2020 Subaru Outback XT Onyx Review and Off-Road Test
We're taking off to the coast of Northern California to drive the all-new 2020 Subaru Outback.
It's a picturesque location to get down and dirty with Subaru's 6th generation crossover wagon.
That's coming up right now on Driving Sports TV.
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Now on with the 2020 Subaru Outback.
The Subaru Outback is the best-selling model for Subaru.
So when it came time for a redesign, the company didn't take it lightly.
What we have here is basically an all-new car from the ground up.
And Subaru really went all out with new materials, technology,
and a fresh design in the hopes that it will not only continue to be a bestseller,
it'll also draw new buyers to the brand.
The 2020 Outback starts at $27,655.
What you see here is a touring model, which goes for $38,355, including delivery.
The turbo models start at $35,905 with the Onyx Edition XT,
which is what we'll actually be driving later in this review.
But first, let's take a deep dive into features that are available across the board.
The standard engine is a 2.5-liter naturally aspirated boxer.
It puts out 182 horsepower and 176 pound-feet of torque.
The only transmission option is a Lineartronic CVT with 8-speed manual mode
connected to Subaru's symmetrical all-wheel drive system.
EPA is expected to rate this setup at 33 miles to the gallon on the highway and 26 around town.
To open the back with a key in your pocket,
you can just simply place your arm over the rear badge.
This is useful for times when your hands are full.
With the second row up, you're looking at 32.5 cubic feet of total storage capacity.
For maximum loading, lower the second row with the handy pulls,
and you get up to 75.7 cubic feet of cargo space.
Note that this is using the new SAE measurements.
If you use the old measurements, you're looking at 78 cubic feet.
Under the floor is a repair kit in all trims,
except for the Onyx Edition, that one gets a full-size spare.
The second row has ample room for a full-size adult.
Passengers also get an armrest with cup holders, USB sockets, and optional heated seats.
Pull the integrated handle to recline slightly.
Up front, the Outback has received a serious upgrade in design and materials.
I have to remind myself that this is a Subaru, you know, the cheap and cheerful company.
This doesn't look cheap.
The Nappa leather is gorgeous,
especially when paired with the coffee-toned interior trim like on this Touring model.
The driver's seat is nicely configurable with several power options.
It was easy to find a comfortable position and then save it using the memory settings.
Touring trims also get the new Driver Focus system, which detects distraction
and can also be used to save driver presets using facial recognition technology.
Like last year's model, the standard gauge cluster consists of two analog dials
flanking a color digital display. This gives you all the critical information you really need.
It's also where you can set the standard adaptive cruise control
that now has an auto steering function with lane centering. We'll give that a try later.
The semi-autonomous tech is part of the EyeSight safety system,
which is now standard across all Outback models and also provides collision mitigation.
Rounding out the active safety systems are available blind spot warnings,
with the indicators facing the driver, as they should.
Notice you also get great visibility under that A-pillar.
The rear-view camera has cross-traffic alerts and optional rear auto braking, which is nice.
Of course, the star of the new Outback is the massive,
huge, and totally tablet-like central display, which is standard on all but the base trims.
And you better get used to it, because on this new Outback, Subaru simplified the cabin design
by removing physical buttons and replacing them with software equivalents located in the tablet.
Given Subaru's rough history with infotainment, I have to say
that I found that a bit alarming at first. But after talking with the engineer in charge of
the system, I will give them the benefit of the doubt here. This new system is equipped
with two Denso processors. That's a huge improvement over the old system. This one
separates tasks to make sure car stuff doesn't get bogged down by entertainment stuff, which is good.
The design of the home screen isn't my favorite, but it is serviceable.
Once you get into it, the buttons are big and easy to use. The screen is divided into
three sections, with general info on top, main controls in the middle, and environment on the
bottom. Almost every setting and option does require a tap into the tablet now,
even just enabling X-Mode, and that does take some getting used to. Thankfully,
touchscreen-compatible gloves are pretty common now, because, you know, Michigan.
Jumping into navigation, we can see it uses most of the display area. It is easy to use,
even if it thought the closest Starbucks was 219 miles away for some reason.
I should note these are pre-production cars, so, again, I'll give them the benefit of the doubt.
