Honest question, is a current model CrossTrek much smaller than the older Outbacks?

Unfortunately, the trend seems to be in the other direction. Outbacks are getting a little bigger and a lot blockier. You can see the shared DNA with my car's generation, but it's just a little bit worse wherever you look (except inside, apparently) and really looks like a cheap Ford SUV. I think the Toyota collab EV is their only true wagon left, at least aesthetically.