When people talk of off-road vehicles, top of the mind for many would be the Jeep and the Ram. However, one name is surprisingly getting closer on the heels of these mainstream brands: the Subaru.
In fact, a 2013 J.D. Power study reveals a close competition among the top three off-roaders, with Subaru at third at almost 29.5 percent of its cars used for rough terrain driving. Spearheading Subaru's off-road fleet is the Outback, of which more than a third were used to drive over unpaved road. The Outback even beat the Jeep Grand Cherokee, with only 21.1 percent of its fleet used for off-road driving.
To put this in perspective, three of ten vehicles you will see on a trail would be a Subaru--most likely, an Outback.
Careful Facelift
The strong sales being enjoyed by the Outback indicate there's really very little critics can say against this make, so the 2015 version is a "cautious redesign", improving on its strong features, and adopting limited design changes, mainly in appearance. The length was increased by 0.6 inches, the front seat shoulder room added 2 inches, and cargo space can now accommodate 2 cubic feet more with the seats down. Overall, it feels very much like the old Outback but roomier.
Same Performance
With the same 2.5-liter flat-four engine as the previous Outbacks, the 2015 Outback will still dish out 175 horsepower and 174 ft-lb of torque. However, the 2015's Active Torque Vectoring and 'X-Mode', initially equipped in the Forrester, allows increased traction and automatic adjustments which make it more capable of handling steep, crawling ascents compared to its predecessor.
The Outback also has a good average fuel economy of 29 mpg, an improvement over the previous model's 27 mpg.
Now Up for Grabs
The 2015 Outback is now available at trusted dealers of Subaru near New Orleans and other areas, such as Baldwin Subaru in Covington. You can choose from four variants: the standard 2.5i, the 2.5i Premium (with a moonroof and GPS navigation), the 2.5i Limited (with keyless access), and the 3.6R Limited (with a 3.6-liter flat-six engine with 256 horsepower).
Sometimes, the most exciting part of any road trip is the journey. The Outback will get you there efficiently, safely, and as comfortably as you can get driving over rough terrain. Test drive one from New Orleans Subaru dealerships and others, like Covington's Baldwin Subaru.
(Source: Subaru is America's third most off-roaded brand, Autoblog, July 1, 2014)
