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Subaru onyx 20201/20/2024 But honestly, the base engine is so good and provides enough motivating force that the only reason to spend money on the more powerful engine is if you live at elevations where turbocharging helps you get up hills and mountains - or if you plan on towing. The turbo four’s grunt is noticeable, providing immediate response and brisk acceleration with less input from the accelerator pedal. The old 3.6-liter flat-six-cylinder engine has been discontinued. The Outback’s optional powertrain (standard on Outback XT trims) is a turbocharged 2.4-liter flat-four that makes a healthy 260 hp and 277 pounds-feet of torque. If you’re looking for more power, Subaru has you covered. Admittedly, this isn’t something most Outback drivers are likely to do every day, but enough owners do use their cars off-road to make this a notable characteristic. It’s there that the accelerator response gets a little too sensitive, making it difficult to drive smoothly across broken terrain or open fields. My only quibble with the engine was during off-road excursions, when its low-speed X-Mode off-road mode was engaged. It’s quiet, too cruising along through the hushed redwood forests of Northern California, it was easygoing and almost silent. It never felt slow or ponderous, never felt like it was in the wrong “gear” (not that it has any traditional fixed gears), never struggled from a standing start or felt like it wasn’t ready to perform. The engine is perfectly matched to the transmission and temperament of the car. It’s mated to a continuously variable automatic transmission, and as with most Subarus, all-wheel drive is standard. The base engine is a 182-horsepower, 2.5-liter flat-four-cylinder making 176 pounds-feet of torque. That outstanding platform and suspension are matched by equally good powertrains. Not so in the Outback while the steering isn’t huge on feel or feedback, it does have firmness, heft, accuracy and a surprisingly quick steering ratio that makes the car feel nimble. Subaru’s Ascent three-row SUV is pretty good, but its bulk prevents it from being enjoyable to drive. The Outback’s body control is exceptional, with ride and handling that feels sophisticated in a way I haven’t experienced before in a Subaru product. Think Audi A6 or Volvo V90 wagon, not SUV competitors like the Chevrolet Blazer, Hyundai Santa Fe or Jeep Grand Cherokee. Put simply, the Outback drives like a premium luxury vehicle. Thanks to an all-new platform, torsional rigidity is up an almost unbelievable 70 percent, which gave engineers a steadfast foundation on which to build the suspension, steering and braking systems. 2020 Subaru Outback | photo by Aaron Bragman Punching Above Its Class But the magic of the new 2020 Outback isn’t in the way it looks, it’s in how it drives. And the hiking boot analogy really does work for the Outback, with a chunky plastic lower portion and a sleek, colorful upper one, just like what its customers tend to wear on their feet. The beltline remains low for a commanding view over the hood or to the sides. Selective use of high-strength steel keeps the pillars thin for excellent outward visibility. But fiercely loyal Outback customers don’t care - they like the way the Outback looks just fine the old one was still selling in record numbers even as the new one was just a few weeks away. The redesigned 2020 Outback barely looks different from the outgoing model, with just a few slightly updated, vaguely evolutionary design cues in its chunky, hiking-boot styling. (Per our ethics policy, pays for its own lodging and airfare at such automaker-sponsored events.) Looks the Same, Feels Completely Different I drove an all-new sixth-generation 2020 Outback in Northern California at a Subaru media event, and all I can say is this: If you’re a fan of the current Outback, wait till you get behind the wheel of this one - you’re going to absolutely love it. Two decades ago, when Subaru took its Legacy wagon and jacked it up, slapped on plastic cladding and gave it an outdoorsy name, nobody imagined the Subaru Outback would become the automaker’s most beloved, best-selling model. Versus the competition: It has some impressive SUV competitors, but when you factor in the Subaru’s value-leading pricing, it’s hard to find one that drives as well as the Outback, includes as much equipment and costs so little to own and operate. The verdict: The new Subaru Outback may not look terribly new, but it is - and it’s the best one Subaru has ever made.
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