These are actually the closest things we could find to a wagon these days, but both are practical crossovers with different strengths

So, let’s get into it.

Jonathan Yarkony: Indeed, it’s amazing what the years will do to a body, because the Crown Signia is today what the Subaru Outback was 30 years ago, a lifted wagon version of a midsize sedan. I for one still see that wagon profile in the boxy Outback shape, but it is slapped atop a plastic-fendered lift kit, and while the Crown Signia gets the plastic fenders, its low profile hews much closer to that wagon legacy some of us still seek.

Aside from the significant ground clearance advantage the Subaru Outback gains from its taller stance, its greater height confers a hefty advantage in cargo space and, despite a slightly smaller footprint, also eclipses the Crown Signia in interior space. The Outback yields 980 litres (34.6 cubic feet of trunk space to the Crown’s 702 L (24.8 ft³), and while that is a large gap, the reality is that much of the advantage is vertical, with load floors that are a similar breadth and depth. Drop the seats and the Subaru balloons to 2,280 L (80.5 ft³) with about the same gap to Toyota’s 1,872 L (66.1 ft³).

The Outback and Crown Signia have almost identical width and wheelbases, but the Toyota is a few inches longer and the Subie a few inches taller. This results in a natural advantage for the Outback in superior headroom, but counterintuitively, the Outback also offers slightly more legroom, hip room, and shoulder room in both rows on the spec sheet. While the measurements show an advantage for the Outback, the Crown Signia is no penalty box, with ample passenger space in both rows to stretch out and truly lounge, with the Outback simply exceeding it by a hair.

So, while both are plenty spacious, how did you find the comfort levels?

BH: Just fine, thank you for asking. Being rather leggy, I always appreciate decent stretch-out room; front-seat and rear-seat room in both vehicles was more than adequate for my needs. And since we’re talking seats, we might as well discuss overall cabin environments. Both vehicles being tested, by the way, are the top trim levels, specifically the Outback Premier XT (MSRP $51,195) and the Crown Signia Limited ($58,305) with a $2,980 Advanced Technology Package (total $61,285). I must say I appreciated the fact that both Subaru and Toyota interior designers smartly used hard buttons to handle climate control and seat heat/ventilation functions, locating them below the centre stack infotainment screen.

Despite being $10K less expensive, I was more impressed with the Outback’s two-tone interior. The graphics used for its 12.1-inch infotainment display and 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster are far superior to the Crown Signia’s, being brighter and sharper. Creature comforts are about equal — premium audio system, heated and ventilated front seats, heated steering wheel, wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay compatibility, wireless charging pad, etc. My primary disappointment with the Toyota, as I have mentioned at other times, is that the tester’s black monotone cabin doesn’t feel particularly “special” for its price, which is approaching Lexus territory.

Feel free to weigh in here, but considering both SUVs have appreciably quiet cabins, I found the Outback’s turbocharged boxer four-cylinder surprisingly unobtrusive in operation, certainly more than the Crown Signia’s hybrid setup. Then again, Toyota’s ubiquitous 2.5L, whether hooked up to electric motors or on its own, has always had a discordant note under load.

JY: Yes, if there’s one area where the urban sophistication of the Crown Signia wears thin, it is the gas portion of its powertrain. Net system horsepower is a respectable 240 horsepower, but the conspiracy theorist in me can’t help but think that Toyota intentionally made the gas engine obtrusively unpleasant in an effort to deter drivers from using the full power extravagantly and keep fuel consumption in check. Toyota’s all-wheel-drive hybrid system in the Crown boasts a 134 kW electric motor making 139 pound feet of torque for the front wheels and supporting 40 kW motor for 89 lb-ft dedicated to the rear wheels, so low-speed acceleration in ‘EV mode’ before the gas engine intervenes is whisper quiet and entirely satisfactory for a tepid family hauler. The 2.5L four-cylinder gas contributes its own 188 horsepower and 178 lb-ft of torque but is accompanied by a shuddering startup and despondent groaning under heavy acceleration and even at higher highway speeds. This efficiency oriented powertrain promises 6.0 / 6.3 / 6.2 L/100 km for its city/highway/combined fuel consumption according to NRCan estimates and we were right in that ballpark with 6.4 L/100 km showing after our two weeks criss-crossing the GTA suburbs.

