The Subaru Outback is among the last few wagon-style crossovers that offer a brilliant mix of practicality, off-roading, and comfort without breaking the bank. The crossover hit the market back in 1994 and the brand has updated the vehicle tastefully over time. However, the most important upgrade the Outback has seen is in terms of safety. The crossover was thoroughly updated back in 2020 and the current 2022 model arrives unchanged.
Keeping aside the lackluster performance from the base motor of the Outback, it has an edge over its rivals in terms of off-roading, safety, and overall practicality whereas most of its peers are better suited for urban cruising and highway cruising. In terms of reliability too, the SUV fares well within the segment too. In its class, the 2022 Subaru Outback is challenged by the Toyota RAV4, the Honda CR-V, and the Hyundai Santa Fe.
What features make the 2022 Subaru Outback Safe?
It is evident from the crash scores of the 2022 Outback that it is quite hard to beat it in terms of safety. Moreover, the safety of the crossover is further enhanced by the standard suite of ADAS techs combined with the basic safety features. Let’s take a detailed look at some of the features below:
- Adaptive cruise control: The adaptive cruise control system works by adjusting the speed of the vehicle with no driver inputs. A front-mounted camera monitors the road and adjusts the speed of the vehicle according to the distance and speed of the vehicle at the front.
- Forward collision mitigation: The FCM tech works by alerting the driver regarding any impending collision to avoid a crash. The alerts are given in an audio-visual format. In certain conditions where the driver fails to apply the brakes in time or the reaction time needs to be extremely fast, the system applies the brakes.
- Lane-keeping assist: This system allows the driver to maintain a single lane while driving. If the system detects that the vehicle is veering off from the lane, it puts the vehicle back in its lane through corrective steering inputs.
- Automatic high beams: The automatic high-beam feature comes in handy when driving out on the highways at night. If it detects any oncoming vehicle, it switches the high beams to low beams to avoid blinding the driver of the oncoming vehicle and switches back to high beams after passing.
- Driver attention monitor: The Driver attention monitoring system works by alerting the driver if it detects that the driver is inattentive. It gives audio and visual alerts such as vibrations on the steering wheel to allow the driver to regain attention while driving.
Is the 2022 Subaru Outback safe?
The 2022 Subaru Outback looks more than promising on paper due to its excellent crash scores and an impressive set of safety techs. The only areas it scored less were front passenger side and rollover tests from the NHTSA while the latter is quite common for crossovers in this segment. When compared to its peers, it might be similar to them in terms of build but having ADAS techs right from the base trim is something applaudable. To conclude, it can be safely said that the Subaru Outback is the one to go with if safety along with practicality is your first preference.
