Subaru Outback vs. The Competition | Subaru SUV Comparisons

The Subaru Outback is a chameleon! When if first appeared in 1995, it competed head-on with the booming SUV market. Subaru smartly took its knowledge of all-wheel drive, and applied it to a beefed up, wagon-style version of the Legacy. The Outback virtually created the crossover market.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) places the Outback in the "Small Car" category, along with the Subaru Legacy. (Both earn Safety Pick Plus awards.) Some refer to the Outback as the wagon version of the Legacy, and that's a fair statement. It's far more versatile in comparison to other "Small Cars" like the Honda Accord or Nissan Sentra, Other times the Outback competes in the "Small SUV" category - with customers comparing it to the Subaru Forester, Honda CR-V or the Toyota RAV4.

Outbacks are sold from Patriot Subaru almost as fast as they come in, the demand is so high. We'll chose to look at how the Outback compares to other makes/models that typically compete with the Outback head-on for attention: The Toyota Highlander, NIssan Murano, and Ford Explorer.