaning you need to come to a complete stop to access any of CarPlay’s more complicated functions, like picking a phone number out of your address book.

You can overcome it by using Siri, but I find Apple’s helper a little hit and miss, too, so I usually find myself pulling over when I want to do something the Subaru won’t let me do while on the move.

Quirks aside, though, the Outback is a super-solid offering in this segment, and one that I reckon is probably every bit as suited to DINK couples (like my wife and I) as it is to families.

The boot space is tremendous, the space in the cabin ample, and while I haven’t really put it to the rough-road test, yes, I appreciate the AWD powertrain, decent ride height and 'X-Mode' off-road settings. (Image: Andrew Chesterton)
The boot space is tremendous, the space in the cabin ample, and while I haven’t really put it to the rough-road test, yes, I appreciate the AWD powertrain, decent ride height and 'X-Mode' off-road settings. (Image: Andrew Chesterton)

The boot space is tremendous, the space in the cabin ample, and while I haven’t really put it to the rough-road test, yes, I appreciate the AWD powertrain, decent ride height and 'X-Mode' off-road settings.

I said this last month (and my view hasn’t changed) but I could very much see this XT Sport Outback finding a home at Casa Chesto.

In fact, in a weird coincidence, it kind of already has. Just eight weeks ago my sister bought an Outback Sport, finished in an identical 'Autumn Green'.

She’s married with three kids, and after testing a heap of three-row SUVs, she settled on the Outback without any help or influence from me – though I'd be lying if I said I wasn't thrilled to learn that at lease on family in Australia will be keeping the wagon dream alive, rather than resorting to an SUV.

And the very best part, at least as far as our sibling rivalry goes? She bought the non-turbo engine, which makes my near-identical Outback XT just that little bit better. 

At least when I have mine back…

Acquired: July, 2023

Distance travelled this month: 1151km

Odometer: 4535km

Average energy consumption this month: 11.8L/100km

Read the full 2023 Subaru Outback review

Pricing Guides

$51,093
Based on 193 cars listed for sale in the last 6 months.
LOWEST PRICE
$40,490
HIGHEST PRICE
$61,990
Andrew Chesterton
Contributing Journalist
Andrew Chesterton should probably hate cars. From his hail-damaged Camira that looked like it had spent a hard life parked at the end of Tiger Woods' personal driving range, to the Nissan Pulsar Reebok that shook like it was possessed by a particularly mean-spirited demon every time he dared push past 40km/h, his personal car history isn't exactly littered with gold. But that seemingly endless procession of rust-savaged hate machines taught him something even more important; that cars are more than a collection of nuts, bolts and petrol. They're your ticket to freedom, a way to unlock incredible experiences, rolling invitations to incredible adventures. They have soul. And so, somehow, the car bug still bit. And it bit hard. When "Chesto" started his journalism career with News Ltd's Sunday and Daily Telegraph newspapers, he covered just about everything, from business to real estate, courts to crime, before settling into state political reporting at NSW Parliament House. But the automotive world's siren song soon sounded again, and he begged anyone who would listen for the opportunity to write about cars. Eventually they listened, and his career since has seen him filing car news, reviews and features for TopGear, Wheels, Motor and, of course, CarsGuide, as well as many, many others. More than a decade later, and the car bug is yet to relinquish its toothy grip. And if you ask Chesto, he thinks it never will.
About Author
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