For the past 37 years, Subaru’s Outback was based on its Legacy station wagon and sedan, with a raised ride height, all-wheel-drive and some chunky cladding to macho it up.
But for 2026, that Subaru’s legacy now turns from wanna-be SUV, to SUV-lite. The rounded wagon becomes a boxy SUV-like shape that still packs a BOXER (flat) four engine, all-wheel-drive, and even bolder cladding.
And yes, with the same 8.7 inches of ground clearance and X-MODE, we could (and did) play off-road.
At its birth, the Legacy-based Outback was just a station wagon/sedan with some macho cladding. But as its generations grew, so did its off-road mods, like more serious rubber, added ground clearance and a more defined look – plus “Save the Whales” and “Save The Trees” bumper stickers, a paddleboard on its roof rack, or even a Jet Ski on a trailer.
For 2026, Subaru Outback Premium Bulks Up Exterior Design
For this seventh-gen, Subaru ditched the car body, but didn’t change the basics. The 108.1-inch wheelbase remains, while the overall length grows almost a half inch to 191.7 inches and it’s an inch taller. The SUV-like redesign was also done as sales for 2025’s Legacy-based Outback dropped just over 6% from the previous year.
The aluminum clamshell hood is just over waist high, fronted by a tall vertical gray grill under gloss black over a slim black lower intake and chunky brush guard, flanked by LED fog lights in boxy bumper corners. Slim LED DRLs accents the hood line’s upper corners, with headlights underneath.
More black body cladding with vents and notches frames P225/60R18 all-season Dunlop Grand Trek tires on gray geometric spoked alloys. The doors in between gain notched lower sills. Burly (and functional) roof rack bars add height to the tall wagon, while the back bumper is chunky under an LED lightbar and taillights. The back window gets a big black shade with sculpted, swept-back D-pillars.
It’s a more purposeful Outback, appearing bigger than it is, and certainly looking more capable to play off-road.
2026 Subaru Outback Premium’s New Interior Gets Smooth Makeover
The new Outback’s interior is dominated by a 12.1-inch center screen, and a 12.3-inch gauge display, the design gaining a nice padded tweed-like cloth on the doors and dashboard, all other surfaces done in padded dark gray with touches of dark plastic wood inserts. But despite the digital revolution, the redesign does not eliminate all the needed buttons.
Changing to an SUV-like shape also benefits those getting into the new Outback, since the seats are just about high enough to slide right into. Underfoot, black rubber mats for those days when snow or mud greets the driver, with neatly done carpeted mats just in case you want something different underfoot.
Those gray and black seats, done in supple StarTex pseudo-leather, were comfortable and mostly supportive. The driver gets a heated seat (turn it off, or it stays on after you restart the car) and warmed steering wheel. The driver also gets power adjustments, while the passenger goes manual.
Subaru keeps some necessary manual controls as it moves into touchscreen systems, volume as well as dual-zone heat knobs. There’s an inductive phone charging pad under it, but it’s so wide my phone just slid. It also has two USB ports.
The center console includes cup holders, electronic parking brake and decent storage under the padded center armrest. The base audio system sounded good, with wireless Apple CarPlay, Android Auto and HD Radio. There’s also voice command, triggered by saying “Hey Subaru,” for many features. It’s nice to see this feature moving beyond luxury cars. That said, the voice command and some screen features take a few seconds to boot up when you start the Outback.
The rear doors open almost 90 degrees to access a bench seat with decent adult head and leg room. There are rear vents and USB ports. The power aluminum rear hatch opens high to access a big cargo area with a textured rubber mat with lips to prevent mud or snow drip spillage. It’s expandable via split rear seatbacks. There’s also a bit of storage under the floor.
2026 Subaru Outback Premium Keeps BOXER Heritage
The Outback sticks with a naturally- aspirated 2.5-liter BOXER (flat) four with 180 hp and 178 lb-ft of torque at 4,800 rpm, power funneled through a Lineartronic CVT with 8-speed manual mode function and paddle shifters to all-wheel-drive. There’s no drive modes, just an X-MODE mud and snow option.
The continuously-variable transmission’s belt and pulley do a decent job of simulating up- and downshifts as it strives to get some fuel economy in our 3,741-lb. Outback. Initial response at throttle tip-in was quick as the engine revved up to 6,000 rpm, briefly holding until it settled down to about 5,100 rpm as the CVT shifted ratios enroute to hit 60 mph in an OK 7.9 seconds.
