In Sedona, with its vortices and landscapes sculpted over millennia by the wind, Subaru revealed the most significant update to one of its flagship models: the Outback.

The 2026 model is both more and less at the same time: that is, it has more functionality and improved navigation and safety. In fact, its Emergency Lane Selection Assist system recognizes – in the Touring and Touring XT models – when you're having a panic attack and you let go of the steering wheel; It alerts you with an alarm and lights, and if you don't respond, it can instantly decelerate the car in the middle of the highway and pull you over to the side of the road for assistance.

Overall, the driving experience is more understated and automated, less rugged and visceral.

Also, its shape is more squared off, and the usable space for passengers and cargo is slightly larger than its predecessors, even though its overall dimensions are almost the same. same.

And while it's still a wagon, it's now more refined, with more comfort: more SUV-like, to put it another way, something that some may love, while others may find it a bit odd.

For example, it includes details like carpeting attached to the door panels to prevent or minimize those annoying rattles of bottles and containers in the side compartments, which everyone drives crazy.

“It's the result of listening to what users have told us,” explains the manager of the Nikkie Riedel, who led the project for the past five years, reviewed thousands of emails and messages to understand what would please existing fans and attract new buyers. "We took Subaru's Japanese engineers to see how shopping is done at Costco," Riedel reveals about a lengthy process that even involved changing the shape and location of the cupholders to make them more affordable. But does this approach of trying to fulfill the market's every whim, even at the risk of alienating some of its most loyal customers, work? It's too early to say. For Subaru, which is launching this seventh version of the acclaimed model after reaching 3 million units sold in the US alone over 30 years, the bet seems to be a sure thing. In short, a successful model is taken,given a rejuvenated appearance including a steeper grille and vertical lights, and loaded with substantial technological advances in handling and comfort such as improved cameras and sensors. Who wouldn't want it?

It feels more spacious inside, partly because that tiny bit of extra height gives the driver and passengers more headroom, and those cleaner lines also make it feel more sophisticated.

Plus, its redesigned dashboard has buttons for volume, temperature… in short, a complete joy for users who still reject the inconvenient digitization of every function, especially the most basic ones.

Its cargo space has also been improved and includes more hooks, panels, and even a functional washable cover to separate purchase, as well as a reinforced ladder-style roof rack that can withstand up to 800 pounds and hang, for example, a hammock for a nice nap next to a tree.

It has a 2.5L Subaru Boxer engine that gives it 180 horsepower, better road noise insulation, 18-inch wheels, heated seats, and an 18-gallon tank larger than the previous model. and its now-traditional symmetrical AWD with continuously variable automatic transmission (CVT)

It comes in 5 versions, from the entry-level Premium ($34,995) through the Limited ($41,715) and the Limited X ($45,395) up to the more accessorized models like the Touring ($46,845) and the Touring rivals like the CR-V, the Rav4, the Passport, and even the 4Runner,

What has remained a constant in a long history that began in 1995 is that the new model tackles the rough and uneven road to the unknown – in this case, a small, ghostly town in the Black Hills of Japavai County – without alarm or apparent effort, and clears the narrow and challenging hill without its occupants having to break a sweat.