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, when we often get heavy snowfalls and winds reaching storm strengths. 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.
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 here, compared to 19th most popular in Sweden as a whole. It’s also affordable compared to other brands that offer wagons with four wheel drive, like Volvo or Audi. Of the cars in the Subaru lineup, the Outback was the obvious choice thanks to the large trunk. I bought my 2024 Outback with the Field equipment level in Autumn Green Metallic last summer. Since then, I’ve driven it a little bit over 10 000 kilometers, despite it being our second car. We drive a lot.
The dimensions of the Outback 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 back seat from the trunk. 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 pretty 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 faster 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 you’re 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 the most important factors in why I chose the 2024 over the 2023.
The Outback is a great car for the way we live our lives. Plenty of room, reliable in difficult conditions, and comfortable on long drives.
