Turbo flat-four or flat-six? |
| (Photo: Philippe Champoux) |
Who would've guessed that, when Subaru took a perfectly bland Legacy wagon back in 1995, jacked up the suspension, painted the bumpers and lower body in gray, dropped Crocodile Dundee behind the wheel, and dared calling it a sport-utility vehicle, the Outback would be a success?
Not me.
But a success it is. Okay, Subie isn't selling them by the truckloads, but after over 10 years on the market, the Outback has almost become a household name. I bet some people don't even realize that it's based on the
Legacy. So, Crocodile Dundee turned out to be a good marketing idea by Subaru. They don't always have genius thoughts, though, if I can dare re-opening a couple of scars called the Outback SUS (a sedan version) and the Baja. Heh-heh-heh, I'm so mean.
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| (Photo: Philippe Champoux) |
So, why is Subaru selling a 6-cylinder version of the Outback when a perfectly good turbo engine is available? Well, the two engines seem to seek different crowds: the 243-hp turbo four is more performance-oriented, while the 245-hp six is smoother and has a more linear power curve. While we're talking numbers, the Outback 3.0R must make do with less torque than the Outback 2.5XT, 215 versus 241, and my
fuel consumption average during the week is 13.9 L/100 km, which could be much better.
Although its performance is not explosive like the turbocharged Outbacks, it is quite gratifying nonetheless. The engine and transmission combination work well in providing smooth gearchanges. You can also shift by yourself by using the Sportshift manual mode, but I didn't use it all that much since it doesn't really make the car feel any quicker. One staffer complained about the roughness of the H6 engine, and that it didn't feel the same as in the
B9 Tribeca, for some strange reason. I did also find it somewhat noisy at full-throttle acceleration. However, that horizontally-opposed engine growl is typical Subaru, and we like it quite a bit.
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| (Photo: Philippe Champoux) |
The handling is also smooth, maybe a little too much for my tastes. Compared with the Legacy wagon, the Outback has more body roll, more suspension travel, and a higher center of gravity. Only one characteristic is shared with the Legacy, and that's the firmness rate of the shocks, which is felt when encountering bumps. I can perfectly understand someone who wouldn't agree with me, however, and prefer the more relaxed setup of the Crocodile Dundee version over its Legacy counterpart.
The cockpit of this Outback 3.0R is quite luxurious. Leather covers the very firm seats and steering wheel, and the quality of the materials used inside is beyond reproach. The wood trim accents mix nicely with the beige interior, but I find that the silver trim on the center console doesn't. The touch-screen
navigation system is easy to use, and the sound system with 6-CD changer and MP3 playback is excellent.
