Payne: Subaru Outback battleship is a nimble, high-tech SUV below decks

Posted by Talbot Payne on April 2, 2026

The 2026 Subaru Outback gains more truck-like looks for 2026 while easing away from its station wagon tradition.

The 2026 Subaru Outback gains more truck-like looks for 2026 while easing away from its station wagon tradition.

Henry Payne, The Detroit News

Mt. Holly — The 2026 Subaru Outback looks like the Chevy Colorado pickup and Jeep Cherokee had a love child.

Bold, boxy, aggressive vertical grille, mid-mounted headlights. Welcome to Truck Nation, Subaru.

The iconic Outback, of course, was one of the last of the wagons. The fetching 2025 Onyx model’s streamlined roof and scalloped flanks were the last vestiges of a sleek station wagon look shared with Eurowagons. No more. “We sell fashion,” an auto engineer once told me, and trucks are all the rage. Check out Outback competitor Honda Passport, which is flying off the shelves with its new truck-like wardrobe.

Subaru, which makes Outback in the USA and sells 70% of its global product here, has dutifully followed American fashion with one tough-looking cowboy. All that’s missing is beard stubble.

But the seventh-gen, Made-in-Indiana Outback is more than just a muscled all-American fullback. This is a comprehensively remade SUV over the outgoing generation in tech, interior layout — even hands-free driving capability.

I saddled up my Outback Touring XT for a road trip.

Read full article here.

Comments are closed.