2024 Subaru Outback Reviews, Pricing & Specs

The Wilderness trim level was tweaked for 2024, with a new front fascia and LED fog lights, but the Outback lineup otherwise looks just as it did following its 2023-model-year facelift. The dark gray cladding contrasted nicely with the Autumn Green Metallic of our Subaru Outback Touring XT tester. Describing it as a “green-tinged dark khaki” feels accurate but doesn’t do the color justice; it’s surprisingly appealing in a way that basic champagne-beige colors have never been.

The different Outback trims have varying levels of black and chrome exterior fittings, with the most chrome appearing on the Touring trim. We don’t love chrome splashed all over a gargantuan SUV, but on the Outback, we found it tasteful. Wheel sizes and designs also differ by trim. Black 17-inch alloy wheels with a machine finish are standard, but the Wilderness trim gets a matte black version. The Outback Onyx Edition sizes up to 18s in basic black, and Limited and Touring add a machine finish.

The interior on our top-trim test car was really nice, much better than what we might expect from a brand that’s always skewed more capable than luxurious. The Java Brown Nappa leather upholstery was both handsome and supple. The Outback Limited features standard (not Nappa) leather seating surfaces, while Onyx Edition and Wilderness get Subaru’s StarTex synthetic leather. Base and Premium trims come with cloth seats.

In true Subaru fashion, the Outback is powered by a “Boxer” horizontally opposed engine. The default for 2024 is a 2.5-liter flat-four, which makes 182 horsepower and 176 lb-ft of torque. Trims with the XT designation, however, are upgraded to a 2.4-liter turbocharged boxer four-cylinder engine, which comes standard on the Wilderness trim as well. The turbo setup makes 260 horsepower and 277 lb-ft of torque, and it ups the towing capacity from 2,700 to 3,500 lbs. Subaru’s Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive (AWD) is standard, as is a Lineartronic continuously variable transmission (CVT).

Because it was the Touring XT, our test car had the more powerful engine, and we definitely felt it was a good fit. We’ve driven the Outback with the base engine in the past and found it underpowered, but the turbo powertrain manages the weight of the vehicle better. The CVT does a nice job imitating the sound and feel of eight distinct gears, which can be managed via the paddles mounted on the steering wheel. The brake pedal, helped along by the electronic booster, felt good beneath our feet. Steering feel was adequate, particularly when we reminded ourselves that the WRX is there for folks who want a sportier experience. For those looking for a comfortable ride, the Outback is a great choice. The reasonably sized wheels and substantial side walls likely contribute to this, but kudos are also owed to the engineering team responsible for the suspension.

Even the base Outback has 8.7 inches of ground clearance. If you need more for your off-road adventures, consider the Wilderness trim, which bumps that up to 9.2. The Outback Wilderness also comes with all-terrain tires, and it gets an advanced, dual-function version of Subaru’s X-Mode, which includes selectable Snow/Dirt and Deep Snow/Mud modes.

Despite its sleeker proportions, the Subaru Outback does not compromise on interior space. In fact, comparing models equipped with a moonroof, the Outback has more head room up front (39.1 inches) than the Honda CR-V (38.2 inches) and the Toyota RAV4 (37.7 inches), and it falls short of the RAV4 in the back seat by less than half an inch, while staying ahead of the CR-V. Subaru’s wagon also provides more front-row legroom than either model and bests the RAV4 for rear-seat legroom. The Outback’s lower profile has more of an impact on the cargo area, with a volume measuring 32.6 cubic feet with all seats in place and 75.6 with the rear seats folded. Both the RAV4 and the CR-V do better on cargo space in a fully occupied vehicle, but limit passengers to the front row, and the Outback comes in ahead of the RAV4.

Specs can make a handy comparison tool, but they never tell the whole story. If you’re considering a vehicle purchase, you’ll want to know what’s it like to live with, and features are arguably a more important metric than measurements. So let’s talk feature availability. Dual-zone climate control comes standard on all but the base-trim Outback for 2024. Heated front seats likewise become standard starting with the Premium trim, as does a power-adjustable driver’s seat, but you’ll have to move up to the Limited trim level if you want a powered front passenger’s seat. That’s also where we start to see heated rear seats. Ventilation is only available for the front seats and only at the Touring trim level, but the heated steering wheel now starts with the Onyx Edition. No doubt Subaru is aware that much of its clientele lives in colder climates.

