CARS.COM — The updated 2018 Subaru Outback goes on sale this summer with a starting price of $26,810 (all prices include a $915 destination charge). That's $290 more than the 2017 Outback — an increase similar to the wagon's sedan compadre, the also-updated Legacy. Like the Legacy, the Outback gets a slightly larger standard touchscreen (6.5 inches instead of 6.2 inches) for 2018, as well as standard Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.
Related: 2018 Subaru Outback Video Review
Subaru tweaked the Outback's styling and claims a slew of minor engineering changes, though we'll have to drive one to assess their sum effect. Like before, the base trim level (2.5i) comes standard with 17-inch alloy wheels and a 175-horsepower, 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine that drives all four wheels through a continuously variable automatic transmission.
Here are the major extras on higher trim levels:
- The 2.5i Premium ($28,910) adds heated mirrors and front seats, dual-zone automatic climate control, a power driver's seat and a larger (8.0-inch) touchscreen.
- The 2.5i Limited ($33,610) adds leather seats, a four-way power passenger seat, heated rear seats, foglights and 18-inch wheels.
- The 2.5i Touring ($37,405) adds unique roof rails, wheel designs, lower cladding and interior trim. It also gets a heated steering wheel and one-touch power windows all around (other trims have one-touch operation for just the front or driver's window).
Subaru's EyeSight safety suite is optional on various trim levels. EyeSight adds adaptive cruise control, lane departure warning with steering assist and forward collision warning with automatic emergency braking, plus one or more other features depending on the trim level. Those extras can include a power liftgate, navigation system, adaptive headlights, automatic high beams, automatic reverse braking and a blind spot warning system.
The four-cylinder's price spread is similar to the Outback's most direct competitor, Volkswagen's new Golf Alltrack, which starts at $26,670 and tops out around $36,000. (That's for the 2017 model year; Volkswagen doesn't have details yet for 2018.) Subaru still offers a 256-hp, 3.6-liter six-cylinder on the Outback's Limited and Touring trims, which it dubs the 3.6R Limited ($36,310) and 3.6R Touring ($39,605), respectively. If a near-$40,000 Outback seems steep, note that SUV competitors like the Ford Edge, Nissan Murano and Jeep Grand Cherokee top that mark — in some cases considerably.
