Subaru Secretly Reveals The All-New 2025 Outback To Its U.S. Dealers

In a private meeting last week, Subaru of America just uncovered the 2025 Subaru Outback to its U.S. dealers. A report from Automotive News (by subscription) said the Camden, N.J. automaker gave its dealers a "peek behind the curtain" at the next-generation Outback midsize SUV.

The 2023 Outback, in the fourth year of its life cycle, received a "refresh" with new upgrades, but significant changes are coming for the 2025 model year when the Outback gets a complete redesign. Subaru of America already has the next-generation Outback designed enough to show its retailers what it will offer customers in two years.

Jeff Williams, owner of Williams Subaru in Lansing, Michigan, told Automotive News while attending Subaru's Auto Team America Dealer/CEO/CFO Forum that the U.S. Subaru retailers are excited about the sneak peek they had of the redesigned 2025 Outback. It could be a working model, or it may still be on the drawing board.

"That's the most excited I've been about a vehicle heading here in a long time," said Williams, who declined to reveal any specifics about it. "I will say that Subaru engineers and designers seemed to have addressed every issue we've brought up with the Outback. They seemed to listen to us, which gives me confidence in how the next-generation Outback will perform in the marketplace."

We don't have specifics of Subaru dealers' concerns with the current generation Outback midsize SUV. The 2023 Outback did have a stop-sale on the recently-upgraded midsize SUV that concerned Subaru of America and its dealers.

There was a problem with the 2023 Subaru Outback's SOS button. A statement from Subaru of America said, "Specifically, when the SOS button is depressed, it does not operate as designed, failing to make a connection." The button is connected to the Subaru Starlink in-vehicle technology.

Still, it's likely about the Outback needing a hybrid powertrain to compete with the Toyota Highlander Hybrid, Ford Explorer Hybrid, and Jeep Grand Cherokee Hybrid. All three outsold the Outback last year.

With the Subaru Outback getting a complete redesign for the 2025 model year, Subaru could use its new 1.8-liter direct-injection turbocharged Boxer engine to develop a next-generation Outback Hybrid.

Subaru already offers a 1.8-liter turbocharged direct-injection (DIT) engine in the Japanese-specification 2023 Outback. Subaru could couple the small turbocharged engine with the hybrid technology they are now developing with Toyota.

Subaru has not confirmed the 2025 Outback information, but it fits with their goals and the Japanese automaker's 2020 Vision plan they announced earlier.

Subaru announced last year that 40 percent of its global sales will have some form of electric power by mid-2025 to 2030, and the Japanese automaker has set a target to "sell only electric vehicles" worldwide by the first half of the 2030s.

A fuel-stingy 2025 Subaru Outback Hybrid could be the model to propel the vehicle upward again. Williams predicted that if production constraints fade away by the redesigned Outback's introduction, the new midsize SUV will return to its dominance in SOA's all-wheel-drive lineup as the automaker's top-selling model again.

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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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