2021 Subaru Outback consumer reviews

My family has owned Subarus for a very long time, starting in the late 90's with my parents, an 89 Legacy L wagon, then a 2005 Outback XT, continuing with my wife and I. Our last Subaru, a 2002 Legacy GT wagon (a pretty rare car here in the US, even the Subaru-crazy Portland-metro area) was stolen during Covid. We went Subaru-less until June 8 2026, when we picked up the 45000 mile 2021 Outback XT Limited. The Limited trim is one rung below the top-trim Touring XT and above the Onxy XT. For the curious, XT= the turbo engine version, which I HIGHLY recommend if you actually enjoy driving your car like I do (and other perks). Why did we choose the Limited XT over a truck or another SUV/crossover? 1) The styling. Love it or hate it, wagons are just cool. They've grown on me. It's just different from everything else on the road. 2) I like the carlike ride, driving dynamics, comfort, but the SUV-like interior space, ground clearance and driving position (OB's have 8.7 inches of ground clearance). The Limited trim is the best one in my opinion because you get upgraded interior sound-deadening (thicker window glass, more insulation), upgraded stereo (which sounds awesome), and memory for the driver seat (2 presets). Here's what I like: It's a Subaru without the Subaru quirks from prior generations. It's quiet inside. Just as quiet or more than our Volvo XC90 V8. Even the 2019 3.6R Touring we test drove was noisier inside. The ride is very smooth. Seats are very comfortable for long-hauls. Vancouver, WA to Bend, OR and no aches or pains or cramps. Handling is also good, better than a SUV. This isn't nimble like a Miata or Honda Civic, but for a 3900 lb car it's great. The powertrain. I love the 2.4 turbo engine. It's smooth, quiet, and makes all its torque by 2000 RPM. The non-turbo Outback gets along okay without the 2.5 non-turbo, but the XT makes a huge difference when you want it. It's much faster than the 3.6R it replaced and gets better fuel economy. Personally, unless you want the extra fuel economy, there's no reason not to get the XT. Fuel economy? Highway cruising 70-75 mph is 28 mpg. Pulling grades or a load of gear drops it to 27 mpg. Heavy-footed driving in town and the mileage is rough at times: I saw a low 17.5 once, but it's usually 22 to 23 in town if I keep my foot out of it (that's hard). Here's what I'm not sold on after over a month of ownership. The CVT: If you're coming from only driving conventional automatics, there's a learning curve on how to drive it smoothly. Smooth is the keyword. let the transmission do the work. You can paddle shift it, but it's better to leave it in D. The power delivery could be better. Again, it's a CVT. Off the line foot to the floor and there's a waiting period before it goes. However, like 30 to 80 mph is wild! Like 3 seconds, and onramps are fun! Again, fuel economy isn't fantastic, real-world mixed driving is 22-23 mpg. The infotainment system: Starlink will require getting used to. None of our cars have ever had one, so it's not a big deal for me, but someone used to one may have moments of frustration with the lag and slow response to inputs. Just be patient and it gets bearable over time. Android Auto is USB tether-only along with CarPlay. It works fine, but again...laggy. The display washes out some in sunlight, so you may have to turn the dimmer up. I had to make a habit of turning off auto stop start as soon as I start the engine now. I despise auto stop-start! Whose idea was that anyway? So, should you get a Gen 6 Outback. Yes. The Gen 7's are what I consider blasphemy for Subie folks like me...they now look like everything else on the road, but that's here nor there. I really like the XT and it will be our car for a good while.

This 2021 Outback is a solid car. The seat upholstery is cheap, thin and the stitching isn't much better. The driver's and front passenger's seat have degraded areas. The annoying Info reminders to check the back seat, stay in the lane, Stay Alert, and other Big Brother comments are overly intrusive. I've had the auto braking system kick in only once or twice, but it was still unnecessary. The "Drive Safely" prompt when the car is started is an insult that I ignore. In other words, the electronics used for these systems are totally annoying. I've had numerous recalls since I purchased this car. In addition to all the recalls(eventually covered by Subaru), check out the " Service Bulletins". I've had to have the oil pan replaced by a non-dealer station because of an inadequate oil pan plug. That was at the expense of the local station. Last week, I had to pay $1,400.00 to replace the front axle system. After researching the issue, it appears to me that Subaru had a faulty assembly in the axles that year. At 98,000 miles, I'm not covered by Subaru. It's common knowledge that the axle parts are hard to find unless the dealer supplies them. Hopefully, at some point, Subaru will admit to the failure and reimburse the owners for that mistake. In conclusion, it's my feeling that the 2020-2021 models of this car were compromised by designs that were changed to save production costs( the metal thermostat was swapped out for a heavy plastic unit that failed miserably). It seems like a pattern. I do enjoy aspects of this car, but unless Subaru 'shares the Love' by maintaining a high standard in production, I will probably pick another company for my next car.

