2025 Subaru Outback Review: Offering Impressive Value in a Raised Wagon Format
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With the 2026 Subaru Outback already unveiled and our first-drive review on its way, I took a long weekend to spend in the 2025 model to remind myself of its features. I made the most of it, transporting my family between Denver and Aspen, Colorado, and even faced some challenging weather to test the drivetrain's capabilities.
As shown in the photos, we woke up to sleet which escalated into a full blizzard, creating a picturesque winter scene to navigate. Indeed, I braved the cold and wet conditions to capture these images.
Joel Feder
The Essentials
The current Outback showcases flowing bodywork that resembles a classic wagon but with added cladding and increased ground clearance, featuring a greenhouse that approaches an oval shape. Its design is straightforward and uncontroversial, allowing it to blend in. The upcoming model, however, will completely shift away from this styling, potentially dividing consumer opinions.
Joel Feder
Despite being older, the current Outback feels quite contemporary. The large 11.6-inch portrait touchscreen supports wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, providing four USB ports and heated front and rear seats in the fully equipped Touring XT model I tested. Furthermore, it includes an infrared camera system that monitors my eyes to ensure I’m attentive rather than distracted by texting while driving. Although I appreciate the analog gauge cluster in the Outback, the competition has transitioned towards digital displays, indicating that this model is showing its age.
The 2026 Outback will replace the analog setup with a digital cluster akin to that in the latest WRX. The existing model simplifies access to essential functions with physical buttons and knobs for climate control and infotainment. While these won't change in the upcoming Outback, the current screen and layout appear more cohesive. Interestingly, this version still has a CD player, and the touchscreen experience can lag, particularly with Apple CarPlay.
Joel Feder
Driving the 2025 Subaru Outback
The tested Touring XT model is equipped with a 2.4-liter turbocharged flat-four engine, delivering 260 horsepower and 277 lb-ft of torque, with power distributed to all four wheels through a continuously variable transmission (CVT). There is currently no hybrid option available, although we anticipate its addition to future Outback models.
The turbocharged flat-four performs adequately, providing sufficient power for overtaking and ascending hills. However, pairing a turbocharged engine with a CVT poses challenges; their variability can make for a less seamless driving experience. The Outback exhibits a noticeable surge when the turbo activates, making it tricky to drive smoothly from the start. My wife and daughter, both prone to motion sickness, observed the moment the surge occurred, noting the CVT's attempt to mimic traditional gear shifts, which felt unconvincing. Nonetheless, this pairing is a bit better than that of the Outback Wilderness, which enhances the initial drive ratio for more responsiveness.
Joel Feder
The front seats offer ample comfort and support for road trips, a blessing especially after driving for four hours with a herniated lower disc. The rear seating received no complaints from my kids, known for their constant grievances.
One oddity I noticed from the driver's seat involves the infrared camera system that observes my eyes from the top of the center stack. At 5-foot-10, I continually noticed a red light in my peripheral vision, which was mildly annoying and distracting. This issue has arisen in other Outbacks I've experienced and may relate to my height and seating position; your experience might differ.
Visibility is excellent in all directions, featuring tall windows without the cramped cabins and small windows found in many modern cars. The kids enjoyed watching the mountains through the large rear windows.
Joel Feder
Final Thoughts
The current Outback clearly resembles the elevated wagon it is. Starting at $31,415, including a $1,420 destination charge, it offers considerable value, especially for families. Even the fully loaded Touring XT model is priced at just $44,356. With the average price of new cars exceeding $50,000 and manufacturers boosting profits through high destination fees, the Outback continues to be a strong value.
Whether the upcoming Outback will be excessively overloaded or perfectly balanced remains to be seen. We'll find out soon enough. However, I contend that opting for the current model (potentially at a discount) is a wise decision. It will provide comfort, safety, satisfaction, and great value.
Subaru extended a four-day loan of this vehicle to The Drive for the purpose of this review.
