How much space is there?

• Loads of passenger space 
• Boot not as big as you might expect 
• Excellent cup holders and cubby storage 

Passenger space is generous, with plenty of room for four adults or five at a pinch. Up front there’s plenty of headroom, a driver’s seat that goes back far enough to accommodate long legs and plenty of width, too.

Rear space is arguably even more impressive. The roofline has been raised when compared to its predecessor so there’s ample headroom even for tall adults. Rear legroom is generous, although three in the back is a little more of a squeeze.

For a start there’s a big hump in the floor for the central passenger to straddle, while the seat they’re perched on is quite a bit higher and flatter than those either side. Still, that’s not particularly unusual in this class.

Boot space and storage

With 561 litres of space behind the rear seats, the new Outback has improved on the previous model to provide ample stowage for most scenarios, including space-demanding activities like camping. It’s a broad boot space well over a metre wide, which means you can easily fit large items, such as a barbeque. 

Even so, it’s not as big as you might think in terms of outright capacity. With the rear seats up it has less room than the smaller Volkswagen Golf, Seat Leon and Skoda Octavia estates. That said, it beats the similarly jacked-up and four-wheel drive Volvo V90 Cross Country by a whole litre. 

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Up front, large door pockets, a reasonable glovebox, and generous centre console collectively provide much storage for personal paraphernalia. There is also a cubby slot in the dashboard that will happily hold a smartphone. 

Is it easy to park?

The Outback is a reasonably large car, primarily in length, and it does feel its size. However, it’s very easy to gauge the Outback’s extremes. Aided by superb all-round visibility, the Outback is simple to park, even in tight urban street parking situations. 

All three trim levels come with a reversing camera and sensors to help you, too. 

Safety

• Full arsenal of safety features 
• Five-star Euro NCAP safety rating 
• ISOFIX points on both main rear seats 

The previous Outback came with a raft of safety tech, but it was suggestive rather than active. Things have changed on this new model with Subaru’s ‘Eyesight’ safety package. For example, the Lane Keep Assist will kick in and fight to keep the car from straying over lines. This car’s predecessor would beep a warning instead.   

There is also emergency braking that will kick in automatically, which, in addition to the obvious, will engage if you get too close to a car in front that is making a turn down another road. It works when you’re reversing too. 

When you’re in the driver’s seat, the car is not only keeping an eye on surroundings, but on you too via its driver monitoring system. As far as safety is concerned, the idea is to check for signs of fatigue or distraction. It will beep a warning message if it senses you take your eyes of the road, but we found this to be overly sensitive. It would sometimes kick up a fuss even when glancing up and a road sign or just scratching an itch. This monitoring system will also bong a warning when you’ve been driving for more than two hours, for example. 

The five-star Euro NCAP crash test result shows this car provides very good levels of protection for everyone on board. The body structure is very solid and in addition to all the safety software, the Outback comes with a lot of airbags. It really can mix it with the big names.

All three trim levels benefit from automatic LED headlights and wipers, and we’re pleased to report they switch on and off when and as they should.