Even living somewhat near a dealer, I can tell you that not having a spare is a major, major hassle. I would NEVER again buy a car which didn't have at least a donut spare. I used to own a 2013 X5 and at 2 in the morning on the highway, a tire blew. I guess the car was supposed to have run-flats, but for some reason mine did not. I had to call AAA and get towed 50 miles to a dealer, then stay in a Motel 6 next door overnight, finally getting back on the road mid-AM the next day. What a huge, huge pain that could have been obviated by simply having a spare onboard.
An Outback doesn't have the flash of an X5 but all in all it's just a better mousetrap. Way better gas mileage, uses regular gas, and I was able to find one with a stickshift. The one thing I miss is that my X5 had a really burly factory tow hitch -- the ones I've seen for the Outback are by contrast pretty wimpy!