Aussies love touring in the outback so on that basis what better vehicles to bring out
here than a Holden Calais-V Tourer and a Subaru Outback?
But do they deliver what's stamped on the box?
They are very much passenger based vehicles so can they survive in harsh conditions like
these?
Let's go and find out.
The Outback is a jacked-up version of the Liberty Wagon that's no longer sold in Australia
while the Tourer is a very close relation of the Holden Commodore Sportwagon also imported
from Germany.
The Holden has a big edge when it comes to performance, thanks to its 3.6 litre V6 petrol
engine, while the Subaru makes do with a 2.5 litre boxer four cylinder.
But the Outback balances that up by being significantly cheaper.
And they come out pretty equal on things like their all-wheel drive systems, quality interiors,
five seat capacity and plentiful luggage space.
But driving them in the rugged and beautiful Flinders Ranges soon starts showing up some
big differences.
The Outback really does live up to its name on these gravel roads you find so often out
here, rocky sections, corrugation, wash-aways, it's got the long travel suspension and the
compliance to cope with it all.
Very impressive.
We're driving on a pretty well-maintained gravel road.
It's a tourist drive in the Flinders Ranges, but even on this road I'm super-conscious
of the lack of ground clearance and long overhangs of this car.
You just worry all the time about touching something down and potentially causing damage.
Yes, the Tourer has only 125 millimetres of ground clearance, which is little more than
a standard station wagon, while the Outback has 213 millimetres.
But that's not its only advantage.
The Outback does have a little bit of off-road capability.
It's got good approach, departure and ramp over angles, or certainly better than the
Commodore.
Its four by four system is pretty effective and it's got hill descent control.
So you can get up some stuff and you can get down some stuff, more than you could in the
Commodore, that's for sure.
It doesn't all go the Subaru's way of course.
The Tourer is a fun bitumen and smooth gravel road drive and there's no denying that drivetrain
which blows the Subaru's four cylinder away when it comes to response.
The Tourer's drivetrain is a really interesting combination.
You've got that big lump of a V6 upfront, so traditional Aussie; instant response, instant
power, instant fuel consumption.
Then it combines with a nine speed auto, nine speeds.
But it is a very intuitive, impressive piece of work.
In fact it could be the best thing about the entire vehicle.
Through all this, as we discovered the characters of these two vehicles, the Flinders Ranges
provided a stunning backdrop.
It's easy to see why so many people come here and why you should too.
But should you come in an Outback or a Tourer?
Well, it turns out these two cars are actually aptly named.
The Outback is great for those gravel corrugated roads that run across the outback.
It's also got enough four-wheel drive ability to cope with moderate obstacles.
For touring, again well-named, but for bitumen touring; this thing doesn't even pay lip-service
to being a proper off-roader.
So in summary, considering what we set out to achieve here, I know which vehicle I'm
taking to the outback.