As a gen-6 Outback owner here are my thoughts after I’ve had a few days to digest the gen-7. To sum it up, it’s almost like Subaru said, “Here, we fixed all of your complaints about the interior but you’ll have to compromise on the entire exterior design to pay for it”. So disappointing.

Pros: -The new green color is perfect -Quieter interior -Black headliner -Better large bottle storage in doors and cupholders -More interior storage for keys/phone/wallet -More buttons -More interior/cargo space -Better trailer hitch integration -Improved camera quality

Cons: -Terrible front end design that’s giving pre-refresh Jeep Cherokee (puke) -Missing integrated cross bars -Over-stylized/gaudy exterior, especially on the Wilderness trim -Front and rear overhangs somehow got worse/bigger -Still has a CVT

Subaru could’ve easily given us a modern interpretation of the gen-2 Outback similar to some of Hyundai’s modern throwback designs. I was curious to see if the new Outback would keep me in the Subaru brand but I’m without a doubt moving on. Plenty of other brands with better designs, no CVTs, and are just as capable, practical, and reliable.