So I bought a ‘21 Outback premium with 30k miles and have already put 6K more on it. Here is my honest review: if you want a fast car don’t get the 2.5 non turbo- that being said it is adequate for myself and get great gas mileage. The interior is good- I have the spec with cloth heated seats and they are comfortable and the cabin feels nice- has some cheap parts but I knew what I was buying. The infotainment is frustrating at times- auto start stop is a pain in the butt- but the infotainment itself isn’t bad with good sound and good responsiveness. The apple CarPlay will lag and be finicky at times but nothing terrible. As for drive quality it is a smooth ride and I don’t have any real complaints yet. Like I had mentioned if you want a car that is going to be fast- this engine and transmission will not do that for you. Overall I am happy so far with my purchase and feel as though I made a sensible decision when choosing this over some of its competition (I was looking at the VW Tiguan and and Mazda cx5)

I like mostly everything about my2021 Outback Limited XT. I hate the navigation system or the infotainment system as it is called. I have had it to the dealership 4 times in 3 years because the system is not compatible with my iPhone. Taking it in next week for a new radio. The navigation system stops working just when you need it most. Sometimes it flashes "Stay Alert" when you are looking straight ahead but if you turn the car off and restart, it goes away. Too bad Subaru doesn't make their own radio systems.

22000 miles no problems ,,,rides really smooth,,much better than other brands i tested ,,,this is my 9th subaru and about to buy another one really soon ,,,and i forgot to mention go anywhere in the snow ,,,it's remarkable actually

If you want to be nagged and have the brakes slam on unnecessarily, have the car bongs at you every time you pass a road junction because there's a break in road lines or the steering assist throw you across a lane and a half or try to nudge you under an eighteen-wheeler - this is the car for you! Seating at best is inadequate - use the extending bolster and you end up with numb legs! The auto-stop start is an embarrassment - the flat four boxer shakes the entire car and has saved ten bucks of gas in 30 months - what a joke! The info-distraction system is worse than useless. I LOATH a Subaru!

mechanically sound but the electronics stink. Radio won't play. Screen insensitive at times. Not at all pleased with electronic connection with car. Wish I had my old 11 outback . Also brakes will engage without pressing to brake pedal. Get rid of the safe driving message.

Very smooth and comfortable ride. Gas mileage is above other comparable SUVs. Dash controls are a little confusing but should improve with time using. Would definitely recommend this vehicle to others.

I really don't feel safe in this vehicle. The 'A' pillar is slightly too wide and on two occasions has blocked my vision of walking pedestrians coming from the left as I approach a stop sign. Both times I narrowly missed hitting somebody and that is the last thing I would ever want to do. I know that the car is rated 'safe' for its occupants, but it is not safe for pedestrians! I also hate their technology. Do they really need us to agree to a statement that we will drive 'safe' every time we turn the car on? Why did they not have a sign a paper when we first bought the car? Or maybe they could give us a choice if we want to drive safe or not? Then they have the motor shutoff for when we stop at stop signs - we can only disable it right after we start the car every time. I want to disable it permanently - it saves very little fuel and will cost me more in repairs than it saves. The lights that see where I am going are nice, but they turn away from dark objects approaching from the opposite direction. I also presume they will be very expensive to replace. I have also heard that lane control fights you if you want to move over for an emergency vehicle. But I have not engaged it to find out. I just wished that these companies built what we want and not what they want to sell us!

Mechanically, this is a nice car: good gas mileage, comfortable, good 4WD capability. But the infotainment system is horrible. It crashes frequently and in many different ways, sometimes requires a "factory reset" to bring it back to life. To really drive it nuts, connect an iPhone to use Apple Car Play. It's like Russian Roulette.