2025 Subaru Outback Specs
Base Price (Touring XT): $31,415 ($44,356)
Powertrain: 2.4-liter turbocharged flat-four | continuously variable transmission | all-wheel drive
Horsepower: 260 @ 5,600 rpm
Torque: 277 lb-ft
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**Rental Family, 2025**
**Written and Directed by Hikari.**
**Starring Brendan Fraser, Takehiro Hira, Mari Yamamoto, Shannon Mahina Gorman, Akira Emoto, Paolo Andrea Di Pietro, Shinji Ozeki, Yuji Komatsu, Ryoko Osada, Gan Furukawa, Risa Kameda, Kana Kitty, Yuma Sonan, Nihi, and Shino Shinozaki.**
**SYNOPSIS:**
An American actor in Tokyo grapples with a lack of purpose until he secures an unusual job: working for a Japanese "rental family" agency, where he assumes roles for strangers. As he becomes intertwined in his clients' lives, he starts to forge authentic connections that blur the lines between acting and reality.
In Japan, there are peculiar services that allow individuals to hire someone to assume a role in their personal lives or family. This relatively unexplored concept is at the heart of writer/director Hikari’s second narrative feature, *Rental Family* (named after the service depicted in the film), which presents various themes ripe for further examination. However, some restraint and focus could have been beneficial, as, by the end, apart from Brendan Fraser’s struggling actor who has made Japan his home, the other characters lack depth and primarily serve to elicit emotional responses from the audience.
It is frustrating how often the film attempts to elevate emotional stakes in the second half, as it caused this critic to experience the opposite effect, leading to a collapse of engagement. The only cohesive element is the remarkable ensemble, fronted by the genuinely heartfelt performance of Brendan Fraser, who nearly compensates for the structural and character shortcomings surrounding him.
His character, Philip (who assumes a new identity with each client and scenario), is understandably hesitant to join the service despite his urgent need for employment. On the surface, this service appears to have the potential for greater harm than good. Nevertheless, his views are gradually shifted by the outcome of a staged marriage he participates in, which enables the faux bride to escape to Canada with her girlfriend, allowing her to live authentically while her homophobic family remains under the impression that she is fulfilling the traditional role expected of her. While deception is inherent, everyone finds happiness, and an oppressed individual can live the life they desire.
Philip's subsequent role poses more ethical dilemmas: he plays a mother (Shino Shinozaki) attempting to reconnect her rebellious daughter (Shannon Mahina Gorman, who is also fluent in English) with her estranged father, under the belief that this might reform her behavior enough to enable her enrollment in a prestigious school with promising future prospects. For Philip, the task is to embody Kevin, Mia’s estranged father, who ostensibly returns to her life with a change of heart. Naturally, Mia is wary, and Philip contemplates whether to draw the line before accepting the job. This concern stems from the role requiring him to promise he will never abandon Mia again, even though after three weeks and the completion of the exam, he will have to fabricate a story to return to America, effectively leaving the girl feeling forsaken once more.
As sweet as it is to witness Philip/Kevin gain Mia’s trust and engage in her education—taking her to events like a Monster Cat Festival (a vibrant and colorful parade that showcases Japan's natural beauty)—one cannot help but question the mother’s reasoning in believing this is a solid plan, which could possibly shatter trust and leave emotional scars. Even if Mia performs better academically, what assurance is there that her improvement will persist after this false father departs, or even worse, should she discover the truth and worsen tensions with her mother? The plan is perplexing and neglects to provide the mother’s perspective (her character isn’t even named), with the narrative primarily focused on Philip.
Philip's other roles include providing companionship to a lonely elderly actor (Akira Emoto) and expressing concern over the "apology" roles women are often assigned. The film also depicts the lives of various service employees, alongside a subplot where Philip regularly hires someone to alleviate his loneliness. While the film critiques the service for the degrading tasks women may undertake, the resolution concerning Philip, Mia, and her mother feels overly tidy, with the mother seemingly learning nothing and facing no consequences. This film would have benefited from focusing on one aspect of the rental service and developing it as the narrative's foundation. It is not that the film is overly complicated; rather, with numerous supporting characters, it feels compelled to heighten stakes or introduce convoluted twists, leading to contrived rather than natural storytelling.
*Rental Family* follows predictable beats that invite eye-rolling. It conveys commendable messages about found family and the importance of human connection, and there's no denying Brendan Fraser's strength in this role (along with the compelling chemistry he shares with Shannon Mah
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2025 Subaru Outback Review: Offering Impressive Value in a Raised Wagon Format
With the arrival of the 2026 Subaru Outback, we say goodbye to the wagon that has captured our hearts and admiration. Here are the features that make it exceptional.