2024 Subaru Outback Review

Think of the 2024 Subaru Outback as the sheep dog of the car world. It loves to be outside and seems to be happiest when it's covered in dirt. There's a lot about this half wagon, half SUV that makes it a fan favorite among outdoorsy folks, so let's dive right in and see how it stands up against its competition.

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[nealvanmali]

I bought a 24 Outback non turbo for my college aged kid. The safety features are great in this vehicle. I was backing out of a parking spot and alerted to the giant lifted pickup truck speeding through on the opposite side of where I was looking. The more I drive it the more I love it.

[vinceGRANDE-zb]

My wife just bought a 24 XT with Turbo....it really moves....our family has bought 18 Subaru's since wife has had 10 ....our son is on his 3rd and ive had Brand loyal never had a bad one!

[TheLanard]

My Subaru dealership loaned me an Ascent Onyx when my Forester was waiting for a part for two weeks. I enjoyed it, but hated the faux leather. And it was a nice size and rode well, but handling wasn’t sharp. The next time they loaned me the Outback. That car was just right. Very comfortable seats, good handling, perfect size, and the ride was excellent. Also it was quieter than my Forester. Only problem was it had the 2.5 liter natural. I’m used to its slowness, but seemed even slower in the Outback. Where I live, the speed limit is 50 right out the gate. I always had to put my foot in it to not piss off the drivers behind me. If I even test drive the XT with the turbo that’s also in the Ascent I KNOW I’ll immediately trade in my car for it. I love the look of it. It’s my all-time favorite looking station wagon, plastic cladding and all. And the driving experience is very mature.

[j]

I have a 2024 Outback as a loaner vehicle no turbo. I don’t have money in this vehicle so I feel I have the most unbiased review.
Pros: Solid feeling vehicle, interior feels and looks very premium. Drive is smooth. Viewing is great and the touch screen is very nice and responsive, in cold weather.
Cons: Non turbo is not very responsive on passing. Interior seats have many crevices that are irritating to vacuum. Touch screen leaves no room for a phone holder leaving it to sit in a deep hole in front of the shift.
Irritating that the trunk lift is only activated from the FOB when you are on the outside button is on the inside of the vehicle. Engine whines for sure on acceleration.
Deal breaker, the safety items are irritating AF! I travel if stopped in traffic and you want to text someone because you are not moving anytime soon it bugs you to look at the wheel. Same if you are squeezing your eyes tight due to driving a long time or dry eyes like more than a half second it beeps at you. If you are on an old road with old lines mis painted you have to take off the lane recognition if you forget it tries to correct which is dangerous. Radio is loud but not loud enough to overcome noise if the windows are down like my car does.
Great car for someone 55 and over or a family car.
Not so great if your a car person and like to be in control of the car to enjoy the ride.

[joshuahamilton]

There is a wireless charger as an optional accessory that’s placed ahead of the shifter in the little cubby. Most on the lot were optioned with this but like most wireless chargers it’s basically just a phone warmer.

[ofcbob]

I have a friend who has a 22 Outback with the turbo. He really likes it but he only gets around 19 mpg around town, and he is easy on the gas. He said if he was a younger driver, he might be getting 15 mpg. Something to consider if you put a good bit of miles on your car every week.

[TechGently]

He didn't mention it, but there's the Onyx XT (blacked out) version which comes with everything including the wireless charger (not great, it tends to overheat the iPhone-will prob ask dealer to disable it so I can just lay my phone in there). XT comes with a full spare tire not a donut, also includes the Nav (Tom Tom) which I enjoy because when you leave LA there's a lot of nothing (cell towers) and you can quickly switch to Nav and get anywhere. Also, another feature that comes with ALL Outbacks/Subarus, Subaru's version of ONSTAR which includes road side assistance and SOS. We were stuck once in Utah in my Honda CRV (20k miles and it Christmas tree-d POS-never again), with no signal and when you're out at Sequoia, Big Sur, Route 2, or 39 or anywhere, you're protected. All auto liftgate models come with key code entry so if you're kayaking or going to the beach, you can disable your key fob (really simple to enable it again), throw it in the car, then use your code to get back into the car. The App that comes with your Outback is phenomenal, you can do everything with it, climate, remote start, especially on hot days also tells you everything about the car.
This wagon drives up the mountains like no one's business, it's just fantastic.

