Compare the2026 Volvo XC60 VS 2026 Subaru Outback

The XC60’s pre-crash front seatbelts will tighten automatically in the event the vehicle detects an impending crash, improving protection against injury significantly. The Outback doesn’t offer pre-crash pretensioners.

Both the XC60 and Outback have child safety locks to prevent children from opening the rear doors. The XC60 Plus/Ultra/Polestar has power child safety locks, allowing the driver to activate and deactivate them from the driver's seat and to know when they're engaged. The Outback’s child locks have to be individually engaged at each rear door with a manual switch. The driver can’t know the status of the locks without opening the doors and checking them.

The Volvo XC60 offers optional built in child booster seats. They’re more crash worthy than an added child seat because of their direct attachment to the seat. Subaru doesn’t offer the convenience and security of a built-in child booster seat in the Outback. Their owners must carry a heavy booster seat in and out of the vehicle; XC60 owners can just fold their built-in child seat up or down.

Using vehicle speed sensors and seat sensors, smart airbags in the XC60 deploy with different levels of force or don’t deploy at all to help better protect passengers of all sizes in different collisions. The XC60’s side airbags will shut off if a child is leaning against the door. The Outback’s side airbags don’t have smart features and will always deploy full force.

The XC60 has standard Post-impact braking, which automatically apply the brakes in the event of a crash to help prevent secondary collisions and prevent further injuries. The Outback doesn’t offer a post collision braking system: in the event of a collision that triggers the airbags, more collisions are possible without the protection of airbags that may have already deployed.

Both the XC60 and Outback have rear cross-traffic warning, but the XC60 has Braking Intervention (automatically applies the brakes) to better prevent a collision when backing near traffic. The Outback’s Rear Cross Traffic Alert doesn’t automatically brake.

Both the XC60 and the Outback have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front and rear seatbelt pretensioners, height adjustable front shoulder belts, four-wheel antilock brakes, all-wheel drive, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning, driver alert monitors and available around view monitors.

The XC60 comes with a full 4-year/50,000-mile basic warranty, which covers the entire truck and includes 24-hour roadside assistance. The Outback’s 3-year/36,000-mile basic warranty expires 1 year or 14,000 miles sooner.

The XC60’s corrosion warranty is 7 years longer than the Outback’s (12 vs. 5 years).

Volvo pays for scheduled maintenance on the XC60 for 2 years and 20,000 miles. Volvo will pay for oil changes, tire rotations, air filter replacements, cabin filter replacement, brake fluid replacement, inspections, and any other required maintenance. Subaru doesn’t pay scheduled maintenance for the Outback.

To reliably start during all conditions and help handle large electrical loads, the XC60 has a standard 800-amp battery (850 T8). The Outback’s 620-amp battery isn’t as powerful.

The battery on the XC60 is in the trunk, which protects it from hot underhood temperatures that can degrade battery life. By keeping the XC60’s battery 20 to 30 degrees cooler, its life is increased by years. The Outback’s battery is in the hot engine compartment.

The XC60 B5’s standard 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder hybrid produces 67 more horsepower (247 vs. 180) and 88 lbs.-ft. more torque (266 vs. 178) than the Outback 2.5i’s standard 2.5 DOHC 4-cylinder. The XC60 T8’s standard 2.0 turbo/supercharged 4-cylinder hybrid produces 195 more horsepower (455 vs. 260) and 246 lbs.-ft. more torque (523 vs. 277) than the Outback XT/Wilderness’ standard 2.4 turbo 4-cylinder.

