Returning for the sixth generation, the “BT” as the model’s officially known will arrive sometime in August with a suggested retail price of P 2.380 million—that actually makes it cheaper than the outgoing Outback which had a P 2.408 million price tag before bowing out of the Philippine market altogether.

That said, the all-new Outback, underpinned by the Subaru Global Platform won’t be using a flat-6 or even a boosted 2.4-liter. Instead, power will be courtesy of a 2.5-liter normally-aspirated flat-4 with 169 horsepower and 252 Nm of torque. As with any other Subaru, power is routed through all four wheels via a Lineartronic CVT.

The 2022 Outback will debut the newest generation Subaru EyeSight driver assist technology which adds lane departure warning with steering wheel vibration alert, adaptive cruise control with full-speed range functionality, and autonomous emergency steering which helps the driver execute evasive control while assessing the presence of other vehicles using the cameras and sensors.

Motor Image will continue to source the all-new Outback from Japan and with that, there are key differences compared to the North American version. The Philippine-spec Outback differs thanks to more chrome/aluminum trim, classier-looking bumpers with less black elements, and unique fog lamp housing.

Inside, the Outback will gain full-grain Nappa leather for its seats along with a 11.6-inch tablet-style display, a 12-speaker Harman Kardon sound system with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, and a touch-free power tailgate. Subaru’s wagon/SUV hybrid is also said to debut a Driver Monitoring System with facial recognition. Thanks to this, it can pre-adjust the seats and side mirrors based on the face of whoever’s driving, while also detecting possible signs of driver inattentiveness or drowsiness.

It remains to be seen if Filipino buyers are willing to trade the grunt of the 3.6-liter flat-6 for the added niceties and features of the all-new Outback. But one thing is for certain: to make the all-new Subaru Outback more enticing to buyers, Subaru Philippines is actually lopping P 50,000 off its list price. As a result, customers who wish to book their orders will get their Outback at P 2.330 million—a price that’s within striking distance of more traditional Japanese executive sedans.