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The Subaru Outback Falls Further Behind Forester But It's Still A Fan Favorite

The 2021 Subaru Outback surged forward in April, but see how far it drops behind the Forester.

Subaru of America announced the 2021 Subaru Outback surged forward this spring with 15,728 models delivered to customers in April. That is a 95.1 percent increase over April 2020 with 8,062 sales. Even with the big jump from last year, Outback is still behind the popular Forester compact SUV.

In March, Outback was only 6,191 in sales behind Forester, and in April, Outback falls nearly 10,000 models behind the top-selling compact SUV. Subaru delivered 19,452 Forester models to customers last month compared with 9,431 models in April 2020, a 106.3 percent increase.

2021 Subaru Outback, 2022 Subaru Outback features, specs, pricing

The Outback is still a fan favorite and just picked up an honor for the lowest cost-to-own Two-Row SUV in Kelley Blue Book’s 2021 5-Year Cost to Own Awards. KBB predicted the 2021 Outback to have a 5-year cost-to-own of $40,614 (including the purchase price), which is $7,924 less than the Two-Row SUV segment average.

What is the price of the 2021 Subaru Outback?

The 2021 Outback comes in seven trim levels, base $27,845, Premium ($30,095), Limited ($34,645), Onyx Edition XT ($36,195), Limited XT ($38,545), Touring ($39,045), and Touring XT ($40,995). Pricing includes $1,050 destination.

2021 Subaru Outback, 2022 Subaru Outback features, specs, pricing

Outback also scored the best Midsize SUV/Crossover in the newest Vincentric Best Fleet Value In America 2021 awards. The 2021 Subaru Outback wins for the fourth time. Vincentric says Outback wins due to its lowest fuel, insurance, and operating costs in its class.

Subaru also announced pricing and features for the 2022 model year Outback including the all-new Outback Wilderness sub-brand trim level. 

The 2022 Outback comes in eight trim levels; the base trim is priced from $27,845 (+$225), Premium ($30,270 +$175), Limited ($34,720 +$75), Touring ($38,620 +$75), Onyx Edition XT ($36,270 +$75), new for 2022, Outback Wilderness ($38,120), Limited XT ($39,120 +$75), and Touring XT ($41,070 +$75). Pricing includes $1,125 destination and increase of $75 over the previous year.

Before the 2022 Outback model change, the 2021 Outback does fall further behind the top-selling Forester, but it remains a fan favorite among Two-Row SUVs.

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Denis Flierl has invested over 30 years in the automotive industry in a consulting role working with every major car brand. He is an accredited member of the Rocky Mountain Automotive Press. Check out Subaru Report where he covers all of the Japanese automaker's models. More stories can be found on the Torque News Subaru page. Follow Denis on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

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Photo credit: Subaru

Comments

Dave Skolnik (not verified)    May 6, 2021 - 5:11PM

Having sold Subaru's for a number of years (2007-2012), in addition to many personal factors, the Forester, model for model is roughly a couple of thousand bucks less. That was an important factor in the decision making of customers between the Forester and the Outback.

Phil Dickens (not verified)    May 14, 2021 - 1:01PM

One reason people prefer the Forester is because of the better infotainment system. The. 11.6 tablet requires the driver to take eyes off road to make simple adjustments. I will be trading my 2015 Outback for a new Forester for this very reason.