We review the Subaru Outback from price to economy and all its features

WHEN I was growing up, the Subaru Impreza was the car to have.

Every weekend you would see packs of blokes in their early twenties smoking up the tyres on their “Scoobies” outside the local McDonald’s, while serenading 16-year-old girls with drum and bass.

At least two of the hotties in my sixth form were dating older men who would pick them up from the school gates in an Impreza.

As a skint 17-year-old rattling around in a Ford Fiesta worth less than a pushbike, I was jealous. And not because they had snapped up the fit girls — because they were cruising around in a car I desperately wanted.

The Subaru was mean, aggressive. Its whale tail and boxy styling made it ugly and beautiful at the same time. It was unapologetically anti-social and had an impeccable WRC pedigree to prove it wasn’t all style over substance. The Scooby was the real deal.

I sometimes wonder what those lads are up to now. They must be approaching 40, are probably married with kids, working nine ’til five and living in the suburbs.

Which is why the marketing team at Subaru are geniuses for coming up with the Outback.

In the US, the Outback would be known as a “soccer mom” car — big, bland and reliable.

It’s the perfect Scooby for those Impreza heads, now the Maccy D’s car park has been swapped for toddler swim classes and Peppa Pig World.

The Outback’s greatest strength is its size. It’s spacious and brilliantly designed throughout, with endless cup holders, cubbyholes and storage nooks.

When it came to be picked up, it took me ten minutes to find all the rubbish which had been tucked away in various places.

The cabin is sleek and modern-looking thanks to a crisp touch-screen console, surrounded in piano black trim, which feels expensive to the touch.

It controls a host of goodies, including bluetooth audio, rearview camera, heated seats and Subaru’s swanky Starlink system — an app linked to your phone to stream things such as weather info and music.

Moving outside, it looks every inch the crossover. While it has manly features like 4×4 mode, you know it will be driven by families who never leave the tarmac.

It’s an uninspiring design but looks as good as its rivals, which include the Audi A4 Allroad and Volvo XC70.

Talking of 4×4 mode, driving the Subaru is a comforting experience. It feels solid and safe and going over rough ground is tons of fun.

As well as 4×4, it has a hill descent mode and its elevated ride position — designed to give clearance between its belly and the rough ground — commands a great view of the road.

The version I drove was the 2.0litre turbo, which doesn’t exactly excite, but why should it? Soccer moms aren’t often found drag racing along Brighton seafront and while the performance isn’t punchy, it’s solid and far from sluggish.

In all seriousness, if you are looking to recapture some of the magic of the Impreza, steer well clear of the Outback.

It couldn’t be further from its iconic ancestor.

But if the family is swelling in size, and you need something which will deliver your nippers to the centre spot of a boggy rugby pitch without sinking in the mud, this is the car for you.