The last real American station wagon is a Japanese. Subaru Outback, an old-school cooler

The Japanese population is aging. This is also reflected on the roads, where a high number of pedestrians die in old age. Subaru wants to reduce it. | Video: Reuters

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With a bit of irony, this also applies to design, where this distinctive brand has never submissively tried to please. Even the shapes of the new Outback do not go out of fashion because they ostentatiously ignore it. They are rather quirky and technical, the camouflage brown-green color with black wheels gives them a military character. However, it is reliable that you do not confuse this car with another.

Also inside, a simple functional note is played, but the surface finishes of the materials are high quality and the atmosphere is cozy. The big novelty of this generation is the transition of all control to a central tablet. With all the ailments like having to jump from one menu to another. However, a mitigating circumstance must be mentioned in the defense of Subaru – the menus are so brief and the font and icons are so large that you can quickly find your way around them while driving.

The abundance of the interior space corresponds to the generous dimensions. The wide front chairs refer to American customs, but they also sit comfortably in the back. This is partly because the Outback does not twitch millimeters even in height, so no one has to crouch in the second row either. A relatively shallow bottom takes liters of a sympathetically long suitcase, the basic volume reaches 561 liters.

What didn’t fit inside can go into the roof box. Outback has traditionally offered large, robust rails that can be easily turned from transverse to transverse, so you don’t need – and don’t forget – any additional parts to fasten them. The tested Fields ES equipment has instead reinforced slats for loads of up to 300 kilograms, so you can sleep in a tent on its roof.

Japanese manufacturers have always looked at the European mania of small supercharged engines with an indulgent smile, and this is no different with Subaru. Under the hood of the Outback, there is a 2.5-liter four-cylinder without turbo connected to a continuously variable transmission CVT.

When driving smoothly with a light foot, this tandem keeps up to incredibly low revs at all times, resulting in consumption of around eight liters, on Highway Nine. Who claims that a smaller engine with a turbo will run for less, let him show it.

The horizontal engine with counter-rotating pistons has other advantages. For example, the movements of the pistons cancel each other out of some vibration bands, which completely eliminates the bass drone typical of large four-cylinder engines. Outside the luxury class, the Outback is the only petrol car in which the engine is not audible at all at a constant 130 km / h on the highway. The flat engine room also reduces the car’s center of gravity, which contributes to driving dexterity.