2023 Subaru Outback XT (Turbo) Review: Wow, this thing is awesome!

The all-new Subaru Outback XT - aka Turbocharged!! - has FINALLY landed in Australia, bringing with it a $5,000 price premium BUT the addition of a WRX engine!

Today we take a look at the Subaru Outback XT Turbo to determine if its worth spending your hard earned cash on! We will compare it to the naturally aspirated, standard Outback and see if its really worth the extra $5,000 premium for turbocharged power! So sit back, and enjoy this in-depth review.

--

🚨 SAVE $$$ ON FINANCE! 🚨 Use my link for a $150 fuel card for every settled loan & we will get YOU the best deals!💸💸

--

--

⚠️ Watch me next ⚠️
- How does the naturally aspirate Subaru Outback compare?
- What about the ALL-NEW Nissan X-Trail?
- Is the Haval H6 Hybrid any good?

--

Here at CarSauce, we review every new car on the market. We are a community of sauce givers and we'd love for you to subscribe and join our community!

We give every car "the sauce", test their 0-100km/h, and see whether or not they are worth purchasing and spending your hard-earned cash on.

From time to time, we'll also buy a weird and wacky car and take you on the journey with me!

We release videos every Sunday 5pm AEST / AEDT with the latest new car reviews! Your feedback is important, so if you want to see us do something new or something you would like me to change let me know!

Got a question for me? Leave it in the comments! I try and respond to them all!

[CarSauce]

🚨 SAVE $$$ ON FINANCE! 🚨 Use my link for a $150 fuel card for every settled loan & we will get YOU the best deals!💸💸

[ChrisN]

When you become a dad but boost is life.
Sleeper dad wagon it is.

[Roku-qpoc]

The best value wagon in Australia. So versatile and comfortable across many terrains. Considering most Australians drive 90% of our time on tar the Outback still manage masters luxury offroad when needed.

As for the turbo its glorious and provides the power you need to keep you going and get you out if trouble on roads at times.

The main negative everyone always brings up is fuel consumption compared to other brands however when filling the tank its such a minor difference. The extra cost is worth it.

Still made in Japan and still remains a high quality build.

[steveseeley]

Canada calling again. Your videos are humorous so I've subscribed. Question, have you lads not noticed that Subaru put your steering wheels on the wrong side? 😏

[paulpierce]

As a Murican, i don't watch foreign reviews often, but you guys are legit entertaining and the editing is well done.

[robertceroli]

Now Subaru just need to add that eng to the Forrester

[lauriealmy]

I traded my Forester for a 2023 Outback Touring XT and am one happy camper on so many levels! I've owned many SUVs and this Outback, that's not quite an SUV, is the best of them all.

[ben]

Subaru will have this on loop in the dealer showrooms 😆.
Good review, i like how ride comfort and normal size rims are making a comeback - they're better to own on an everyday car !

[ichabodjones]

just did a country highway drive in my xt app 500ks . i have never driven a better car on the road. this thing is such a surprise. just as good as my sons merc to drive. one very happy customer

[isaac]

Well presented in a funny way but with details.
Enjoyed the ride and the presentation. VIC Australia

[MrJBL]

I’m going to get a Touring XT soon, I can’t wait

[sherwinchia]

The roof rails on the Touring also deploy as roof racks so you don't need to have the horizontal aftermarket rhino racks installed.

[nedfinnegan]

It is nice that the turbo feature no longer requires higher octane fuel as it once did.

[denisgately]

I am now into my 6th year with my first Outback (SWMBO has had at least 4 Imprezas), and got into it out of a Merc AMG (which I was finding harder and harder to get in and out of).
And I have to say (as I said to the salesman when I bought it), how long has this been going on ?!! Awesome engineering,  great driving experience, and wonderful as cheap as chips !!

Thanks for the review....I think I have found the replacement....if ever I want to !!

[Valdismith]

SUbaru still takes corners well for a regular roads with imperfections, dumps and jumps I think it is even better than the stiffies.

[XQoozMii]

This is one of your funniest reviews. Actually really enjoyed it.

[HyRax_Aus]

FYI - you'll launch slightly better if you make use of ACC HOLD mode. Turn on cruise, come to a stop, ensure HOLD is showing in the dash and then take your foot off the brake (car is braking for you now). Set Sports mode on the SI-Drive, hover over the accelerator and then plant it when you're ready to go. Launches better than just from standstill alone or putting revs up. You can really get the jump on people at the Traffic Light GP.

Personally I'm slightly disappointed that the Gen6 XT is slower to 100kmh out of the box than the Gen5 H6 is (which does mid-to-high 6's in Sports Sharp mode) but a good amount of blame can be laid at the fact that the Gen6 is nearly 50kg heavier than than the H6! That said, the engine can be easily tuned to add performance without extra hardware mods, just at the cost of some fuel efficiency. Also slightly disappointed that they removed Sports Sharp mode.

That said, our XT is much more fuel efficient than the US model, so we can take some solace from that.

Other neat features not mentioned in this review:
- Adaptive Driving Beam headlights (aka "Matrix Headlights") which draws a neat box of low beam around other vehicles whilst leaving high beam on for the rest of the road.
- You can set a tailgate access PIN code to unlock the car without the fob (useful for rescuing trapped kids or pets without breaking a window, or going to the beach and locking the fob inside so you don't lose it).

[steveseeley]

Canada calling, our model has 260hp with normal 87 octane petrol. 0-100klmh is 5.8 seconds. How can yours be so much slower with only 15hp less? Max towing capacity is rated at 3, 500 lbs in Canads while yours is 5, 200 lbs. Are Australia's towing rules a bit more lack than ours or are your models more solid. Your 0-100 makes me think that might be the case.

[plonkaplonka]

Your not wrong about the seats. They would have to be the most comfortable car seats that my butt has had the pleasure of sitting in 😊

[TheTexturizer]

This is the only current offering by Subaru that could get me out of my ten year old tuned diesel outback. Unfortunately they don’t sell it in UK.