2021 Subaru Outback here in March, but won’t offer seven seats or diesel power

Subaru has announced the sixth generation Outback will hit Australian showrooms in March 2021 — but it still won’t have seven seats.

The brand hasn’t revealed the new SUV in full, but has offered some preliminary details.

The new model will sit on Subaru’s Global Platform architecture and will launch with specification unique to Australia.

A 2.5-litre horizontally opposed petrol Boxer engine will drive all four wheels and raise the braked tow rating from 1500-1800kg to 2000kg.

Unlike the current generation, there will be no diesel offered on the new Outback as Subaru has discontinued diesel engines globally.

The new model also won’t address Subaru’s lack of a seven-seater in Australia, with the brand’s only three-row SUV, the Ascent, only currently built in left-hand-drive.

Subaru Australia national corporate affairs manager David Rowley admitted the brand wanted an entrant in the popular seven-seat SUV category.

“We constantly talk to the factory in Japan about options for the future and certainly a seven-seater is an ongoing agenda item, but there’s no definite timeframe for Australia,” he said.

Subaru says the exterior will offer rugged styling which “reinforces the Outback’s SUV capabilities”, while inside there will be a large tablet-type central touch screen to control infotainment and key vehicle controls.

The new Outback will gain the Driver Monitoring System found in the Forester, which uses a camera to watch the driver for signs of distraction or drowsiness, and will also get the latest iteration of Subaru’s Eyesight safety tech suite.

Subaru Australia general manager Blair Read said the new Outback would be the flagship of the brand’s range, with full local specification and features to be revealed early next year.