Buy This, Not That: 2025 Subaru Outback or 2025 Toyota Crown Signia?
There are precious few station wagons for sale in the U.S. these days, as just about everyone has instead moved on to buying high-riding, puffed-up, quasi-off-road SUVs instead. But if you look hard enough (and maybe squint a little), you can still snag a wagon if you prefer your family vehicles to be more like cars than trucks. The 2025 Subaru Outback is perhaps the most successful wagon on sale today, with legions of loyal followers enjoying its slightly lifted, ostensibly off-road-capable, ruggedized mix of cargo space and go-anywhere ability. But there’s no denying that it is still a wagon; it’s related to the Subaru Legacy car even though it was spun off as its own thing years ago. It got a mild update a couple of years ago, but by all accounts and spy photos, the next-generation Outback is going to be much more SUV than wagon — meaning this might be the last opportunity to get the popular Subie in its current form.
Related: 2025 Toyota Crown Signia Review: Another Niche Offering
But something new has just arrived to the U.S. market, and that’s the 2025 Toyota Crown Signia. It’s part of a multi-vehicle strategy of Crown models that are designed to be the flagships of the Toyota showroom. The Crown Signia joins the regular, plain-ol’ Crown as an ostensible replacement for the old Avalon sedan, but unlike the regular Crown’s odd “SUV-coupe” body style, the Crown Signia gets the wagon treatment. Now, Toyota says it’s an SUV, but we’re calling shenanigans due to two facts. The first is what Toyota calls the Crown Signia in its home market; there, it’s sold as the Crown Estate, with “estate” being the British classification for station wagon. But here in the U.S., the proof is in the rear windows, which are not tinted from the factory. Vehicles that are classified by the EPA as trucks, including SUVs and crossovers, can come with tinted rear windows, and all automakers generally do this to their vehicles. Passenger cars, however, can’t come that way, and the Crown Signia doesn’t. Is it a scientific deduction? Not really, but given the shape of the car, its billing in Japan and the windows, we’re calling this thing a wagon — and that’s a good thing.
So, with two premium wagons that aren’t called wagons by their manufacturers (but trust us, they are) available to you, which one should you go for? We drove the top-spec trim levels of each back to back, and we have some thoughts on that.
2025 Subaru Outback: The Family Favorite
In this corner is the returning favorite, the Outback, which was last redesigned for the 2020 model year and received a minor freshening for 2023. It’s the familiar choice, and even with its latest updates, the newest Outback doesn’t feel terribly fresh. My test vehicle was a totally loaded, top-of-the-line Touring XT trim featuring a standard turbocharged 2.4-liter boxer four-cylinder gasoline engine mated to a continuously variable automatic transmission. It puts out 260 horsepower and 277 pounds-feet of torque, which isn’t bad for its size, and the powertrain is EPA-rated 22/29/25 mpg city/highway/combined, which is decent for a non-hybrid vehicle. The Touring XT sports 18-inch wheels and has standard all-wheel drive like most Subarus. And being an Outback, it offers X-Mode off-road settings and extra ground clearance.
The latest Outback has an updated multimedia system that it got in 2023, but it doesn’t look all that different from prior generations with its vertical orientation and icon-based touchscreen controls that make it feel like a giant smartphone planted in the center of the dashboard. The rest of the interior is an interesting mix of decent materials and old-school shapes. The top Touring XT has Nappa leather upholstery (including the steering wheel and shift lever), a 12-way power driver’s seat (eight-way power for the front passenger), heated and ventilated front seats, heated and power-folding side mirrors, LED steering-responsive headlights, a Harman Kardon premium audio system, lane-centering adaptive cruise control and Subaru’s standard EyeSight safety system, which is less annoying in this current generation than in past ones.
The as-tested price of our ultimate Outback was $44,356 (all prices include delivery fees).
2025 Toyota Crown Signia: The Fancy Newcomer
Arriving on our shores for the 2025 model year is the new Crown Signia. It’s built on the same platform as the Camry sedan, RAV4 SUV and Sienna minivan, as well as half of the Lexus lineup, too. Fun fact: This is the 16th generation of the Crown, a Toyota nameplate that dates all the way back to 1955 but has found much more success in the home Japanese market than abroad.
We’ve got two versions of the latest Crown so far (a sedan and “sport” SUV model may yet show up in the U.S.), but the Signia is by far the better looking one. It’s a handsome long-roof runabout that’s not as lifted as an Outback (or most other crossovers) and features the new Toyota brand styling that we’ve seen on the latest Prius and Camry with its slim headlights and decidedly toned-down fish-mouth grille. It looks sleek and well proportioned, and it turned a lot of heads around town, to our surprise.
