Road Test: 2024 Subaru Outback Onyx

For twenty-eight years now, the Subaru Outback has ferried dogs, kids, camping gear, kayaks, canoes and commuters through all sorts of terrain and inclement weather. Even today with the proliferation of the SUV and CUV, you can’t travel more than a few city blocks (or pass a dog park) without spotting at least a handful of Subie’s full-sized, AWD wagons.

You see, thanks to the Baader-Meinhof phenomenon, (also known as the frequency illusion) I have a trained eye for Outbacks because I’ve owned one now for about six years.

My personal Outback is a teenager now. It’s a base model with only a smattering of niceties, but it has served us well as a cottage shuttle and winter beater. Plus, its manual transmission means I can actually get the 2.5L lump up front to perform (a little). Sure, I’ve had to sink a couple of bucks into it here and there – ask me about replacing VVL oil pressure switches if you want a good laugh at my (savings annihilating) expense – but it’s still chugging along.

I recently started entertaining thoughts of replacing our beast with a new Outback. The Wilderness variant that I tested when it launched is a truly excellent vehicle that’s stayed on my radar ever since, but I figured I’d exercise my privilege in this station and borrow a slightly less expensive trim to see if that would foot the bill: the 2024 Subaru Outback Onyx.

Coming in just short of $44k, the Outback Onyx boasts enough of an upgrade in the visuals and interior departments to appear as a legitimate upmarket steed, while saving nearly 10% off of the ask for the Wilderness edition. Seems like a no-brainer, right?

Exterior: The shadow that the Outback casts has changed very little over its lifespan. The creases have been massaged here and there and it has inherited some extra plastic, but the Outback is getting better with age. In Onyx trim, it achieves a balance between rugged and refined that only Mazda’s CX-50 does better.

The black cladding that the Outback now wears doesn’t appear out of place here, like it does on the WRX. Instead, in my eyes, it does a good job to break up surfaces, create character accents and deliver the appearance of negative space. And for anyone who has owned an Outback in the past, those rear wheel arches should help to fend off the infamous Suba-rust spot that every model before it has grown.

The key exterior benefits of the Onyx trim are that all of the chrome and grey bits that its stablemates wear are blacked out, including the wheels. The look is very du jour but also one that should age well, which is important given how long Outbacks tend to stay on the road (see my teenager for reference).

Interior: The innards of the Outback Onyx are upholstered with a soft touch, all-weather fabric. This is basically a pleather material – the same as what appears in the Wilderness trim – that boasts a premium look and feel with the added benefit of being able to shrug off dirt, grime, sticky-kid-fingers and pet-messes. As a dog owner, I’m a fan. My old Outback has a cloth interior, which is perpetually covered in fur no matter how many times the ShopVac is put to use.

The green-stitching-on-grey colour combination feels a bit lower rent than the patterned and gold accented finish in the Wilderness, but it’s far from offensive. The seats are as comfortable as always and the rears continue to offer exceptional passenger space and a rear recline feature.

Behind the second row, there is cargo space-a-plenty. A large 923 L cavern can easily swallow a weekend getaway’s worth of adventure supplies and, should you need it, the Outback continues to come with integrated crossbars in their roof-rail system so adding a Thule is one step easier and cheaper too. A tonneau cover and tray are standard issue as well.

Infotainment: The 11.6-inch touchscreen that controls just about everything in the Outback Onyx is fairly intuitive to come to terms with and easy to use. It’s certainly not the most responsive system out there nor is it the slowest but both Android Auto and Apple CarPlay worked seamlessly (and cordlessly) during my time with the Onyx, and that’s a plus.

The sound system found here is the same 12-speaker Harman Kardon unit employed in the Wilderness and top-shelf Premier XT models and it must be said that the quality is quite good. There is a subwoofer stowed in the rear, so the lows pump with enough grunt to make Dr. Dre blush while the mids and highs do the rest of the symphonic lifting.

Powertrain: Sitting low beneath the nicely creased hood of the Onyx rests Subaru’s ubiquitous 2.5 L, naturally aspirated, four-cylinder, 182 horsepower, boxer motor. I say “rests” because, well, it’s not the most exciting or excitable of lumps. While not exactly the same as the one called to duty in my 2011, there’s barely twelve horsepower between them and only an increase of six lbs-ft of torque. Coupled with a ~ 165 kg weight gain, this Onyx feels underpowered by today’s standards.

The “8-speed” Lineartronic CVT transmission isn’t helping either. Sure, it has a set of paddles and some programmed algorithms to simulate gears, but they don’t really do more than help that boxer make extra noise. I know you’ve often heard me lament the disappearance of the manual transmission, but it can make the world of difference to slot a proper cog when you need it, especially when trying to pass a semi on the roll with a car full of people and gear.

Drive: Despite the wheezy powertrain, the Outback Onyx is a decent daily driver and has all of the features you need to keep a family happy for years to come. It has a much tighter turning radius than you’d expect from its proportions and the ride is extremely comfortable.

The suspension soaks up just about everything and even body roll is minimized decently. This clearly isn’t the type of car that wants to be pushed hard (Subaru will gladly sell you a WRX or BRZ for that) but it won’t fall over itself if you come into a corner a little too hot either.

The symmetrical all-wheel-drive system continues to be an absolute peach and dealt with a late spring snowfall that hit my neighbourhood with typical aplomb.

Conclusion: While I’ll defend and recommend the choice of an Outback over any jellybean CUV out there, the Onyx trim is let down by its wheezy combination of the underpowered 2.5 boxer and CVT transmission. Mash the pedal and marvel at what feels like 250m of driveline slack before things boogie. My 13 year old Outback (with a very similar motor) feels more confident (not quicker) thanks to its third pedal and a stick. The flappy paddles on the Onyx help, but they ain’t the same and it suffers for it.

If you’re eyeballing an Outback, do yourself the favour and spend the extra 10% to get the Wilderness Trim. The 80 extra ponies alone make it worth the splash and you get a properly sorted sport utility wagon.

2024 Subaru Outback Onyx
Base price: $43,774.00
Configuration: Front engine, all-wheel-drive
Engine/Transmission: 2.5L, horizontally opposed 4-cylinder / CVT automatic
Power/Torque: 182 horsepower / 176 lb-ft
Fuel economy (litres/100 kilometres): 8.9 observed
Competition: Ford Bronco Sport, Honda CRV, Jeep Cherokee, Toyota RAV4
Website: Subaru Canada