2015 Subaru Outback Owners Manual – The Subaru Outback is all-new for 2015. The 2015 Subaru Outback isn’t much bigger than its predecessor, just over a half-inch longer and wider, on a wheelbase that’s been stretched less than a quarter-inch. But there’s more room within, and the additional width and conservative restyling combine to give it a more substantial appearance.
And there is indeed substance to vindicate the fresh appearance. The 2015 Outback gets a higher percentage of high-strength hot-stamped steel in the unit body, increasing structural rigidity by substantial margins: 59 percent torsional, 35 percent longitudinal.
Not only does this contribute to good all-around road manners, but it’s also a plus for absorbing punishment on rugged dirt tracks. Augmenting the Outback’s off-road usefulness is a seamless four-wheel drive system and lots of ground clearance: 8.7 inches. That matches the ground clearance of the Jeep Cherokee, allowing the Outback to better traverse rough terrain.
As with the previous generation, the 2015 Outback offers two engine choices, a 175-horsepower four-cylinder, and a 256-horsepower six-cylinder. Both are boxer designs, with the cylinders opposed to each other in a horizontal plane, and both offer lots of torque, a useful trait when driving at slower speeds over the bumpy terrain. Unlike the previous generation, there is no manual transmission option; both engines are paired with continuously variable transmissions or CVTs.
Read more: 2015 Subaru WRX Owners Manual
Subaru has programmed the CVT with artificial shift points, operable via the paddle shifters mounted on the steering wheel. While it doesn’t provide the sense of driver engagement that goes with a stick shift, it does diminish some of the annoying slipping clutch traits that have been a longtime drawback of CVTs. Indeed, the Outback feels more like a car with a regular automatic than does the latest Honda CR-V, which has a CVT with much more of that slipping sensation.
The stiffer structure of the 2015 Outback is heavier than that of the fourth-generation version, and acceleration with the 2.5-liter flat-four in a Premium trim level model was deliberate, a 2-horsepower gain and improved torque curve versus the previous generation notwithstanding. In other words, this latest Outback is no quicker than before.
On the other hand, fuel economy ratings are improved. The 2015 Subaru Outback 2.5i achieves an EPA-estimated 25/33 mpg City/Highway. We averaged 28 mpg in four days of touring around Oregon in a 2015 Outback 2.5i Premium with the four-cylinder engine, and that included some high country. The Outback’s pavement manners are hard to fault, and its off-road performance is impressive.
Beyond that, the 2015 Outback is than before. Though the exterior dimensional increases are fractional, there’s more space inside for passengers and cargo. Interior noise has been reduced, infotainment elements have improved, as have safety features. The result is that there is more quiet to go along with the increased smoothness