Unlike the regular Crown, which offers a choice of two powertrains, the Crown Signia only offers one: a 2.5-liter four-cylinder gas-electric hybrid system making 240 horsepower total. The hybrid system has two electric motors: a 134-kilowatt unit up front and a smaller 40-kW unit at the rear, the latter giving the car AWD. The transmission is a CVT, and the car’s EPA-estimated fuel economy is understandably significantly higher than the gas-only Outback’s; the Crown Signia is rated 39/37/38 mpg city/highway/combined. My test Signia was also a loaded example, a fully kitted Limited trim with standard 21-inch wheels (the lesser XLE trim comes with 19s), a panoramic fixed-glass roof with a power sunshade, and LED lights all around.
Inside, it’s a fully modern environment shared with the Crown sedan, albeit with much more second-row headroom and a larger, more useful cargo area. Materials quality was excellent in this loaded Limited, which features a leather-trimmed interior (including the steering wheel and shift knob), heated and ventilated front seats, heated rear seats, a rearview camera mirror, an optional integrated dashcam and plenty of electronic safety features, including an optional Advanced Technology Package. This package adds a 360-degree camera system, hands-free stop-and-go cruise control and more. The standard Toyota Audio Multimedia system has a 12.3-inch horizontal touchscreen in the dash that’s relatively easy to use, but the system still feels a bit barren and a step behind what competitors offer.
The price for this loaded Crown Signia came to $53,249. Yep, that’s nearly $8,900 more than the loaded Outback, but then, you’ll find that this isn’t uncommon among modern Toyotas, which have seen prices creep up rather dramatically for top trims. Less expensive Crown Signias are available, but even the base model starts around where the Outback tops out, with a Crown Signia XLE starting at a tick under $45,000. That’s quite a bit more than a base Outback, which starts at $30,315. It fits with Toyota’s billing of the Signia as a premium product, but the car is also nearly $9,000 more to start than the outgoing Toyota Venza, which the Signia ostensibly replaces.
Which One Should You Get?
But there are too many parallels in mission and use between the Crown Signia and the Outback to declare them to not be competitors. While the Outback’s more rugged appearance and push toward off-roadability make it appeal to the adventure crowd, the Crown Signia’s purely on-road orientation does seem to make a play for the more premium-intender set.
Both are spacious, comfortable, useful and efficient, but the hybrid-only Crown Signia handily bests the gas-only Outback in that last category. It also feels zippier thanks to its electric-augmented powertrain. And while the Outback has plenty of torque and never really lacks for grunt, Toyota’s two decades of expertise in hybrid technology continues to shine here, with a powertrain in the Crown Signia that is smoother, sprightlier and more enjoyable in around-town driving.
The Crown Signia also has sportier handling characteristics, which isn’t surprising given it has a lower ride height than the Outback and larger wheels with lower-profile tires. But this also lends itself to a firmer, harsher ride than the glass-smooth Outback delivers. If you intend to tow with your vehicle, the Outback XT’s 3,500-pound max rating bests the Crown Signia’s 2,700-pound rating, so taking that ultra-light camper trailer along will likely require the Subie. As far as driving dynamics and performance, the Subaru is better in inclement conditions and modest off-road driving, and it delivers a smoother ride. The Crown Signia is the sportier option — more engaging and more sophisticated.
Things get a little more pointed when comparing interiors and technology. Both have well-finished cabins, but the new shapes and designs of the Toyota make it feel more modern and up to date, while the Subaru’s old looks and less premium materials make it feel rather out of fashion. This is especially true with the displays and multimedia system; Subaru’s insistence on sticking with older systems, older fonts and even analog gauges instead of a screen for the instrument cluster further reinforce its out-of-date feel. The liquid crystal displays also look like they could be from several generations of Outback ago. Here’s hoping the next Outback’s interior gets some much-needed style and function updates.
So, despite the clear price advantage of the Subaru, when we’re talking about totally loaded top-trim-level wagons, the new Crown Signia comes out on top. Of course, if your use case involves a lot of harsh conditions, dirt roads, towing or camping, the Outback might be a better choice for such rugged duty. But if the only dirt your “off-road” vehicle sees is from a gravel driveway, the Crown Signia offers a more premium experience for a more premium price, and it’s my pick between these two.
More From Cars.com:
- 2025 Toyota Crown Signia: A Less Crownfusing SUV
- 2023 Toyota Crown Review: Slick New Flagship Sedan Leaves Us a Bit Crownfused
- 2025 Subaru Legacy, Outback Mostly Unchanged; Priced From $26,040 and $30,290
- Shop for a 2025 Subaru Outback
- Shop for a 2025 Toyota Crown Signia
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