Me and my partner live in Härjedalen, which is the highest situated and most sparsely populated county in Sweden. We drive on a lot of small gravel roads when we head out on our outdoor adventures, but even the larger asphalted roads can be difficult in the wintertime, with snow dumps and strong winds. When I decided on a car to buy in the summer of 2025, I wanted something that could handle those conditions and have plenty of space for the two of us, our two dogs, and our hobbies. My partner drives a 2022 Kia Sportage which has four-wheel drive and decent ground clearance, but it’s also snappy on the highway and pretty easy to fit in parking spots in Stockholm. That meant that my car could be our countryside car.
All Subarus sold in Sweden have four wheel drive, which makes them a popular choice in Härjedalen. It’s the fifth most common car brand in the county, compared to the 19th most popular in all of Sweden. It’s also affordable compared to other four wheel drive wagons, like the ones from Volvo, Audi and Mercedes. The Outback was the obvious choice for me thanks to its large trunk. I considered the Forester as well, but thought it was a bit too similar to our Kia Sportage. I bought my 2024 Outback with the Field trim level in Autumn Green Metallic in July 2025. Since then, it’s taken us a little bit over 10 000 kilometers, despite it being our second car. We drive a lot.
When I bought my Outback, it came in four different trim levels in Sweden. They are:
- Adventure, which is the least expensive
- Field, which in addition to Adventure has a dirt and water resistant StarTex interior, higher capacity roof rails (300 kg), and aluminium pedals
- Limited, which in addition to Adventure has a leather interior
- Touring, now discontinued, which in addition to Limited has a sunroof
The Field is the trim level most similar to the Subaru Outback Wilderness available in the US, although without the improved ground clearance, the stronger engine, and the in-your-face branding. It’s probably for the best that the Wilderness isn’t available in Sweden, because I doubt I could have resisted the temptation.
My main reason for picking the Field over the baseline Adventure is the roof rails. We don’t own a rooftop tent currently, but if we want to get one down the road, the higher capacity roof rails on the Field means we have more to choose from. It’s also practical for transporting lumber and other stuff. I added up Thule roof racks to the car within a week or two.
The dimensions of the Outback Field is 4 870×1 875×1 675 mm, with a ground clearance of 213 mm. It is a big car. Small compared to a Dodge Ram, Toyota Hilux or a KIA EV9, but big compared to almost everything else. We avoid bringing it to Stockholm since it’s a pain in a parking garage, but the size and ground clearance is great for our daily lives. When the back seats are folded down, I can fit my 170 cm winter sled in the car, with room to spare for the rest of my winter gear. Most of the time, we have a dog gate in the trunk, with a barrier separating the trunk from the back seat. It’s plenty big for our 26 kilogram Labrador Retriever.
The Outback is definitely practical, but it’s not very fun to drive. There’s no turbo version of the Outback available in Sweden, so the Field equipment level that I own has the baseline four-cylinder Boxer engine with 169 horsepower. It takes about ten seconds to go from 0-100 km/h, which feels sluggish when passing cars on the highway. Both the acceleration and the breaks are rough compared to the Kia Sportage that my partner drives. A sporty feel is probably not what you’re looking for if you’re considering an Outback, but I do wish there was an option for a stronger engine in Sweden.
The other downside with the Outback is the software. Like other manufacturers, Subaru have moved more and more physical controls to the touch display in the middle of the dashboard, and it’s a hassle to use while driving. Owners of older models have complained about the software being slow, and while you wouldn’t confuse it for an iPad, I haven’t found that to be a big issue with my 2024 model. Whenever possible, I use Apple CarPlay instead of the Subaru Starlink software. The 2024 model supports wireless CarPlay, which was one of it’s biggest selling points for me over older models.
The Subaru Outback is reliable in difficult conditions, comfortable on long drives, and has plenty of room for gear. It’s a great car for the way we live our lives.
