- Redesigned Subaru Outback anticipated for 2026 mannequin yr
- New Outback more likely to provide hybrid powertrain shared with Forester
- Legacy sedan counterpart bows out after 2025 mannequin yr
The Subaru Legacy sedan bows out after the 2025 mannequin yr, however its jacked-up wagon counterpart, the Outback, will stick round.
A redesigned Outback soft-roader is anticipated to land subsequent yr as a 2026 mannequin, and a camouflaged prototype has been noticed. With out the must be linked to a sedan anymore, it seems to be just like the Outback will tackle a boxier, extra upright stance for the following era.
2026 Subaru Outback spy photographs – Picture through Baldauf
New design particulars embody cut up headlights, a flat roof, and what seems to be 5 particular person aspect home windows, similar to the present Outback, versus the four-window design of Subaru’s Forester and Ascent.
For the inside, a shot revealing a part of the sprint reveals what seems to be an infotainment display that stands proud of the highest of the middle stack. This differs to the present Outback design which options an 11.6-inch touchscreen that is totally built-in with the middle stack.
Subaru Robust Hybrid powertrain
Within the powertrain division, Subaru is broadly rumored to be planning to introduce a hybrid possibility. It will doubtless be the identical powertrain pegged for a new Forester Hybrid additionally due for the 2026 mannequin yr. Referred to by Subaru as a “Robust Hybrid,” the powertrain has already debuted in a Crosstrek Hybrid in Japan, and combines a hybrid-optimized model of Subaru’s 2.5-liter flat-4 engine with an electrical motor and battery developed by Toyota.
In contrast with Subaru’s earlier hybrid powertrains, the electrical motor within the Robust Hybrid setup delivers much more energy to allow the automobile to journey on electrical energy for longer and depart the gasoline engine to function extra of the time in its most effective bands, even serving purely as a generator at some factors. Drive nonetheless goes to all 4 wheels through Subaru’s signature symmetrical all-wheel-drive system. Within the Crosstrek Hybrid launched in Japan, the two.5-liter flat-4 delivers 158 hp by itself whereas the electrical motor delivers 88 hp.
2025 Subaru Outback
The present 2025 Outback gives the selection of a 182-hp 2.5-liter flat-4 or 260-hp turbocharged 2.4-liter flat-4. One or presumably each of those powertrains will doubtless be supplied as a substitute for the hybrid powertrain within the redesigned mannequin.
Regardless of the extra SUV-like options at Subaru just like the Forester and Ascent, the present Outback stays a top-seller on the model. Over the primary six months of 2024, Subaru bought 81,703 Outbacks within the U.S., making it Subaru’s second hottest mannequin. The Forester stays the model’s hottest mannequin, with 92,849 items bought over the identical interval.
