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2018 Subaru Outback Buying Guide | The original crossover, explained

From outside, the 2018 Outback has a clean look that's similar to the rest of the Subaru range. The front and rear have been reshaped and fitted with new headlights and taillamps. A wide range of new wheel designs are also available, along all trim levels. Overall, it's a slightly more upscale design, which is exactly what you'll find when stepping inside. The dashboard and infotainment system have received a substantial refresh and have a more modern look and feel. Higher-quality materials help give the Outback cabin an overdue upgrade, since the previous model was starting to significantly trail its rivals when it came to interior style and amenities. Mechanically, the 2018 Outback carries on as before, with the same four and six-cylinder engine options, both of which are coupled to standard all-wheel drive and a Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT) across all trim levels. Here you'll find all the information needed to make an educated buying decision if you're considering a 2018 Subaru Outback, including safety and reliability ratings, engine specs, horsepower, fuel economy ratings and pricing. We'll also summarize what Autoblog's professional auto reviewers think of the Outback. Is the 2018 Subaru Outback Safe? The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration gives the 2018 Subaru Outback an overall crash-test rating of five stars. The Outback scored perfect five-star ratings in front and side impact tests, along with a four-star rating for rollover resistance. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, which provides ratings for new vehicles based on its own comprehensive crash tests, gave the Outback its "Top Safety Pick+" — the highest possible rating. The Outback scored "good" ratings in every crash test. It also earned a good rating for the effectiveness of its headlights, along the ease of use of onboard LATCH anchors for child seats. Ratings may differ for Outbacks from other model years, so be sure to visit the NHTSA and IIHS websites to review ratings on the specific vehicle you're researching. At the time of this writing, the 2018 Outback is not subject to any ongoing recalls, according to the NHTSA database. Is the Outback reliable? J.D. Power most recently reviewed initial quality in the 2016 Outback, before the current model year's significant makeover. At the time, it gave the Outback three out of five possible stars for Overall Quality — an "average" score.

The super-sized Atlas isn't the three-row VW should build

In the late '50s and early '60s the Volkswagen Beetle wasn't ubiquitous in my hometown of Lincoln, Nebraska, but it came pretty damn close. Fords and Chevys dominated, but beyond the occasional MG, Triumph, or Renault the import scene was essentially a VW scene. When my folks finally pulled the trigger on a second car they bought a Beetle, and that shopping process was my first exposure to a Volkswagen showroom. For our family VW love wasn't a cult, but our '66 model spoke – as did all Volkswagens and most imports at the time – of a return to common sense in your transportation choice. As VW's own marketing so wonderfully communicated, you didn't need big fins or annual model changes to go grab that carton of milk. Or, for that matter, to grab a week's worth of family holiday. In the wretched excess that was most of Motown at the time, the Beetle, Combi, Squareback, and even Karmann Ghia spoke to a minimal – but never plain – take on transportation as personal expression. Fifty years after that initial Beetle exposure, and as a fan of imports for what I believe to be all of the right reasons, the introduction of Volkswagen's Atlas to the world market is akin to a sociological gut punch. How is it that a brand whose modus operandi was to be the anti-Detroit could find itself warmly embracing Detroit and the excess it has historically embodied? Don't tell me it's because VW's Americanization of the Passat is going so well. To be fair, the domestic do-over of import brands didn't begin with the new Atlas crossover. Imports have been growing fat almost as long as Americans have, and it's a global trend. An early 911 is a veritable wisp when compared to its current counterpart, which constitutes – coincidentally – a 50-year gestation. In comparing today's BMW 3 Series to its' '77 predecessor, I see a 5 Series footprint. And how did four adults go to lunch in the early 3 Series? It is so much smaller than what we've become accustomed to today; the current 2 Series is more substantial. My empty-nester-view of three-row crossovers is true for most shoppers: If you need three rows of passenger capacity no more than two or three times a year – and most don't – rent it forgawdsake. If you do need the space more often, consider a minivan, which goes about its three-row mission with far more utility (and humility) than any SUV.

Subaru PHEV coming later this year using Toyota Prius Prime tech

Subaru plans to release an all-wheel drive plug-in hybrid later this year, and has joined forces with a league of Japanese automakers and suppliers to make it happen. Subaru has said the PHEV will be a conversion of a current model, but hasn't named the model. The prominent hybrid bits are expected to come from the Toyota Prius Prime — Toyota has a 16.5 percent stake in Subaru — but Subaru will retain its longitudinally mounted boxer engine. We know that said Subie will be built in Japan and sent to the U.S, so theories have coalesced around the Crosstrek or Forester, built at Subaru's Gunma, Japan factory. The Crosstrek was just redesigned for 2018, the 2019 Forester is expected sometime this year. If the model ends up being a Crosstrek PHEV, that would mean hybrid lightning striking that car twice: Subaru introduced a Crosstrek Hybrid in 2013, then removed it from the market in 2017 after slow sales. Assuming a wholesale transplant from the Prius Prime, the Subaru PHEV would get an 8.8-kWh lithium-ion battery that can be recharged at a household outlet in under six hours. The Prius Prime is rated at 133 mpge, 54 mpg combined, and runs for 25 miles in EV mode, but Subaru's model being all-wheel drive will likely alter those numbers. Subaru will launch its PHEV first in the 10 states that adhere to California's Zero Emissions Vehicle program. The PHEV is part of the Japanese carmaker's multi-year plan to reduce its fleet emissions, first described four years ago. Come 2020, the trademark boxer engines should come with cylinder deactivation and lean burning Atkinson cycles, around the same time that Subaru stops turbodiesel sales in Europe and Australia. The brand's first full EVs are due in 2021, expected to be electric versions of conventionally powered models. To jumpstart its EV research, and make its comparatively small R&D budget stretch further, last year Subaru joined in on the EV Common Architecture Spirit Company with Toyota, Mazda, Suzuki, Daihatsu, Denso and Hino. Related Video: Featured Gallery 2018 Subaru Crosstrek: First Drive View 29 Photos News Source: Autoweek via Carscoops Green Subaru Hybrid toyota prius prime subaru crosstrek