OT: Subaru Outback

[norcalbiker]

Anyone here own this particular car? I am interested to your experience on 2010 or 2011. How do you like it? Do you have the 4 or 6 cylinder? I have been thinking about this vehicle. I really think it's going to be my car.

Give me your feedback. Good and bad.

TIA

[biker72]

Consumer Reports likes them. Gives them an excellent overall rating.

[binxnyrwarrsoul]

We replaced the family mini-van with an Outback in March, and can't say enough good things about it. Subaru remedied one of the biggest problems with the Outback, rear seat legroom. Now, there is a lot. There's also a ton of room in back, especially with both seats folded down. We have the 4 cylinder, Premium. It's no STI, but it's quick enough. We also got the CVT, and that may be the one thing I'm not crazy about. It has this weird whine, it's not really loud, but it's there. But it's a small bump for what the CVT adds. imperceptable shifts, and phenominal gas mileage. We are averaging 32-37 MPG, highway, with three adults and one 7 year old. Ridiculous for such a large car, and with AWD. Also, rides nice and is pretty quiet inside. IMO, the perfect road trip car. I'd buy another in a heartbeat.

[HJR]

Anyone here own this particular car? I am interested to your experience on 2010 or 2011. How do you like it? Do you have the 4 or 6 cylinder? I have been thinking about this vehicle. I really think it's going to be my car.

Give me your feedback. Good and bad.

TIA

I have a 2010 Legacy with the non-turbo 4-cylinder which is the sedan version of the Outback. Great car! I already have 42k miles on it and am averaging 29mpg. It has been reliable and just needed the basic maintaince so far. The only criticism I have so far is that the stereo is lousy, even with the Harmon Kardon upgrade. Lousy sound, confusing controls. I've become used to it, but really disappointing when I ride in my friends Hyundai for which he paid slightly less.

Good luck with your decision.

[alexstar]

So far nobody has answered the most important question: how many bikes will fit inside? :)

[binxnyrwarrsoul]

I've been able to get two inside, with both rear seats folded down, but it does have a roof rack.

[norcalbiker]

So far nobody has answered the most important question: how many bikes will fit inside? :)

Bike goes on top :D

[Bradford]

I'm glad to hear about the mileage. I had a 2000 Outback that I drove for 150K miles. The only complaint I had was the mileage, which hovered around 21-22 mph.

I'm now driving my wife's old '05 Forester, but my next car will be back to the Outback.

By the way, I can fit one bike in the back of the Forester with the seats down, so I'm pretty sure the answer for the Outback is one bike and two seats, bike in back; two bikes, bikes on roof.

[norcalbiker]

I am so torn between the 4 and the 6 cylinder. Part of me wants the gas mileage, the other part wants the power. It's going to be my run around and weekend car. The AWD is a plus for winter skiing up in Tahoe.
I really want this one.

[eddief]

i bought that FSA seatpost for $100. You are swimming in $$$. And by the looks of the crotch rocket you ride, happiness is warm, powerful gun. