The new 2021 Subaru Outback has finally been launched in Australia.

We’re always about a year behind the world’s second biggest new car market - the US - so this report is about the key aspects of the new model you’re most likely to care about.

Overall, the new Outback is the same size as the superseded model, with many of the familiar interior bits like buttons, air vents and so on.

It’ll get a new safety update to the EyeSight safety tech, including driver fatigue monitoring and reverse emergency braking - and Subaru hasn’t been tight about putting the good safety gear at the affordable price points, once again.

So, the sixth generation all-wheel drive wagon is here, and I will test drive it as soon as possible, but in the meantime as a potential buyer, remember three things:

1. You’ll get some hot bargains on the outgoing Outback and remember, the new model won’t get much discounting in the first six months, so don’t get your knickers twisted because a dealer won’t budge on orice;

2. Don’t listen to the bullshit youll find in various comments sections of the Outback reviews out there where uninformed trolls whinge about the new Boxer engine lacking power or having a ‘shit CVT' - it’s all rubbish from people who haven’t got a clue either how to drive properly, or how the real world works;

3. You might find the opposite depending on where you go. If a You should also try to keep a critical eye for any significantprobles you and your family might face with this new Subaru Outback, such as whether you plan for more kids, what kind of driving you’re going to do, and always think about other vehicle options in the market.

Now the new Outback is here, you should take a deep breath and wait about six to eight months before buying. Certainly, have a test drive, do your research, compare other models you’re interested in, play with the tech, become familiar enough to make a decision on it, and if you’re keen on the Outback, make sure you’ve studied the model independently (without relying solely on websites and reviews paid for by advertising: they’ll probably all tell you it's ‘all good'). Look at the specs, take a tape measure to the dealership if needs be, have a play with it in the showroom (without the dealer’s help, unless required). Check if your pram will fit, have a go deploying the roof racks, and look for things you don't like.

Then wait. Wait until early buyers have driven it, wait until more stock has arrvied in dealerships (early supply can be limited as they wait for the factories to build stock), and wait in case the manufacturer has any gremlins or faults to fix in those early weeks and months. Such as with that big new vertical tablet-style touchscreen

Buying your family’s new car: here’s how it’s done_

So, keeping in mind that I’ve lived with the current Outback for two years, here’s what you need to know about the new 2021 Subaru Outback in order to get ready to potentially make it your next family car.

NEW ENGINE

A 2.4-litre turbocharged petrol Boxer engine is denied for the Australian-spec Outback as the premium powertrain.

So we’re stuck with the 2.5. But, contrary to many uninformed morons who love to shit all over this engine, it’s actually a good motor.

It’s now direct injection (that’s good) with peak power of 193kW at 5600 rpm and 375Nm of peak torque at 2000 rpm, which is a pretty reasonable performance increase from the outgoing 3.6R (191kW@6000rpm & 350Nm@4400rpm). The power figure isn’t much bigger, but it’s a much lighter engine so it won’t have as much weight to move around. And being direct injection, it’s way more thermally efficient: same power, less fuel.

Engines and transmissions aren’t always the top priority for regular family car buyers, but I implore you to at least appreciate the importance of the powertrain when it comes to a Subaru.

After all, it’s one of the distinguishing features. You get an engine with low centre of gravity and which makes a distinct sound, which makes for a much nicer or at least more interesting soundtrack while driving than other regular four-cylinders.

Of course, that’s the other thing to change. The big 3.6 litre engine is gone, with just the 2.5, and hopefully the turbo 2.4 which would be much more responsive.

Also to get the chop is the diesel. It hasn’t sold particularly well in Australia and it wasn't the most efficient compared to its SUV rivals or other diesels available in the ute segment. If you want an affordable diesel 7-seat or five-seat SUV, you’re running out of options because the outgoing Mitsubishi Outlander won’t be around for long either.

The primary Outback engine will still be the 2.5, but remaining naturally aspirated. And fair enough, it’s a decent engine which gets 90 per cent new parts and will now be direct injection also, to increase efficiency and produce a bit more power. The 2.5 is still a decent t engine which has proven quite reliable.

The Subaru CVT will return too, which I see as a good thing for the majority of potential driving you’re ever likely to encounter. It’ll have eight gears instead of seven. And will still be a very pleasant transmission to use, permitting you don’t abuse it.

More big news for Outback will be the excellent towing capacity - two tonnes. My current Outback (the outgoing model) is rated for 1500kg (braked) with the 2.5 engine. But in the new one, Subaru has stated 2000kg will be perfectly viable, which tells you the CVT will definitely be able to cope and the engine has plenty to offer. And if you’re one of the commenters who thinks the 2.5 can’t handle such a towing assignment, you could be right - but towing isn’t a muscle-flexing contest, so you could be wrong.

I look forward to testing this out when it arrives.

BIG SCREEN

The proliferation of big touchscreens in our next generation of cars is good in some ways, and annoying in others.

Firstly, I blame Tesla for this trend.