Heated steering wheels sound like a gimmick until you’ve lived with one, and Subaru’s is particularly good. The automaker takes a 360-degree approach, meaning there are no cold patches to startle you or make you think you’ve been burned. (We’ve been there.)

The hands-free power liftgate is optional on the Premium trim and standard after that, and the Onyx Edition now gets the power moonroof by default. Raised roof rails with retractable cross bars are standard on the Outback. We particularly liked that the cross bars swivel to easily stow away when unneeded.

There’s something curiously comforting about old-school features. If you agree, you’ll want to take a good look at the Outback Touring, as that’s the only one that gets a CD player. And Subaru does appear to be hedging its bets on the technology front, with both USB-C and USB-A ports on all but the base trim (which gets USB-A only).

No one will be surprised to learn that our top-trim test car had the larger 11.6-inch portrait-oriented infotainment screen, but it is noteworthy that only the base trim retains the dual-7-inch-screen system. The Subaru Starlink multimedia platform continues to look as though it time-traveled from the pre-Y2K era, but with standard Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity, which becomes wireless starting with the Premium trim, we’re guessing most Outback owners’ interactions with the native system will be limited. Except when using climate controls, that is. Hard buttons for defoggers and temperature increase and decrease live alongside the screen, but fan speed, seat heating and ventilation, air-conditioning, and climate modes are all managed through the touchscreen. The climate menu remains anchored at the bottom of the screen regardless, which is a pro in terms of ease of access but arguably a con in terms of aesthetics.

Wi-Fi capability comes on all but the base trim. Bluetooth, HD Radio, and SiriusXM connectivity are all standard, and nearly every trim gets a 12-speaker Harman Kardon premium audio system. The only exceptions to this are the base model, with a four-speaker sound system, and Premium, with six speakers.

The 2024 Subaru Outback earned a Top Safety Pick award from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), a laudable achievement but possibly a disappointment following the 2023 Outback’s Top Safety Pick+ designation. We explored the breakdown of the IIHS evaluation results and found no differences. Perhaps it’s a question of the competition getting better rather than the Outback getting worse. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) did give both the 2023 and 2024 models five stars overall.

Based on safety features alone, we would have said 2024 represents an improvement. For one thing, reverse automatic braking now comes standard starting with the Onyx trim level. The EyeSight suite of advanced driver-assistance technologies is still standard, meaning all Outbacks get features like adaptive cruise control with lane-centering, automatic pre-collision braking, lane-keep assist, and automatic emergency steering. Blind-spot monitoring with lane-change assist and rear cross-traffic alert becomes standard on the Onyx Edition. For 2024, Subaru has added a wide-angle camera to the Touring trim which widens its field of view to better detect cyclists and pedestrians. Touring also gets a digital rearview mirror and a driver-attention monitor, which will intervene if it detects that the driver has lost focus or become unresponsive. A backup camera is of course standard, as is high-beam assist.

The fully loaded Outback Touring XT we tested stickered for $44,231, including the $1,295 destination fee. That’s not quite Volvo XC60 territory, but it gets awfully close to the starting price of the Audi A4 allroad. Of course, these are really only part of the conversation by virtue of their wagon body style. Base MSRP for the 2024 Subaru Outback is $30,190 including destination, much more in line with the RAV4 and CR-V mentioned previously. Bear in mind, of course, that AWD is typically an extra cost. On the Outback, it’s standard.

If we were shopping for a 2024 Outback, we’d want the turbocharged engine, meaning our least-expensive option would be the Subaru Outback Onyx Edition XT at $40,655. The good news is that it doesn’t do too much damage to your fuel economy: With the base engine, the Outback is EPA-rated for 26 mpg city, 32 highway, and 28 combined. The turbo mill dings city mileage the most, bringing it down to an estimated 22 mpg, but it should still hit 29 highway for 25 combined. Things look a bit worse for the Subaru Outback Wilderness, at 21 city, 26 highway, and 23 combined.

Given that this is a continuation of the recently refreshed sixth generation, we weren’t expecting much of a price increase over 2023, and we were mostly correct. The Onyx Edition went up by $2,680, reflecting its additional standard content for the 2024 model year, and the Wilderness went up by $1,585, but Subaru otherwise kept pricing bumps below $1,000. We called the 2023 model “the Swiss Army Knife of affordable automobiles,” and with nine variants to choose from, the 2024 Subaru Outback continues to merit that description in our book.