Plugging into the 2.1A USB socket allowed me to use wired CarPlay instead,
which is standard along with Android Auto in all trims. For CarPlay, it uses just part of the
screen, a limitation that Subaru says is forced on them by Apple. They are in discussions,
no they don't know if it'll ever change. For music, Subaru still relies on Harman Kardon
for their premium system, and it sounds very good. One nice thing about Fringa buttons is
it really makes the interior look a lot cleaner. Though Subaru still provides hard switches for
cabin temperature, if you want to turn on your seat warmers or coolers, you still have to take
a dive into the display, however. As nice as the interior looks, there are still some pieces of
piano black plastic in high-use areas. I guarantee this will scratch even if you sneeze on it.
In fact, here's what the same plastic looks like after a few hundred miles,
and someone probably wiping it with a dirty towel. Yeah, not great.
So now that we've gone over most of the key features for this new Outback, it's time to
finally drive one. For this, I've selected the Outback that I would be most likely to buy,
an Onyx XT. This particular car is painted Ice Silver Metallic, and came with the optional
Power Moonroof, Navigation Upgrade, and Rear Auto Braking. Prices you see it here, $37,750,
including destination. Because this is an XT, it comes standard with the 2.4-liter Turbo Boxer
that first appeared in the new Subaru Ascent. It features direct injection, and has a twin-scroll
turbo. Power is pretty good, 260 horsepower at 5,600 RPM, and up to 277 pound-feet of torque
from 2,000 all the way to 4,800 RPM. This engine is connected to a high-torque Lineartronic CVT
with 8-speed manual mode. EPA is expected to rate this setup at 23 miles to the gallon city,
and 30 on the highway. Unlike Outback Turbos of the past, this one doesn't have a hood scoop.
Instead, it has a ducting system that draws in air through the front. Hood scoops were cool,
but they were also the aerodynamic equivalent of a small brick on the hood,
so I don't blame Subaru for making the change. Because this is an Onyx edition,
it gets a blacked-out grille with matching wheels, which look amazing. Onyx editions also
get a full-size spare under the floor, dual-mode X-mode, and a front-view 180-degree camera,
which tells me this one is targeting more adventurous buyers. Instead of leather,
the interior has a two-tone gray scheme with something called Star-Tex covering the seats.
This is water-repellent, and it doesn't heat up like leather can on a hot day. Also,
no cows were killed for this interior, which is nice for animal lovers.
And with that, we can finally start driving. Our adventure today will take us into the Redwood
Forest just off the coast. On the way there, we will test out the basics, and as we get deeper
into the woods, we'll find some way to test out X-mode. And we're going to go ahead and kick this
off with a 0-to-60. I'm going to keep it in standard drive mode. I'm completely stopped.
Three, two, one, go. A little slow on the uptake. Oh, but once that turbo kicks in,
40, 50, and 60. You know, it really wasn't too bad. Though to be fair, I was expecting a little
bit more. With a time of just over eight seconds, I wasn't satisfied, so I kicked out my co-driver
and tried again. Three, two, one, floor it. 40, 50, and 60. Okay, seven seconds, much better.
Now we can move on. Does that passing power? Yes, it does. This Onyx Edition does come with
paddle shifters. And yeah, you're saying, hey, it's a CVT. Why do I need paddle shifters?
I'm right there with you. Of course, all Subaru Outbacks come with the latest EyeSight system.
This one's been updated, of course. They always seem to update it. And it has really cool little
indicators up here that give me something in my eye line that gives me data, such as whether or
not I go out of my lane, which it'll give me a little bleep there, which then, of course,
reinforces the data that's on my screen. It's a nice way of giving me information without giving
me too much information. We're going to go ahead and try this new lane centering tech.
I'm going to go ahead and click, turn on the auto steer. I'm also going to turn on cruise control,
turn on auto steer. Oh, now auto steer is active. Now I can just take my hands off and let it do
the driving. Okay, now we've got a nice light bend in the road here. Let's see if this will
autopilot us around the bend. Doing a pretty good job, and it's really staying down that center lane,
which is the important thing. It's rock solid centering. It's not doing this ping-ponging that
you get. Honda, talking to you. Interesting note here. If you get an XT in limited or touring trims,
they come with acoustic glass on the sides as well as on the front. However, the Onyx edition
doesn't come with the side acoustic glass. This is just normal glass. I guess the theory is that
younger drivers really want to feel like they're part of the experience a little bit more.
