Subaru Outback Interior: Everything You Need To Know

Published November 10, 2021
in Model Info

In a market where big and bulky trucks and SUVs are only getting bigger, the Subaru Outback is an outlier. The Outback station wagon is Subaru’s best-seller by emulating the conventional SUV trappings and the practicality of a station wagon.

With significant adjustments over the years, the Outback might as well be a pseudo-SUV. And from the looks of it, the Outback formula continues to make bank, and it’s not slowing down anytime soon.

So for today’s post, we’re doing a Subaru Outback interior highlight. From the layout to the space to the tech features, here are the things you need to know about the Subaru Outback interior.

Passenger Room and Cargo Space

The Outback boasts a generous ground clearance of 8.7 inches and a higher cargo bed, making it easier to get in and out of. Ground clearance is increased to 9.5 inches with the outdoor-centric Outback Wilderness. The higher ground clearance makes the Wilderness the best companion for off-road junkies.

As a 5-seater wagon, the Outback offers plenty of room for passengers. The base CVT trim has 42.8 inches of legroom, 40.1 inches of headroom, and 58.1 inches of shoulder room on the front. On the second row, it has 39.5 inches of legroom, 39.1 headroom, and 57.4 inches of shoulder room. If you buy a model with a moonroof, expect to sacrifice an inch or two of headroom.

Cargo space is one of the strongest suits of the Outback, and it’s no different in the 2022 version. Behind the front seats, the Outback offers 32.5 cu-ft of space. It’s less than the Honda CR-V with 39.2 cu-ft of space, but the Outback isn’t a traditional crossover. With the 60-40 split-flat folding rear back seats down, your cargo bed’s space grows to a 75.7 cu-ft - comparable to some of the best crossovers and can fit a pair of mountain bikes.

Inside the cabin, you’ll find extra storage compartments like the glovebox, small front overhead compartment, center console bin, and underfloor storage compartment. Also, Subaru included eight cup and bottle holders for everyone’s drinks.

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Interior Materials and Comfort

The Subaru Outback isn’t exactly known for its awe-inspiring cabin design, but it’s highly functional and has a decent seating height. Notably, most of the 2022 Outback shares much of its interior elements with the Legacy. Fortunately, both offer comfortable seating and quality materials.

As mentioned, the Outback boasts a functional and ergonomic cabin. It can be attractive in its own, sensible way. Thanks to the excellent layout of the knobs, buttons, and infotainment screen. The display is mounted vertically, so everything can be reached with ease.

Starting with the Premium trim, every Outback offers dual-zone climate control, a power driver seat, heated front and rear seats, and extra connectivity features like more USB ports. The top Touring trim adds a heated steering wheel, power sunroof, and Nappa leather-trimmed upholstery. Overall, the Outback boasts great comfort with its nicely-cushioned seats, ample legroom, and nicer materials.

The Wilderness edition has the most distinctive interior material. For starters, the seats are covered in a waterproof, non-leather material called Startex since it’s geared more towards off-road purposes. The Wilderness offers an upscaled but functional interior without being too luxurious.

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Infotainment and Tech Features

The 2022 Subaru Outback interior boasts a healthy set of standard features. For the base trim, drivers and passengers are treated to automatic headlights and auto climate control. Beginning with the Premium trim, the occupants will benefit from advanced features like keyless entry, dual-zone climate control, power tailgate, and an automatic dimming rearview mirror added to the Limited model.

For infotainment, the base Outback houses a dual 7.0-inch multimedia system with a high-resolution LCD touch-screen capable of gesture controls. Standard to all Outback is the Subaru STARLINK system, which is all over the place graphics-wise, but fairly easy and intuitive to operate - thanks to the dual screens with separate functions and physical controls. Apple CarPlay and Android Auto integration are standard.

Moving up the upper trims, the Premium, Limited, and Onyx XT gets an 11-inch multimedia touchscreen with gesture support. This fancier infotainment system includes features like Apple CarPlay and Android Auto support, STARLINK cloud-based apps, NFC support, SiriusXM satellite radio, Bluetooth audio streaming, HD radio, and more.

An even fancier 11.6-inch Multimedia Navigation System is standard for Touring and available as an upgrade for Premium, Limited, and Onyx XT trims. It comes with a voice-activated 8.0-inch multi-touch gesture high-res GPS navigation system along with the aforementioned connectivity functions.

For in-car audio quality, the base has a 4-speaker audio system, while the Premium and Onyx XT have a 6-speaker system. The Limited and Touring models boast a Harman Kardon premium audio system with 12 speakers and a 576-watt-equivalent GreenEdge amplifier.

Not including the base, in-car Wi-Fi is standard on all Outback trims but requires a separate subscription through AT&T.

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Safety Features

Continuing its legacy as a safe and reliable vehicle, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) gave the 2022 Subaru Outback a Top Safety Pick+ award. The Outback aced all of its crashworthiness and crash mitigation tests with ‘Good’ and ‘Superior’ scores across the board.

What made the Outback an outstanding safe vehicle is its wealth of standard safety features and tech. The base trim gets you the following:

EyeSight® Driver Assist Technology
High beam assist
Vehicle dynamics control
4-wheel Anti-lock Braking System (ABS)
Brake override system
Tire pressure monitoring system
Rear vision camera
LED daytime running lights

As you get into the upper trims, you’ll have access to many standard and available safety and driver-assistance features such as Blind-Spot Detection with Lane Change Assist and Rear Cross-Traffic Alert, Reverse Automatic Braking, 180-Degree Front-View Monitor, and more.

Subaru Outback Interior: An Overall Solid Cabin with Capable Features

Aside from the uninspiring cabin design, the Subaru Outback interior is overall a great place to be in. It offers generous passenger and cargo space, a wealth of modern infotainment features, comfortable accommodation, and top-tier safety features.

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