Compare Subaru Outback to Toyota Highlander in Atlanta GA

Which is the Better Georgia Orienteer: Subaru Outback or Toyota Highlander?

Both Subaru Outback and Toyota Highlander are two of the most dependable SUVs out there, designed to go anywhere. Ours is a wagon-become-modern-crossover, with two decades of rugged tradition and counting behind it. Theirs is a mid-size SUV almost as long-lived, built for the everyday. However, only one comes prepared for off-road adventure, whether that's across the diverse terrain outside Atlanta or through bad weather off the Atlantic coast. Only one has the advanced safety technologies, creature comforts, and in-cabin amenities to make that trip memorable. That's Subaru Outback. See how it blazes trails in ways its Toyota rival can't, right here at Classic Subaru of Atlanta.

2019 Subaru Outback vs. 2019 Toyota Highlander

Performance

• The 175-horsepower, 2.5-liter SUBARU BOXER flat-four engine that comes standard in Subaru Outback 2.5i, 2.5i Premium, 2.5i Limited, and 2.5i Touring trims can put out 174 pound-feet of torque. Step up to Subaru Outback 3.6R Limited or 3.6R Touring, and you gain a 256-horsepower, 3.5-liter SUBARU BOXER flat-six engine that can deliver 247 pound-feet of torque. The 2.7-liter I4 in the Toyota Highlander LE base can only produce 185 horsepower and 184 pound-feet of torque.
• On an 18.5-gallon fuel tank, Subaru Outback can achieve up to 32 mpg on highways and 25 mpg in the city, according to EPA estimates and depending on trim and transmission. Toyota Highlander can only get up to 20 mpg in cities and 27 mpg down the highway, and that's even with a larger 19.2-gallon fuel capacity.
• You can tow up to 2,700 pounds in the Subaru Outback base. The Toyota Highlander base can only haul up to 1,500 pounds.

Safety

• Every Subaru Outback features Subaru Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive, active torque vectoring, hill descent control, and an X-MODE standard. These deliver dependable traction across terrain and through bad weather, compensate for both over- and understeer while maneuvering, make cornering more precise, better your control down slopes, and reduce wheel slip respectively. Subaru Outback even towers over obstacles in the process, with 8.7 inches of ground clearance to help you avoid them. In Toyota Highlander, AWD is optional, torque vectoring's nowhere to be found, and there's only 8 inches of ground clearance.
• EyeSight Driver Assist Technology comes standard in Subaru Outback, as does a comparable driver-0assist suite, Toyota Safety Sense P (TSS-P), in Toyota Highlander. However, whereas Subaru Outback makes LED steering-responsive headlights available in select trims for peering around corners, a similar feature's not offered in Toyota Highlander.
• Blind-spot detection and rear cross-traffic alert are available in Subaru Outback 2.5i Premium, just as similar features are in Toyota Highlander LE Plus. However, reverse automatic braking is available in Subaru Outback 2.5i Limited, a feature that Toyota Highlander doesn't have.
• Both Subaru Outback and Toyota Highlander offer connected safety services suites, ours being STARLINK Safety and Security with auto collision notification, SOS emergency assistance, enhanced roadside assistance, and more, and theirs being Toyota Safety Connect. However, ours comes standard earlier, in the 2.5i Premium trim. You'll have to rise to Toyota Highlander XLE to get their services.

Interior and Technology

• You can get heated front seats sooner in Subaru Outback, in the 2.5i Premium trim. Toyota Highlander requires you to buy its XLE trim to get them. Heated rear seats are available earlier, too, in the 2.5i Limited trim. In Toyota Highlander, you can only get them at the top of the line.
• Between them, Subaru Outback is better-equipped tech-wise. It offers a choice among 6.5- and 8-inch STARLINK multimedia infotainment systems, for one. Secondly, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto come standard. Pandora and Aha smartphone app support, an HD Radio, and cloud-based app access for Yelp and iHeart Radio offer expanded listening options, while four-speaker, six-speaker, and 576-watt, 12-speaker Harman Kardon premium audio options keep them all coming in loudly and clearly. Finally, dual front and rear USB ports are available for connecting electronics. The base Entune system in Toyota Highlander measures only 6.1 inches, and there's neither Apple nor Android smartphone compatibility.

Value

• Subaru Outback is more affordable than Toyota Highlander, from base to top-tier trims, and by several thousands.

Learn More About the New Subaru Outback Firsthand at Our Subaru Dealership in Atlanta

We'll bet you're excited to get behind the wheel. You can check out how else Subaru Outback bests the rest here at our showroom on Roswell Road. Call or visit us to schedule a test drive today -- we'll be happy to show you around!