Secondly, I don’t particularly like big touchscreens. Small ones are good, and I like when the steering wheel controls are oriented in the same direction the software goes on the screen. Kia has a bad habit of doing this; push volume-up on the steering wheel, the volume bar on the touchscreen increases left-to-right. Happily, my current Outback doesn’t do this, so I don’t expect the new one to.

Big touchscreens are good for decluttering the cabin and reducing claustrophobia - the new one will be 11.6-inches FYI. Touchscreens of course mean less likelihood of buttons breaking or getting stuck or filled with gunk from greasy fingers. But, it can mean filthy smears, glaring reflections and software tech problems have become a thorn in the side of many carmakers. Subaru claims “lightning fast tablet-like responsivity” for theirs - we’ll see.

But the worst part of big screens is distraction.

Before you decide on the Outback (when it gets here), it’s extremely important that you take some time to familiarise yourself with the screen and various functions like aircon and fan speed, changing radio station, calling and answering a call, and turning things on and off.

You need to do this because the car’s design needs to fit you, and to a certain degree you need to find a compromise in order to adjust to the car. See, when you push a button, the button clicks or moves or responds somehow which is called haptic feedback; it reacts to you pushing it which you detect through your finger. Screens don’t do that.

And ask yourself a bunch of questions: Are the screen buttons easy to see, reach and push? Is the screen brightness good enough or too good? Can you perform the three basic functions; temperature, radio, phone? Does the screen distract you, require too much attention, or not respond quickly enough? And so on.

I can see the temperature is adjusted using buttons, but fan speed, fan function/position, seat heating, radio, phone, media and car settings are all screen operated.

My big warning to Subaru, and to you - the consumer - here is this: The driver must always have full control over the vehicle. Granted, humans are fallible creatures, we’re nuanced and we are habitual. But if the new Outback removes the ability for the driver to permanently turn off distractions like active lane keeping assistance or rear cross-traffic alert, then I’m going to be disappointed.

Subaru’s motto was “All 4 the Driver” and is “Confidence in Motion”. If these systems, as brilliant as they are, do not come with the ability to turn them off (regardless of the reason), then it will be defying those statements, because ultimately the driver is responsible and they should have confidence in what they’re doing behind the wheel; nothing should be an accident. I’m a control freak, I hate lane keeping because often a fully-aware driver likes to gently position the car carefully in a lane, perhaps to avoid debris or to prepare in case of sudden changes in traffic ahead. I do not want the computer, which can never be a better driver than me, telling me what to do.

But some people love these features and are easily adaptable to how they work; some people even depend on them, which (apart from being concerning) is great because if the tech saves a life or two, or even prevents some serious crashes, that’s a win for humanity. I look forward to testing these new systems.

But some people can find them irritating or distracting or counter-productive, because they’re not perfect and can never be perfect.

Subaru’s EyeSight crash avoidance system is pretty good and I’ve learned to use it like a ninja, particularly on the freeway. I don’t recall it ever having to step in and perform an emergency braking procedure. But there was a time when I did have the plant the brake pedal and could feel the system had primed the brakes in response to an unfolding situation - and cut my required braking distance significantly.

And Subaru has done a very good job with its adaptive cruise control. It doesn’t drop anchor because a car merges in front - it gradually drops back. It very rarely gets confused and I’ve managed to live with the +/-5km/h speed increments.

I’m confident the new system will be even better again, as it is on the Forester. However, I’ve noticed on that car the driver attention monitor is easily confused, thinking I’m not looking ahead simply by dipping my chin.

Anyway, I’ll assess all this when the new model gets here.

SYMMETRICAL AWD

Now we’re talking.

Symmetrical all-wheel drive is Subaru’s swangsong. Some say it’s the Boxer engine, but Porsche does that too and some would argue they do it better.

Subaru’s AWD system is pretty formidable as a soft-roading drivetrain.

Essentially, it reduces the tractive effort delivered through each wheel to the ground, which reduces each wheel’s likelihood of slipping. Compare with a front-wheel drive where 50 per cent of the tractive effort goes through each front wheel, the Outback as 25 per cent going through each wheel; so it’s a much more even distribution of power to the road. All four wheels are driving all the time, which I see as a good insurance policy, long-term - you don’t get to choose the driving environments.

If you live in very hilly areas, when it rains you’ll have a greater level of stability, and getting out of any campsite in the morning will be much easier than anything front- or rear-wheel drive only. Most SUVs are either on-demand AWD, if not plain FWD toward the bottom of a vehicle’s range, whereas it’s standard in virtually all Subarus.

It’s a very clever system which I’ve driven up and down a quarry in recent years with the XV, and my own Outback along some gravel tracks where it’s nice to know you’ve got AWD.

Put simply, power is split between all four wheels, rather than two. Meaning each wheel uses less power to push the vehicle forward. You’re using 25 per cent of the power through each wheel, meaning it’s far less likely to get wheelspin by overwhelming the tyre's available grip.

If the dirt track out of a campsite is wet having rained overnight, when you drive up it in an Outback or Forester, for example, each wheel is using less power to propel it forward than a 2WD which would be using 50 per cent per wheel and therefore be more likely to spin the wheels by breaking traction.

