Hand on heart, amongst the myriad of reasons we chose the Outback, the most pressing was safety. Not for me, of course! As anold-fashioned bullet-proofhero type with a penchant for wagon styled adventure, things like the Pre-Collision Braking System and Driver Monitoring System were like something out of a sci-fi movie.
Nooooo, not for me, I was thinking about my kids and wife.
Hate to brag, but weve got one hell of a family and I adore every single one of them even the dog whos decided to dig up the front garden in search of some long forgotten (the cat) treasure.
Our kids are in the formative driving years, as in 21 and under. Whilst theyre good drivers, theyre also inexperienced. And theyre confident inexperienced drivers which makes me even happier the car they get to drive is literally packed with features to protect them whether theyre highway driving or scraping the beautiful new rims on the gutters around town.
Can you have afavouritewagon or SUV safety feature?
If you can, my hero (he says with hands clasped across his chest in a swoon) is theEyeSightDriver Assist System. Youve seen the cameras mounted on the insidebehindthe top of the windscreen onotherSubarus and wondered what theyre all about. Itsdefinitely afrom the future technology thats needed now. The Pre-Collision Braking System and Brake Assist can help the driver slow down or come to a complete stop if an obstacle is detected in front of the wagon. It goes off with flashing red lights and an alarm and gets everyones attention, which is fantastic.
My Mum kind of gets it, but it all seems a bit Jetsons to her, so I just tell it like it is. The cameras see whats ahead and the wagon reacts accordingly. If theres an obstacledetected aheadand the driver doesnttake action,the car slows often quickly. Its an explanation that covers other things, too.
The Pre-Collision Throttle Management restricts engine output to reduce acceleration when required and the Adaptive Cruise Controlhelpsyouavoidcruisingup the rear end of the learner driver in front of you if youre not paying complete attention. In fact, this may be my newfavouritefeature. Can I have two?
Best of all is thatAdaptive Cruise Control,canmaintaina speed set by the driver, but slows to the speed of the vehicle in front should you be going faster than them. You can even set the distance from the car in front for added safety. Its good for you, and most definitely good for the other car as well.
Wow, thatsfourfavouritecar safety features. Too much?
Then, if thats not enough, theres the camera pointing back toward the driver. No, its not for driving selfies, its the Driver Monitoring System*Driver Monitoring System performance and capability dependent on environmental and technical conditions. Refer to Owners Manual for full details. (DMS). Using an infraredLED camera, the system is watching out for the driver. As the name suggests, its monitoring the drivers face for signs of fatigue or distraction. Ithas the ability togently remind the driver to keep their mind and eyes on the prize if they begin to wander.
Surely the DMS was designed by a parent with a recalcitrant teenager who wouldnt be told to pay attention not my teenagers, of course, who are basically perfect.
But if they werent, I love the idea of looking out for them even when Im not around toactually bethere. Thats the vibe I get from Subaru, and its probably the same kind of feeling my Dad had 30 something years ago when I drove down the driveway with a long-hairedunimate on a cross country odyssey from Melbourne to Perth in my-brand-new-to-me SubaruSportswagon.
Dadactually chosethe car, even though he let me think I did. At the time, it was ahead of the safety game, which is a lot like the new Outback.
Is it selfish to want to sleep at night when the kids are away in the family wagon? I dont think so. We want the very best for our children, and whilst we know things happen on the road we cant help, we know with the Outback, theyre literally as protected as they can possibly be. So is the dog.
As for the cat thats an entirely different story.
Andrew Daddo
Subaru Ambassador
18 May 2021
