Subaru has farewelled the Liberty but its high-riding wagon cousin, the Outback, lives on.
The sixth-generation Outback will touch down in Australia during March 2021, powered by a naturally-aspirated 2.5-litre boxer engine with 136kW of power and 239Nm of torque. Braked towing capacity will be 2000kg, the highest in the Outback’s history.
Although a 2.4-litre turbocharged petrol engine is offered in the USA with 194kW and 375Nm, it’s not confirmed to make it to Australia.
Subaru says the car coming to Australia is a unique spec, built at its Yajima factory in Japan. The brand is promising it’ll pack a broader range of active safety assists as standard, including the driver monitoring system from the Forester.
Expect to see autonomous emergency braking, lane-keeping assist, adaptive cruise control, rear cross-traffic alert, and a full suite of cameras and sensors for parking.
Revealed for the USA during April 2019, the 2021 Outback has a bigger interior and more technology than the current model.
The dashboard is dominated by a vertically-oriented 11.6-inch infotainment touchscreen, running Subaru’s latest StarLink software.
“Outback will have an incredible specification list cementing it as the flagship of the Subaru range,” said Subaru Australia general manager, Blair Read.
“This will appeal to both loyal Subaru customers and newcomers, who are increasingly aware of the compelling whole-of-life value that Subaru ownership represents.”
Although it’s listed as an SUV by VFACTS, the Outback is Australia’s best-selling wagon. Subaru shifted 7210 examples in 2019, and it’s sitting on 4499 sales to date in 2020.
Pricing for the current, fifth-generation Outback kicks off at $37,440 before on-road costs, and extends to $50,440 before on-roads for the range-topping Premium 3.6R.
The range kicks off with a 2.5-litre naturally-aspirated boxer engine making 129kW of power and 235Nm of torque, and includes a 2.0-litre turbo-diesel with 110kW and 350Nm.
Current Outback 3.6R 
The range-topping 3.6-litre petrol engine has 191kW of power and 350Nm of torque.
