2014 New York Auto Show: 2015 Subaru Outback
Subaru is unveiling a refreshed version of its popular Outback -- the most fuel efficient and roomiest version in the model’s 20-year history.
The 2015 is the fifth-generation Outback, an all-wheel-drive series that has helped the Japanese company transform itself from a niche brand - favored by sporty yuppies and Boomers headed to the mountains with skis and snowboard - to a mainstream automaker.
Currently on a sales roll, Subaru boasts that it’s the only automaker in the world to post five consecutive years of sales increases. Total sales in 2013 reached 424,683 vehicles, Subaru has reported. It’s February 2014 figures showed a 24% increase over February 2013.
PHOTOS: Highlights of the 2014 N.Y. Auto Show
“Subaru has really established a heritage with this brand, and attached such a positive image to it,” said Edmunds.com senior editor Bill Visnic. “They’re the Jeep for people who don’t want to buy a Jeep, and they’re suddenly started to click with the mainstream market.”
The 2015 Outback comes in a 175-horsepower 4-cylinder version, and a 256-horsepower 6-cylinder version.
The company estimates 25mpg city and 33mpg highway, for the 4-cylinder Outback, and 19 mpg city and 27 mpg highway for the 6-cylinder. Both power and efficiency and are up from the previous generation models.
The new Outback is heavy on infotainment and comes standard with HD radio, 6.2-inch in-dash multimedia screen, and smartphone integration with music streaming services Aha, Pandora and iHert Radio.
A rear-vision camera is also standard, as are such driver assistance features like active torque vectoring, hill descent control and “X-Mode,” which the company says helps wiht navigating rough roads and slippery surfaces.
Optional are the company’s rear vehicle detection system, lane change assist and “Rear Cross Traffic Alert,” as well as Subaru’s EyeSight driver assist system -- crash prevention technology that offers pre-collision warnings, pre-collision braking and throttle control, and “lane departure” warnings.
