The extra urge was also offset by the H6 being 80 kilograms heavier and offered only as a four-speed automatic, while four-cylinder Outback buyers could still opt for a five-speed manual gearbox. Ultimately, the H6 was faster than a four-cylinder Outback (alongside which it sold), but not by as big a margin as you may imagine.Īnd while it was smoother with less of the throbby feel of the four, the latter could never have been called a harsh motor, so the improvement was incremental rather than revolutionary. Power output is a so-so 154 kW (given its cubic capacity) and torque was a more promising 282 Nm.īut what that doesn't tell you is that the six-cylinder needed to rev harder to make those numbers and while torque (or pulling power) peaked at 3600 rpm in the four-cylinder, the six needed 4400 rpm on board to deliver its best. It measures 3.0 litres and uses double overhead camshafts per bank and four valves per cylinder.
Sensibly, the engineers decided that the new six-cylinder should be a proper Subaru engine, so the cylinders are still arranged in two banks and laid flat, making it a flat-six. That was the slow-selling SVX coupe available here in the 1980s. It measured 3.0 litres and was aimed at giving the Outback more performance and a bigger dose of refinement.Īnd it was not Subaru's first six-cylinder engine. So what was Subaru's agenda when, in 2000, it gave us the Outback H6? As the name vaguely suggests, the H6 used a six-cylinder engine. More than that, it gave the Outback real character and a point of difference as well as making it unmistakably a Subaru. The 2.5-litre flat-four-cylinder engine was more than adequate with good pulling power and an easy nature. Ultimately, it looked more off-roader than it really was, but if anything, it erred - intelligently - to the bitumen side of the cross-over vehicle formula. The best known of those is the Outback, which combined the Liberty wagon's sensible bodyshell and capable mechanical package with its body-kit and big wheels and tyres. Its quirky offerings in the 1970s soon generated their own cult status and since then, Subaru has given us the Impreza Sportswagon, the Forester and multiple variations on the all-wheel-drive Liberty theme. Subaru's ability to churn out all-wheel-drive wagons with a ready market is beyond dispute.
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