
It’s quite a mouthful to say, but if you are looking for help on the road during long trips, the 2025 Subaru Outback Touring XT employs something called Advanced Adaptive Cruise Control with Lane Centering. The Cruise Control with Lane Centering was amazingly helpful during a recent test.
Although the safety tech might be hard to say and remember, it works remarkably well. The idea is that the car has a mind of its own, in a good way. The adaptive cruise control is able to maintain your speed and adjusts for the car in front of you. And the automated steering also helps keep you centered on the road as well. Here’s a great explainer video on how it works:
In my tests, the 2025 Subaru Outback Touring XT would take over steering temporarily, even around curves in the road. It feels a bit like the car is making “suggestions” without assuming total control.
It’s important to know this is an augmentation feature — the car is not driving for you; it is assuming you have your hands on the wheel. So it is assisting you by keeping the car centered as opposed to driving for you.
I prefer that because I like to be the one driving. On one longer drive, I relied on the Advanced Adaptive Cruise Control with Lane Centering feature quite a bit just as a way to remind me to stay centered. Some drivers might even find that it prevents distracted driving. It provides a continual reminder to pay attention and stay centered, as opposed to fiddling with the stereo too much or adjusting settings on the car. It’s a constant reminder to focus on the road.
The 2025 Subaru Outback Touring XT automated steering feature improves safety
Here’s where the safety element comes into play. We can’t constantly look in one direction, since our brains are not wired to do that. Try it sometime, it is very awkward and not really possible. The scanners on the Outback Touring can do that, and in all directions at once. The feature might not seem like it is for safety at first — more for convenience.
But the reality is that the automated steering really helps the most if there is a vehicle approaching that you can’t see or don’t notice.
In fact, automated steering like this is meant for distracted drivers, sleepy drivers — human drivers. Computer controlled steering can see approaching vehicles and is watching out for you and your family at all times.
That’s one of the main reasons I almost always activate these features when I drive. (It’s the same reason I always use the express lane even though I have to pay extra for it.) It’s not designed for the thousands of miles we drive each year; it’s designed for that one mile when you are driving on a highway and don’t notice the other car coming up in another lane.
I liked how it worked, and plan to keep testing automated steering in 2025 as the tech evolves, improves — and keeps us nice and safe.