As tested in Motor Trend the Volvo XC60 is faster than the Outback XT/Wilderness 2.4 turbo 4-cylinder:

	XC60 B5	XC60 T8	Outback
Zero to 60 MPH	6.2 sec	4.3 sec	6.3 sec
Quarter Mile	14.7 sec	n/a	14.9 sec

On the EPA test cycle the XC60 running on electricity gets better mileage than the Outback:

			MPGe
XC60
	AWD	T8 Electric Motor	66 city/60 hwy
Outback
			MPG
	AWD	2.5 DOHC flat-4	25 city/31 hwy
		2.4 turbo flat-4	21 city/29 hwy
		Wilderness 2.4 turbo flat-4	21 city/27 hwy

On the EPA test cycle the XC60 running its gasoline engine gets better mileage than the Outback:

			MPG
XC60
	AWD	2.0 turbo/supercharged 4-cyl. Hybrid	28 city/28 hwy
		2.0 turbo 4-cyl.	23 city/30 hwy
Outback
	AWD	2.4 turbo flat-4	21 city/29 hwy
		Wilderness 2.4 turbo flat-4	21 city/27 hwy

The XC60 T8 Extended Range can travel with zero emissions for 35 miles. The Outback can’t move without running its internal combustion engine.

Regenerative brakes improve the XC60’s fuel efficiency by converting inertia back into energy instead of wasting it. The Outback doesn’t offer a regenerative braking system.

The XC60 has a standard cap-less fueling system. The fuel filler is automatically opened when the fuel nozzle is inserted and automatically closed when it’s removed. This eliminates the need to unscrew and replace the cap and it reduces fuel evaporation, which causes pollution. The Outback doesn’t offer a cap-less fueling system.

In its Green Vehicle Guide, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rates the Volvo XC60 higher (6 out of 10) than the Subaru Outback (5 to 6). This means the XC60 produces up to 6.9 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the Outback every 15,000 miles.

For better stopping power the XC60’s brake rotors are larger than those on the Outback:

	XC60	XC60 T8 Polestar Engineered	Outback
Front Rotors	13.6 inches	15.7 inches	12.4 inches
Rear Rotors	12.6 inches	12.6 inches	11.8 inches

The XC60 stops shorter than the Outback:

	XC60	Outback
70 to 0 MPH	165 feet	174 feet	Car and Driver

For better traction, the XC60 has larger standard tires than the Outback (235/60R18 vs. 225/65R17). The XC60’s optional tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Outback (265/35R22 vs. 225/65R17).

The XC60’s standard tires provide better handling because they have a lower 60 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Outback Wilderness’ standard 65 series tires. The XC60’s optional tires have a lower 35 series profile than the Outback XT’s 55 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the XC60 has standard 18-inch wheels. Smaller 17-inch wheels are standard on the Outback Wilderness. The XC60’s optional 21-inch wheels are larger than the 19-inch wheels on the Outback XT.

The XC60 has vehicle speed sensitive variable-assist power steering, for low-effort parking, better control at highway speeds and during hard cornering, and a better feel of the road. The Outback doesn’t offer variable-assist power steering.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the XC60’s wheelbase is 4.7 inches longer than on the Outback (112.8 inches vs. 108.1 inches).

For better handling and stability, the track (width between the wheels) on the XC60 is 2.9 inches wider in the front and 2 inches wider in the rear than the average track on the Outback.

The XC60’s front to rear weight distribution is more even (54% to 46%) than the Outback’s (57% to 43%). This gives the XC60 more stable handling and braking.

The XC60 handles at .88 G’s, while the Outback Touring XT pulls only .81 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

The XC60 T8 Ultra executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver quicker than the Outback Touring XT (26.4 seconds @ .71 average G’s vs. 27.2 seconds @ .66 average G’s).

The XC60 is 6.3 inches shorter than the Outback, making the XC60 easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

As tested by Car and Driver, the interior of the XC60 T8 Ultra is quieter than the Outback Wilderness:

	XC60	Outback
At idle	32 dB	39 dB
70 MPH Cruising	67 dB	67 dB

The XC60 has 1.4 inches more front hip room, .3 inches more front shoulder room and .3 inches more rear hip room than the Outback.

