2025 Subaru Outback Touring XT: Better luck next year?

2025 Toyota Land Cruiser 4WD Wagon Hybrid vs. Mazda CX-70 PHEV vs. Subaru Outback Touring XT: Battle of the divergent price points.

This week: 2025 Subaru Outback

Price: $44,356 as tested. All-weather floor liners were the only option at $141 on this top-of-the-line Outback.

Conventional wisdom: About the Subaru Outback in general (which features nine trim levels and two engines), Car and Driver touted the “comfortable cabin with wagon practicality, standard all-wheel drive, some off-road chops,” but panned the “weak base engine, indifferent CVT performance,” and that it “lacks driving verve.”

Marketer’s pitch: “Go where love takes you.”

Reality: Love, or something, is definitely driving this version of the Outback, because sometimes it doesn’t seem like it’s the steering wheel.

What’s new: The Outback continues plodding along in its Subaru-y way, winning awards and customers. Slotted between the Forester and the Ascent, it’s the SUV that kinda isn’t. A bit more performance in XT trim adds some fancy touches.

The 2022 Subaru Outback Wilderness won Mr. Driver’s Seat’s heart; will this top-of-the-line version match it? And will it best the pricey Land Cruiser or the efficient CX-70, which cost $15,000-$25,000 more?

Competition: In addition to the Land Cruiser and CX-70, there are the Chevrolet Blazer, Ford Bronco, Honda Passport, Jeep Wrangler, and Nissan Murano.

Up to speed: The 2.4-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine in the test model boogies pretty nicely when pushed. I pulled out into traffic once and immediately started to regret my poor life choices, but the Outback surged to life with all 260 horses. I had to press the gas pedal hard to get this action, but it’s there.

It’s takes 6.3 seconds to reach 60 mph, according to Motor Trend, putting it closer to the CX-70 PHEV’s 5.9 than the Land Cruiser’s sedate 7.7. And the Outback definitely felt faster than the Mazda.

Non-XT models get a 2.5-liter four-cylinder that creates 182 horsepower, and, yes, it’s been around a while and it can be sluggish.

Shiftless: The shiftability of the CVT doesn’t help things too much. You can get a little more power for hills or passing but running through the gears every time won’t improve the acceleration, whether through the shift lever or the steering wheel paddles.

On the road: I fall back on the word competent to describe Subaru handling, but you won’t hear that tired term for this model.

The country lane leading from Chez Sturgis to the highway features several pitch changes that put SUVs in particular through a sway test, and the Outback XT wanted to sway from side to side like an early version of the Kia Sorento. I spent countless driving minutes hunting for a way to tighten up the steering, but no luck. Subaru officials confirm there’s no Sport mode available in the U.S.

I found it the same on a four-lane highway. I thought really hard before writing about this, because the sway is not terrible, but it creeps up on you, and suddenly the next lane is nearer than you’d hoped.

Still, the Outback is nice on curves, although I did find myself moving a little late at certain times. But on straightaways you may find yourself correcting the wheel as if you’re driving an old Econoline van or a Rambler.

If you want great handling, go for the Wilderness model, which also gets the 260-horsepower engine. Subaru says they haven’t changed anything since my 2022 test, so give both a shot.

Driver’s Seat: The Outback continues packing a pretty interior. Dark brown and some black and silver make for a pleasing, rugged-looking combination, though lesser models likely won’t impress so much.

The leather seat is comfortable and provides nice bolster, and the lumbar support gets out of the way for anyone who finds better comfort without it. (Raises hand.)

Friends and stuff: The rear seat offers nice space, with ample leg, head, and foot room. The hump is about medium height so it will impede comfort just a bit.

More concerning is the seat back, which is angled toward “uncomfortable nap position” more than “conversation,” with no adjustments. If you regularly have passengers back there, bring them along for the test drive.

Cargo space is 75.8 cubic feet with the seat folded and 32.6 behind the rear seat.

In and out: The Outback is a very nice height and is delightful to enter and exit for people of a certain age. Or so I’m told.

I don’t comment too much on styling but the Outback XT featured chrome side mirrors and trim that made it probably the most silver vehicle I’ve tested in quite a while. Now if Subaru would just lose the plastic bottom trim, which they brought out for the Wilderness Edition, everything would be even better.

Play some tunes: The 11.6-inch vertical infotainment screen looks the same as ever. I confess I mind it more when I’m not having fun, and I was not having fun in the Outback.

The Harman Kardon stereo sound is pleasing, if you like a lot of bass. But the audio clarity I prefer is lost, either in the thump, or the tinniness, if you leave the bass dialed down. I’d call this a B+.

Keeping warm and cool: Here’s where touchscreen dreams really go to die. There’s a little temperature reading at the bottom of the screen, and if you have really good aim, you may actually hit that little digital readout with your index finger. And that’s while parked.

That will turn the screen into HVAC central, which will feature many more buttons that are too small to accurately hit while you’re moving and watching the road (which you should be, in large part for other people in Subarus trying to adjust the temperature, I imagine).

Fuel economy: The Outback averaged about 22 mpg for me.

Where it’s built: Lafayette, Ind. Half its parts come from the U.S. and Canada, while 30% hail from Japan, including the engine and transmission.

How it’s built: Consumer Reports gives the Outback a predicted reliability of 4 out of 5.

In the end: A new version of the Outback is in the offing for 2026, so maybe it’ll be a game changer. But indifferent handling, a crazy HVAC touchscreen, and a middling stereo make the Outback XT a nonstarter.

The power train rules out the CX-70 PHEV. The price and fuel consumption of the Land Cruiser make me wince, but that’s probably the winner.