CVT “downshifts” were quick enough when passing power was needed, the opposed 4-cylinder engine giving a bit of classic VW Bug exhaust note. Slap the gearshift left for manual operation, or “shift” vi small paddles on the wheel. The auto-engine off system cleanly stills the motor at stoplights to save gas, but was a bit slow re-firing as I went from brake to gas. Fuel mileage was about 25 mpg.
To compare, a 2,000-mile-old 2020 Subaru Outback XT I tested back then – the one based on the Legacy but with a turbocharged 182-hp engine – got to 60 mph in a quicker 6 seconds. And it got about 21 mpg.
The Outback gets 8.7 inches of ground clearance on top of independent suspension front and rear. The result was a comfortable ride that soaked up every bump quickly. There was occasional bounciness off sharper edges that damped quickly for a very quiet ride.
The Outback handled off-ramps with no understeer, all-wheel-drive sending traction where needed. There was only a bit of body roll due to the ground clearance. Push harder in tight right-handers and again, the Outback hangs on with no drama. Pushed on our tight skidpad, gentle understeer was controllable and easy to deal with. Active torque vectoring taps the inside front brake to push more power to the outside front wheel and reduce wheelspin.
Steering was accurate, with a bit too much power assist for my taste. The brake pedal had a bit of travel before biting. There was lots of ABS at lockup, but it stopped well with a bit of nose dive. There was a hint of fade only after serious repeated hard use. Being a tad taller meant a bit of sideways wiggle during some winter storm crosswinds.
2026 Subaru Outback Premium Exudes Off-Road Vibe
We did get a chance to use X-MODE, which optimizes the engine, CVT and all-wheel-drive for low-traction snow, mud, dirt or steep inclines, generally working at speeds under 12–20 mph. With a well-controlled and comfortable suspension, we easily tackled soft dirt and a recently crushed asphalt parking lot chunks as well as a rutted grassy field. The suspension easily rebuffed every bump quickly, and it crawled easily over every soft or rugged patch with no traction loss
The Outback has EyeSight Driver Assist Technology. It monitors where the driver’s eyes are, nagging you with a message on the gauge display if your peepers stray too long on the radio or a passing Ferrari. The system has automatic emergency braking when driving forward or in reverse, and adaptive cruise control with gentle-but firm lane centering and haptic steering wheel feedback. It’s very sensitive – stray an inch out of lane and it warns you, almost autonomous in its lane keeping – along with messages to pull over for a rest if you don’t stay straight and true.
The center safety display shows cars ahead, and alerts you to those in the left and right rear blind spots. A series of three LEDs in a head-up display alert you to a vehicle ahead, or if you stray out of lane. It’s a bit like a safety nanny, beeping at many infractions, but you can selectively back off some of it via the center display’s menus.
The base Subaru Outback starts at $34,995, with lots of what we had standard. Options included that nice $395 Deep Emerald Green Pearl paint, and a $2,270 option package that included the 12.1-inch center screen, power moonroof, heated steering wheel, wireless phone charger and rain-sensing windshield wiper for a final MSRP price of $39,110.
Bottom line: A station wagon – excuse me, small SUV-ish wagon that can commute, or hit some picnic trails out back with the family in style.
2026 Subaru Outback Premium Edition Specifications
Vehicle type – 4-door, 5-seat all-wheel-drive sports utility wagon
Base price – $34,995 ($39,110 as tested)
Engine type –aluminum 16-valve DOHC boxer 4-cylinder
Displacement – 2.5 liters
Horsepower (net) – 180 @ 5,800 rpm
Torque (lb-ft) – 178 @ 4,400 rpm
Transmission – CVT automatic with 8-speed manual mode and paddle shifters
Wheelbase – 108.1 inches
Height – 67.5 inches
Overall length – 191.7 inches
Overall width – 74 inches w/mirrors
Ground clearance – 8.7 inches
Front headroom – 40.5 inches
Front legroom – 43 inches
Rear headroom – 40.5 inches
Rear legroom – 39.5 inches
Cargo capacity – 34.6 cu. ft./80.5 w/seats folded
Towing capacity: up to 2,700 lbs.
Curb weight – 3,741 lbs.
Fuel capacity – 18.5 gallons
Mileage rating – 25 mpg city/31 mpg highway