I would expect software improvements to Subaru’s X-Mode and therefore it’s traction control systems which are pretty good for helping you manage challenging conditions. When X-Mode detects wheelspin, it’ll detect more power to the wheels which aren’t (where there’s more traction available). Most ‘AWD’ SUVs don’t have this kind of terrain management software.

You can also expect the pre-programmed ‘Mud’, ‘Rock' and ‘Snow’ settings for X-Mode found in Forester to cross pollinate into the 2021 Outback.

Gravel roads, farm driveways, heading to the Alps for snow season, following the big 4WDs around the main High Country roads, even heading across the two-thirds unsealed roads, you can actually come out the other side.

BIG BOOT

The new model will be about 30mm longer at 4.85m, with a wheelbase basically exactly the same as the old model (which is 2.75m) and if you like the amount of cabin space and legroom in the current car, you’ll be happy with the new one.

You’ll get exactly one metre of space between the wheelarches in the boot, and a boot aperture of 1.1m at the bottom, which is all pretty much the same as the outgoing model, with improvements literally in the millimetres domain. Every bit helps, I guess.

Also very helpful is Subaru Australia's understanding of their typical local buyers and where they drive, which is why you get a full size spare wheel on every Outback, Forester and the discontinuing Legacy.

And don’t be deceived by the image above; all that camping gear is with the second row seats folded - a situation that doesn’t exist for 99 per cent of families.

Happily, the boot on Outback is quite good for longer items like double strollers, porta-cots, eskis and luggage bags, plus awkward things like bikes and scooters.

Also, the US specs for 2021 Outback suggest cargo volume is 32.5 cubic-feet, which converts into 920 litres. But the volume of the boot cannot possibly (almost) double from the outgoing model’s 512L, when the dimensions of the whole car are virtually the same. So don’t take that figure literally until I decipher it further.

Either way, the blessing in disguise with Outback being a five-seater only is that you get a pretty good boot space.

The row 2 folding mechanism is a mechanical lever, not an electrical button, so there’s less to break. And the handle isn’t in immediate reach of little arms.

Certainly the Outback’s volumetric advantage isn’t necessarily better than a large seven-seat SUV like Kia Sorento or Mazda CX-9, but Outback is significantly smaller and lighter than those two and is, in my opinion, a more agile car to drive. Although not quite as polished as the Mazda CX-5 - but that would be a tall order.

Although, buying a Subaru Outback is not about demanding a quasi-luxury experience, you buy one to get as far from the city as you can.

Oh, by the way, new Outback will get Nappa leather like the much dearer CX-9, and CX-5.

ROOF RACKS

Many people think the Outback’s standard built-in roof racks are ugly - because they are.

They look bulky and spoil the otherwise fairly sleek wagon roofline. But bloody hell, they are so useful.

In Parentland, function trumps form, as far as I'm concerned. If a tool happens to look good, that’s a bonus, but cars have to function properly otherwise they become pointless and irrelevant. Like art.

Also like powered tailgates: if they're slow, they’re utterly useless and actually make life harder, and cost you more money, when a regular manual tailgate would’ve sufficed.

Outback's roof racks are so easy to deploy, unless you’re a bit on the short side (story of my life).

They have a locking lift-flap which you pull up to unlock, then pull the bar up, swing it over to lock into the corresponding hole on the opposite roof rail, once you’ve climbed down and done the same on the other side. Repeat on the opposite side. Always make sure they’re locked in before loading up.

The trick is to stand on top of the rear tyre with your feet inside the wheelarch. And for the front-end of the bar, simply open the driver’s door and stand on the sill.

Quick warning: Two things: 1) Always double check the bars are locked into place by pulling up on them before loading up, or before setting off with the bars unladen. And 2) Be really careful climbing on the wheel and standing on the door sill. It’s not hard to slip and seriously hit your head. Don't do it in thongs if you can help it; it’s so easy to get them caught, or to slip if there’s a hint of water. So get someone to help if needs be.

Subaru rates the current Outback’s roof bars at about 70kg which is pretty good. They’ll take luggage pods, skins, bikes, baskets or platforms for strapping on additional spare wheels, fuel or water for long trips far from service stations. With Outback not being a full-height SUV like most, you can also walk heavy long things like kayaks onto the roof.

Conclusion

As I write this conclusion, we’ve just had a full Outback with the in-laws, the kid and mummy for a short trip to the nobbies on Phillip Island.

It may say ‘five seats' but you should know that’s only feasible for short journeys or for small people across the back row. As with pretty much all five-seaters. But this is a strength of Outback. The long wheelbase offers good legroom, even when Nanna and Grandpa do come for a drive.

The new Outback won't be some stellar transformation and it won’t be free of foibles. Some won’t think it’s high enough like some pimped up American suburbanite utility vehicle, and others will find it the perfect size without going overboard.

If you’re thinking about an Outback in the next 18 months check out the current model for an immediate feel. There’s plenty to like about his car and you can drive it with a greater sense of confidence than the 2WD lot, and to get a reasonable sense of how the new one will feel.

But best of all, it’s safe, reliable and Subaru Australia has a good reputation for looking after you if things go wrong.

If you have any questions about the current or new Subaru Outback, simply email me using the red link below.