[gene]

That’s Awesome the middle of the BIG SCREEN has the TEMU app for Shopping.

[gailjohnson]

Thank you for the video. Blessings to you.

[kay-lee]

This may be a controversial opinion but I absolutely hate how these newer model cars have touch screens instead of actual button. Its really distracting trying to mess with the screen and all the different icons cuz you can’t figure out how to turn the radio off.

[MarcKemp-qn]

Just depends on how they're geared. With GM especially the bigger engines have more hp and torque but they're usually paired to higher speed final drives. So that's why the 4 cylinder might (up to a point) feel like about the same power as a 6. I've driven 4 cylinders that the owner swore were V6's.. she has no idea what's under the bonnet other than it's not likely hamsters.

[jbarner]

We bought a '24 Outback after looking at competing models from Honda, Toyota, VW, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Kia, and Hyundai. We checked specs on many more. We have had two Outbacks in the past and live on a steep dirt road that is miles long in snowy Vermont. The Outback was the quietest and most refined of the cars we test drove. We really wanted to love the VW Tiguan, but it was the test drive that moved the needle back to Subaru. The reasons why we were hoping to switch--first, maybe some people like the "rugged" look of the 2023+ Outbacks, but we think it is butt-ugly. Luckily, its bizarre cladding isn't quite as offensive on darker colors like the maroon that we chose, but every time I look at it I consider pulling off some of the cladding and painting it body color to hide it even more. The roof rack is also a fail as far as we're concerned, as it limits your options and isn't compatible with a lot of aftermarket attachments. We chose the Premium trim, as we have had a moon roof in the past and found it useless, and were happy to not have the complexity of many of the features of the higher level trims. Adaptive cruise control is a nice feature, while most of the other driver assist features seem like they should have stayed in development a bit longer. As an example, the manual spends about a page telling you how to use lane centering, and eight pages listing all the conditions under which it won't work or might even cause you to crash. Then, when you actually use it, you wonder why it's even there. Reviewers love to make out that the non-turbo engine is anemic, but it is not at all. If you drive like you wish other people would, you will find you have power to spare, with plenty of reserve for safe passing on two-lane roads, climbing steep hills, etc. Get the turbo and you can expect a reduction in fuel economy, along with future maintenance and repair costs. BTW, we don't do a lot of city driving and have been averaging over 30 mpg. Finally, the cloth seats are very high quality and comfortable and I believe they will provide even better wear that those on our last Outback, which looked new after 120k miles and 16 years of use. Oh, and one commenter said the review should have been on the '25, which is quite silly, since the '24s and '25s are virtually the same. Subaru is simply milking an extra model year out of the 6th generation. Let's hope the styling pendulum swings back for the '26 models and the Outback can start having a bit of class again and look less like it rolled down an embankment.

[ssphoto]

Correction: there is a wireless charging option, but reportedly it doesn't work well. Probably not worth the expense.

[saltyt.]

XT is a hoot when that turbo kicks in!

[devilefan]

Lack of rear cargo space???.... are you serious??.... that's one of the things the outback is renowned for is the amount of rear cargo space that you have in this vehicle... I have one myself and it has more than enough room in the rear, and as far as the infotainment system, it can be a little glitchy at times, but as a whole, it is definitely a good system, and on top of everything else, the outback is a recommended vehicle by consumer reports... it doesn't get that Monica for nothing because consumer reports doesn't just recommend any car. They do a thorough examination of the entire vehicle to come up with their recommendation or non-recommendation for that manner.

[khezransalik]

Right is it suburban street crewrun your run it is israel to say or is unpaved road run what was your mentality mide sitting in car was your dsy out a mission correct .love you guys

[khezransalik]

Thanks paul forbeing a backseat guy sorry for trouble

[richardpocker]

I have had mine for three months and I hate it. I hate all the safety features that make me feel like the car is driving me rather than vise versa. It’s a gas guzzler. Barely 19 mpg. The only positive attribute is it is comfortable. I totally regret this purchase

[alanwoodwind]

Wireless chargers are SLOW AF. 15w vs wired at 45-100w.

[khezransalik]

We merely sat in car not started or touch driving wheel