The Subaru Outback defies expectations of its rugged, utilitarian identity and its turbocharged 2.4L boxer engine is the slicker of these two powertrains, outgunning the Toyota with 260 hp and 277 lb-ft and smooth, unobtrusive power delivery. Well, actually, if there is one issue with the Outback it is overexuberance, with a jumpy throttle that caught me off guard even well into my week behind the wheel. Aside from the twitchy trigger, the boxer engine pulls strongly at any speeds and CVT gets it into that hearty torque zone quickly and smoothly. This is no WRX or STI, so I would have welcomed a more gradual power curve since the permanent all-wheel-drive system puts power down evenly — sadly, our sunny week meant we could not put the signature Subaru AWD through its paces in the snow and see if Toyota’s reactive hybrid all-wheel traction proved its equal. On the other hand, the Subaru was no match for Toyota’s signature efficiency, its estimates promising 11.0 / 8.3 / 9.7 L/100 km city/highway/combined, and our real-world experience landing at the worse end of that range with 11.1 L/100 km showing on the trip computer.

BH: Yes, there was some “nervous energy” to the Outback that required a softer application of throttle to avoid a somewhat abrupt launch. Otherwise, it’s a strong engine well suited to the crossover. That said, I do miss the responsiveness of the 3.6L boxer six that was offered back during the previous decade. Sigh!

Unlike you, I didn’t feel bad that we had a “sunny week” to test our two vehicles. This past winter was long, cold, snowy and generally miserable. I soaked up the heat of our summer test. But, to your point about not being able to give the AWD systems a proper workout, I was at the launch of the Outback late last year in Sedona, Arizona, a drive that included the area’s well-known red-clay-covered off-road trails. If I may quote myself: “It rained endlessly during the day, the downpour at times reaching biblical proportions that turned the clay-covered trails into a greasy goo slipperier than bear snot and overflowed creeks, leaving deep puddles in low-lying sections.” The worse the conditions got, the better the Outback handled. With all due respect to the Crown Signia’s system, it ain’t in the same league, not that it was ever intended to be such.

Here’s the thing. If we were testing these two vehicles in January, I would be all over the Outback. It’s appreciably less expensive than the Crown Signia. It is roomier and it has a far superior AWD system, one that would have been put to good use during a couple of major snow dumps.

Yet we did this comparison in July, during one of the hottest stretches of weather in a long time, and every summer the hot stretches seem to be getting longer and hotter, so I’m feeling the global warming. And Toyota’s hybrid powertrain, while by no means the be all and end all, has the sort of fuel efficiency I can get behind — not to mention the fact that the price of gasoline was and still is uncomfortably high. (No, I’m not ready to embrace EVs, at least yet.)

One other thing. In making the design switch from a traditional wagon shape to what is decidedly a more generic SUV design, the Outback has lost a lot of what made it unique amongst the midsize crossover segment. By comparison, the Crown Signia has a sleeker, sportier and fresher look going for it that, to me, is worth the additional bucks.

Not a slam dunk, I’m still going to cast my vote in favour of the Crown Signia. What are your thoughts?

JY: This is a tough one for me since the Crown Signia tugs at my heart strings with its sleek wagon profile and the Outback calls to the Canadian dad in me knowing it will be a champ in the snow and that big spacious cargo bay. The Subaru Outback is a worthy option with a responsive and surprisingly refined powertrain, but it’s a bit thirsty and the SUV ride quality and taller stance made it feel like almost any other crossover in the segment.

Honestly, if it weren’t for the coarseness of the gas portion of the Toyota powertrain it would be more of a no-brainer for me, because then I could drive it like the sporty wagon I want it to be, but even despite that flaw in its refinement, it’s the Crown Signia I would want in my driveway and roaming the suburbs. It’s got more than enough cargo and passenger space and I also found that interior more appealing, and the incredible efficiency is something that would endear it to me every time it was time to fill up (which would be almost half as often as the Outback). Despite each vehicle being superior in certain areas, the Toyota Crown Signia gets my endorsement too and is the winner of this comparison.

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