<http://schema.org/articleBody>
" In the &amp;#039;80s, Aussie comedian Paul Hogan ruled the media universe. His &amp;quot;shrimp on the barbie&amp;quot; Australian tourism ads made Hogan a household name, his 1986 movie Crocodile Dundee was a massive hit, and he helped make Foster&amp;#039;s Lager a worldwide brand by proclaiming it &amp;quot;Australian for beer, mate.&amp;quot; But as Hogan&amp;#039;s fame has faded, it turns out his single greatest legacy (and, literally, a Legacy) will be the Subaru Outback. In 1995 he was the pitchman for the company when the Outback trim option was introduced on the midsize, all-wheel-drive Legacy wagon. He made the vehicle famous, even if his Aussie persona was more schtick than substance. Subaru has just introduced the fourth-generation Outback and, though Hogan hasn&amp;#039;t been spieling for the company since 2002, it does him proud.  The Specs Look for the name &amp;quot;Legacy&amp;quot; anywhere on the new Outback and you won&amp;#039;t find it. But that lack of badging is as much effort as Subaru puts toward obscuring the Outback&amp;#039;s heritage. The Outback is a Legacy wagon with a slightly raised ride height, taller tires, a new grille and slightly more muscled bodywork. And, no surprise, it&amp;#039;s assembled on the same Lafayette, Ind., production line as the Legacy sedan. Subaru&amp;#039;s engineering traditions are all there in the new Outback. The base engine is the familiar 2.5-liter SOHC flat Four while the optional engine is now the same 3.6-liter DOHC flat Six used in the larger Tribeca crossover. Opt for the Four and the 170-hp flows through either a standard six-speed manual transmission or a new &amp;quot;Lineartronic&amp;quot; continuously variable transmission (CVT) automatic. The Six pumps its 256 hp through a five-speed automatic. Sorry, rally fans, the snorty 265-hp turbocharged four-cylinder that resides under the hood of the Legacy GT won&amp;#039;t be available in any 2010 Outback model. As in all Subarus, the company&amp;#039;s &amp;quot;Symmetrical&amp;quot; all-wheel drive is standard-although there are actually three different systems, depending on which transmission is used. There&amp;#039;s a viscous-coupling center differential with the manual transmission, an &amp;quot;electronically managed continuously variable hydraulic transfer clutch&amp;quot; used with the CVT, and a planetary gear system used with the Six&amp;#039;s five-speed automatic. Yet they all work seamlessly (and effectively) in the background with virtually no input from the driver. And if all-wheel drive isn&amp;#039;t enough to save a driver from his own, ahem, driving prowess, there are also electronic-stability and traction-control systems aboard. The Outback&amp;#039;s basic structure is a steel unibody and, as before, the front suspension uses MacPherson struts. But the hind end gets a new double-wishbone suspension system. All four corners have their own disc brake with both electronic brake-force distribution and four-channel antilock to help operate them.  style=&amp;quot;background-color:#333; color:#ccc;&amp;quot;&amp;amp;gt; 2010 Subaru Outback Photo Gallery      + CLICK PHOTOS TO ENLARGEgallons per 100 miles) in the city and 29 mpg (3.45 g/100m) on the highway. The six-cylinder model&amp;#039;s 18 mpg (5.56 g/100m) in the city and 25 mpg (4.00 g/100m) on the highway are solid numbers too.  RELATED STORIES * EARLIER: PM&amp;#039;s Guide to Building an Off-Road Vehicle  * PLUS: Chevy&amp;#039;s Plug-in Concepts (Wrangler EV Included!)  * TEST DRIVE: 2010 Subaru Legacy Still Packs Turbo Heat  * LONG TERM TEST DRIVE: Subaru Forester 2.5XT Limited  * FOLLOW US: Popular Mechanics is Now on Twitter!  * FRIEND US: Find PM on Facebook   The Drive From the front, the Outback&amp;#039;s nose is sort of generic and anonymous looking. But in profile this is one handsome station wagon, with tough-looking wheel arches and a roofline that sweeps naturally back. The roof rack, a tool many Outback owners will use on a regular basis, integrates perfectly with the rest of the trim. The new Outback looks upscale, and it&amp;#039;s beautifully assembled with precise panel fit and doors that shut with an authoritative thud. Inside, the cockpit is a logical layout with door and dash surfaces perfectly finished and an understated design. Subaru is good at making fake wood look like real wood. With 4 more inches of legroom than before and rear doors that open wide, the rear seat area is a substantial improvement over the previous Outback. It&amp;#039;s not only a comfortable place for adults, but it&amp;#039;s a rear seat that adults can climb into without much trouble. Up front the seats are relatively flat, and the bottom cushions could be longer, but it&amp;#039;s hard to imagine anyone whining about being uncomfortable. Though this is a utilitarian Subaru wagon, rest assured, a navigation system and backup camera are on the options list.  Start up the four-cylinder engine and it settles into Subaru&amp;#039;s unique flat-Four idle. The engine is uncannily smooth and mates perfectly with the CVT. Subaru first brought CVT technology to America back in 1987 and has been building them for other markets for even longer than that. The experience shows. This is one of the best CVTs around; it keeps the engine at its power peak without much audible drone and can be manually shifted using paddle shifters on the steering wheel to engage virtual gears. Since CVT-equipped Outbacks actually get better fuel mileage, it&amp;#039;s hard to see what advantages the six-speed manual brings to the table other than lower initial purchase cost. Riding on beefy 225/60R17 tires (base models get 215/70R16s), and with the suspension tall enough to produce 8.7 inches of ground clearance, the Outback is not a Porsche-challenging corner carver. And it&amp;#039;s not a hyper-nimble Subaru WRX STi either. Instead, it&amp;#039;s a sweet-natured wagon with poised road manners, a decent ride and light rack-and-pinion steering that never bothers upsetting the driver with any pesky feedback. Beyond that, it&amp;#039;s an excellent scrambler along dirt roads and up some pretty difficult trails. No, it&amp;#039;s not a substitute for a Jeep Wrangler when it comes to truly hairy rock crawling, but when you absolutely, positively need to get to the Pine Needle Studies class you&amp;#039;re proctoring at the snowbound University of Montana during finals week just before Christmas break, it&amp;#039;s more than capable.  style=&amp;quot;background-color:#333; color:#ccc;&amp;quot;&amp;amp;gt; 2010 Subaru Outback Photo Gallery      + CLICK PHOTOS TO ENLARGE The Bottom Line Subaru is just about the only car company that&amp;#039;s actually gaining sales in the current dismal market. Maybe it&amp;#039;s because its core buyers have tenure and don&amp;#039;t have to worry about being laid off. But more likely it&amp;#039;s because the people who want Subarus don&amp;#039;t see any ready alternatives and plan on owning their cars for very long periods of time. Subaru owners may be odd in some ways, but they&amp;#039;re nothing if not practical about their vehicles and determined to wring every last ounce of value from their purchases. And there&amp;#039;s plenty of value in the new Outback-as long as you stay near the bottom of the price ladder. The base Outback starts at a keen $22,995, but climb up to the Premium or Limited trim levels and the prices rise up beyond $30,000 (for a 3.6R Limited). Still, we think Hogan would be right at home behind the wheel of the new Outback, mate.  RELATED STORIES * EARLIER: PM&amp;#039;s Guide to Building an Off-Road Vehicle  * PLUS: Chevy&amp;#039;s Plug-in Concepts (Wrangler EV Included!)  * TEST DRIVE: 2010 Subaru Legacy Still Packs Turbo Heat  * LONG TERM TEST DRIVE: Subaru Forester 2.5XT Limited  * FOLLOW US: Popular Mechanics is Now on Twitter!  * FRIEND US: Find PM on Facebook   "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.popularmechanics.com/cars/a12592/4326142/>