When a car gets a few mild updates to keep things fresh, it’s called a facelift. Consider the 2023 Subaru Outback, which made its debut at the 2022 New York International Auto Show.

For starters, there’s a new, more youthful face to stave off the pre-facelift model’s mature looks. A larger grille, sharper headlights, and a redesigned bumper come as standard, but if you don’t like the new looks, you can always go for the Outback Wilderness that won’t receive these changes.

Otherwise, that’s pretty much it for the exterior changes. Subaru says that the wheel-arch cladding has been expanded for further protection, but it looks identical to those on our local units. The aptly named Onyx Edition comes with blacked-out exterior elements and 18-inch wheels.

As for the inside, it’s pretty much the same as well. Depending on the model grade, there are different color schemes and materials used, like a two-tone gray interior with water-repellent StarTex material or a plush black Nappa Leather interior.

Tech updates include the ability to use wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, and front and rear USB-C ports (for Premium and higher). There’s also the addition of an LCD rearview mirror on the top-of-the-line Touring trim.

The latest iteration of EyeSight also gets updated with a brake booster, and the Touring trim gets an additional wide-angle mono camera to increase the vehicle’s field of view to detect pedestrians and cyclists earlier as the car enters an intersection at low speeds.

The Outback will come in six different model grades: Base, Premium, Onyx Edition, Wilderness, Limited, and Touring.

And it has two engine choices: a 2.4-liter turbocharged flat-four with 260hp and 376Nm (standard for the XT models), and a 2.5-liter naturally aspirated flat-four with 182hp and 239Nm. Both are mated to a CVT, and power is sent to all four wheels by Subaru’s Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive system.

What do you think of this update?