A low lift-over cargo hatch design makes loading and unloading the XC60 easier. The XC60’s cargo hatch lift-over height is 26 inches, while the Outback’s liftover is 28.3 inches.

To make loading groceries and cargo easier when your hands are full, the XC60’s liftgate can be opened and closed just by kicking your foot under the back bumper, leaving your hands completely free. The Outback doesn’t offer a hands-free gesture to open its liftgate, forcing you to put cargo down if your hands are full.

The XC60’s standard towing capacity is much higher than the Outback’s (3500 vs. 2700 pounds).

The XC60 uses gas struts to support the hood for easier service access. The Outback uses a prop rod to support its heavy hood. It takes two hands to open the hood and set the prop rod, the prop rod gets in the way during maintenance and service, and the prop rod could be knocked out, causing the heavy hood to fall on the person maintaining or servicing the car.

Unlike the driver-only memory system optional at extra cost in the Outback (except Premium), the XC60 Ultra/Polestar has a passenger memory, so that when drivers switch, the memory setting adjusts the driver’s seat and outside mirror angle and the front passenger seat also adjusts to the new passenger’s preset preferences.

The XC60 Ultra/Polestar has a standard heads-up display that projects speed, warning and navigation instruction readouts in front of the driver’s line of sight, allowing drivers to view information without diverting their eyes from the road. The Outback doesn’t offer a heads-up display.

The power windows standard on both the XC60 and the Outback have locks to prevent small children from operating them. When the lock on the XC60 is engaged the driver can still operate all of the windows, for instance to close one opened by a child. The Outback prevents the driver from operating the rear windows just as it does the other passengers.

If the windows are left open on the XC60 the driver can close all of them at the outside door handle or from a distance using the remote. On a hot day the driver can lower the windows from a distance using the keyless remote. The driver of the Outback can only operate the windows from inside the vehicle, with the ignition on.

The XC60’s standard Keyless Entry & Drive allow you to unlock the doors from any outside door handle, open the cargo door, and start the vehicle, all without removing the key from pocket or purse. Keyless Access and Start standard on the Outback doesn’t offer a sensor on the rear doors, so you’ll have to reach a front handle to unlock the rear doors.

The XC60’s rain-sensitive wipers adjust their speed and turn on and off automatically based on the amount of rainfall on the windshield. This allows the driver to concentrate on driving without constantly adjusting the wipers. The Outback’s standard manually variable intermittent wipers have to be constantly adjusted.

Heated windshield washer nozzles are optional on the XC60 to prevent washer fluid and nozzles from freezing and help continue to keep the windshield clear in sub-freezing temperatures. The Outback doesn’t offer heated windshield washer nozzles.

In poor weather, headlights can lose their effectiveness as grime builds up on their lenses. This can reduce visibility without the driver realizing. The XC60 offers available headlight washers to keep headlight output high. The Outback doesn’t offer headlight washers.

The Volvo XC60 has power folding mirrors that offer unparalleled convenience while maneuvering in tight places or parked. With the mirrors folded it’s easier to walk past and help prevent parking damage. The mirrors can be quickly unfolded when the driver is ready to leave. Power folding mirrors costs extra on the Outback and aren't offered on the Premium/Limited.

The XC60 Ultra offers optional massaging front seats in order to maximize comfort and eliminate fatigue on long trips. Massaging seats aren’t available in the Outback.

The XC60 has a standard dual zone air conditioning allows the driver and front passenger to choose two completely different temperatures so people with different temperature preferences won’t have to compromise. This makes both the driver and front passenger as comfortable as possible. Dual zone air conditioning is only available on the Outback Premium/Limited/Wilderness/Touring/Onyx.

Consumer Reports® recommends both the Volvo XC60 and the Subaru Outback, based on reliability, safety and performance.

A group of representative automotive journalists from North America selected the XC60 as the 2018 North American Utility Vehicle of the Year. The Outback has never been chosen.