The announcement was made at the Canadian International Auto Show in Toronto.
 
After winning the title of Canada's best new Sports Utility Vehicle/ Crossover Utility Vehicle in the under $ Canadian 35,000 category, Outback went on to compete against the Volkswagen Touareg TDI and the Lexus R450h for the title of best overall new utility vehicle in Canada.
 
"Subaru had an outstanding year in 2009, in spite of the challenges of the global economy and the hardships experienced by some other manufacturers," said Katsuhiro Yokoyama, president and CEO of Subaru Canada, Inc.
 
 "This award from the members of AJAC is a wonderful tribute, and an excellent indication of why in the past year Subaru sold a record number of vehicles, achieved its highest market share ever, and won important accolades for safety, product quality, performance, innovation, and residual value from some of the world's most respected critics and consumer watchdog organizations. We definitely look forward to more of the same in 2010."
 
AJAC's rigorous testing program includes real-world driving on public roads - exactly where consumers drive - so the test data and vote results are highly relevant to potential buyers. The journalists evaluate every detail, from safety features to cargo capacity, to select the best new vehicles in various categories, and then rate them by secret ballot.
In addition to being AJAC's best new CUV/SUV of the year, Outback has been recognized by some of the industry's toughest critics:
 
auto123.com named the 2010 Outback its Best New Wagon of the year. Le Guide de l’ auto named Outback the year's best utility. Motor Trend named the 2010 Outback its Sport Utility of the Year.
 
The U.S. Insurance Institute for Highway Safety gave its coveted Top Safety Pick designation to the 2010 Outback, Legacy, Impreza, Forester, and Tribeca, making Subaru the only manufacturer with Top Safety Picks for all models.
 
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration gave every Subaru model five stars for occupant protection.
In Europe the 2010 Outback Diesel has received a five star occupant safety rating for all models.
Closer to home the new Outback has a 5-star occupant safety rating for all petrol models from the Australian crash testing programme. And in New Zealand the Outback was named joint car of the year alongside the Subaru Legacy by Driver magazine.