Outback Gets You There and Back in Style by Mark Maynard on Creators.com

Recently

Lancer Sportback Ralliart is the Crossover with Kick The Mitsubishi Lancer Sportback is a hot hatch with a fierce, pavement-eating face and a performance option to back it up. It is a step-up model from the Lancer sedan and is sold in two trim levels — the front-wheel-drive …Read more. Aston Martin's DBS Volante is a Work of Art on Wheels If I owned the Aston Martin DBS Volante, I'd put a garage door in my living room and park it inside at night, so I could spend time just looking at this sensuously skinned convertible. This is a $300,000 piece of 12-cylinder artwork. It is a …Read more. Z4: Speed to Thrill If absolute power corrupts absolutely, I'm guilty. I was moving rapidly in a recent test of the top-line, 300-horsepower, twin-turbocharged BMW Z4 retractable hardtop. Good luck finding the limits of this car on city streets. The faster it goes, the …Read more. Four-Seater Faithful to Porsche's Performance Standards "Now it's my turn," said professional racer Bob Faieta, who was my mentor around the Road America racetrack for the media launch of the 2010 Porsche Panamera. Faieta was among several past and present Porsche racers, including Hurley …Read more.

Outback Gets You There and Back in Style

The new Subaru Outback isn't just about getting to the backcountry; it is about arriving there in style and comfort.

The humble, wagonlike Outback has traveled a long road in its 14 years. For 2010, it emerges at a clearing surrounded by very capable crossover-type vehicles.

Outback could be a Car of the Year contender, or at least Most Improved Car of the Year, which is also true of its platform partner, the Legacy sedan.

I tested two nicely equipped, not loaded, models. The 2.5i Premium, with 170-horsepower four-cylinder engine, has a starting price of $25,990. The 3.6R Limited, with 256-hp six-cylinder, starts at $28,690. The base model of Outback with six-speed manual transmission starts at $23,990 for the PZEV model sold in California and other states with similar emissions standards.

Outback has a couple of significant features — and not just that all Subarus are all-wheel-drive and all have Boxer-type engines, with horizontally opposed pistons:

— The optional Lineartronic continuously variable transmission ($1,000) is the best shifting CVT I've tested. It has none of the usual motor-boating effect of the engine revving followed by some forward motion. In Manual mode, the transmission simulates shift points, which gives an absolute hook up of power on hard acceleration.

— The 3.6R engine provides brisk acceleration using regular unleaded fuel.

— All Outbacks now have an electric parking brake. It saves space and has a hill-holder function, which brakes the vehicle on a hill until the accelerator is used.

— Fuel economy with the CVT is 22 mpg city and 29 highway; the 3.6R is rated 18/25.

As a family vehicle, the Outback is roomy, comfortable, quiet, smooth-riding and functional. I found the performance of the four-cylinder to be strong and enjoyable. For those parents who are always a few minutes late, the 3.6R makes up lost time. It is quick and even fun to push through corners.

Braking on both models is smooth, refined and strong. And the turning circle is modest at 36.8 feet.

Upscale materials are used through the Premium models.

Even the faux-wood trim has a luminescent finish. The front seats have full supportive bottoms, perforated centers and some of the most tender leather I've felt in any car. Armrests are well padded and useful storage areas abound, including a large glove box, door pockets with cup holders and a two-level front console.

Sightlines are good, though there is slight complication over the shoulder at the second-row head restraints. The navigation package, with rearview camera ($2,000), will solve that, plus it's always good to have another set of eyes when backing up.

The back-seat area has comfortable legroom even with tall parents in front. The cargo area is wide with a comfortable loading height. There is basement storage, tie-downs and a roller cover.

Outback is a clever reinvention of the wagon into a crossover that people will want.

SPECS BOX

2010 Subaru Outback 3.6R Limited

Body style: midsize, five-passenger, all-wheel-drive wagon

Engine: aluminum, DOHC, six-cylinder with horizontally opposed cylinders and variable valve timing

Horsepower: 256 at 6,000 rpm

Torque: 247 foot-pounds at 4,400 rpm

Transmission: five-speed automatic with steering wheel shifters

EPA fuel economy estimates: 18 mpg city, 25 highway; 87 octane recommended

DIMENSIONS

Front head/leg/shoulder room: 40.8/43/56.3 inches

Rear head/leg/shoulder room: 39.3/37.8/56.1 inches

Length/wheelbase: 188.2/107.9 inches

Curb weight: 3,658 pounds

FEATURES

Standard equipment includes: perforated Ivory (or off-black) leather-trimmed seats, four-way power passenger seat, 10-way power driver's seat, aluminum door-sill plates, nine-speaker Harman Kardon audio system with Bluetooth and six-disc in-dash CD and digital playback ability, wood trim, weather package of two-stage heated seats-mirrors and wiper de-icer

Safety features include: six air bags, rollover sensor, ABS, brake assist

PRICING

Base: $31,690, including $695 freight charge

Where assembled: Lafayette, Ind.

Mark Maynard is driving in cyberspace at Mark.Maynard@uniontrib.com.

DISTRIBUTED BY CREATORS.COM.