I don’t normally say this, but I was smitten by the totally new and redesigned 2026 Subaru Outback XT (wilderness version shown in photo above), and it all started with the dual exhaust.
I’m a sucker for a little rumble in the belly of a car, that sweet sound of the engine coming to life and making its presence known. As far as I can tell, this is the first Outback with a dual exhaust and it was really fun to compare the engine rev, the new hungrier look, and the rear exhaust to other recent cars including the Alfa Romeo Tonale.
That’s right, I might be the first person to compare an Outback to a Tonale, since they are both cut from different pieces of cloth. Yet, driving the two cars felt remarkably similar.
The Outback now looks bigger, taller, and longer even though technically none of those things are true. It just looks cooler. The fact is that the proportions are roughly the same (a Subaru rep told me the roof rack is a bit taller than before). New safety features like Emergency Stop Assist with Safe Lane Selection are brand new on the Outback, and I’ll do a retest on that this fall.
For now, I am focused on the styling, which is an absolute sea change. The Outback is making a statement about what it is and what it can be, namely that this is a safe, reliable vehicle that can literally go anywhere if you want to go there. I might have mostly driven to coffee shops, but I loved that the dual exhaust is a sign of what to expect —a hungrier, more capable Outback.
A few things stayed the same, of course.
The ground clearance is a big selling point and perhaps the main reason my daughter owns an older model and my son owns a Forester. They just don’t get stuck in the snow in winter. With 8.7 inches of ground clearance, there’s more room for the undercarriage to glide over the deep stuff, which thankfully we don’t have to deal with right now. X-Mode Dual Mode also comes standard as always, providing a little extra torque to the tires when needed.
A few things changed as well.
There’s a startling amount of space in the back. Subaru says there is now 80.5 cubic feet of space, which I tested by piling in a bunch of camping gear. I can’t tell you how convenient this is for people like me who like to stuff as much gear in the back as possible. I write about gear for several outlets every week and I’m always testing stuff. Now there’s more space.
Here’s the fun part, which I also want to test: Subaru increased the static load capacity to 800 pounds. Static means you are not driving the vehicle, so you can add a roof tent and all of your gear (plus, you know, people) for camping. In motion, the increase is to 220 pounds for a kayak, tents, sleeping bags, and anything else you can attach to the roof rack.
I was a happy camper, but I really kept coming back to the dual exhaust. What does it really mean? A more capable off-road machine. A little more of a hungry stance. On a cold morning, soft billowing exhaust wafted into the morning sunshine. It was awesome.