Of course, most Subarus aren't going to be climbing cliffs. What they're going to be
doing is bombing down forest roads like we have here. Honestly, this is a lot of fun.
Oh, stay. Stay. Pay attention. Dirt road. That is a cliff, by the way, so gotta make sure not
to fall off that. It's doing what I want, and I'm able... It's very neutral for what it is,
and that's... I think that's kind of overall the more important thing. Now, on an Outback,
I can't really complain about performance driving because it's an Outback. I mean, let's just be real
here. What is this really going to be used for, right? It's going to be used for roads like this.
You know, I can toss it around on these really uneven dirt roads. I mean, these are pretty
rutted, and not only is the suspension smoothly taking me through it, you know, relative,
it also... It's quiet. It's really, really quiet in here. I mean,
what's the one thing we think of with Subarus? They're kind of loud, cantankerous, and,
you know, granted, that might be an old opinion of them, but I mean, this new Outback,
it brings it to a new level. This is really, really, really quite nice, and this isn't even
with the sound-deadening side windows like the upper trims get on the other XT models.
That's a drop. So, as we head deeper and deeper into the forest, the road is actually getting a
little bit of challenge. We have some real tight hairpins that are surrounded by vegetation,
so we don't scratch the sides of the vehicle, and then we also have some ruts that are really deep,
and I have to admit, sorry to Subaru, the underside of your nose is taking a little bit
of a beating. Sure, we'll be fine. For those of you unaware, X-Mode is Subaru's way of giving
added capability through software in their vehicles. What it does is it takes advantage
of features in the all-wheel drive system, the transmission, and the throttle to be able to
deliver power in the way that is best for certain situations. We have snow dirt, and we also have
deep snow and mud, so the difference with snow and dirt is basically X-Mode Type 1. It'll allow
for a little slip in the wheel so that you can get some momentum. Deep snow mud is what the second
mode is in X-Mode, and that provides a lot more slip.
While I continue to dart through the forest looking for a good place to test out X-Mode,
let me introduce you to the engineer in charge of Outback. This is Horii-san,
who will give you the Subaru perspective on X-Mode.
To really put X-Mode to the test, I'm going to take a hard left up a very steep incline,
so we should be able to really see that power distribution come into play.
So what I'm going to do here first is first try it without X-Mode on.
I'm just spinning. No progress.
Now let's do a demonstration of X-Mode. What I'm going to do is put it into deep
snow and mud, which is X-Mode Type 2. Now this isn't mud, but there is a lot of slip
because it is a really dry, loose surface, and we are only going to have a couple wheels with
grip at any given time because of the acute angle. So let's see how it goes.
It's working it. Okay, so deep snow, mud, maybe it's too much wheel spin.
So we're going to go ahead and put it into regular snow and dirt, which will allow for
a little wheel spin, but be way more aggressive in locking down those spinning wheels and sending
power to the opposite. You got it, you got it, you got it. Oh, it's doing a good job.
Come on, you can do this. Yes.
With X-Mode on, the front axle emulates a limited slip differential by breaking the slipping wheel
to redistribute power. Then when the back wheels start to slip, it does the same thing.
Here, X-Mode 1 was just fine. However, if we encountered deep sand or snow,
we would have needed more slip to maintain momentum. That is where Type 2 comes into play.
For more information, you can see our Forester video that covers dual mode X-Mode in more detail.
As we can see, I couldn't have made that with regular drive modes. I really needed something
like X-Mode to really get more aggressive with that traction control system and put power where
it needed to go. Did an excellent job. Overall, I love it. I really love it. It is still an Outback,
so you're not going to get something you didn't get before. You're not going to get a low range
gearbox. You're not going to get crawl control. You're not going to get insane turbo performance
because this is an Outback, and it is as much of an Outback as it ever was. It's just a better
Outback. Everything that it had before, it still has. It's just better.
Looks like the road just falls off a cliff, and it's because it does. Wow. That's quite a view.
Thanks for watching. Our next review is something completely different.
Yep, it's finally time to take a look at the Jeep Gladiator.
That's coming up next week here on Driving Sports TV. I'm Ryan Douthit. Thanks for watching.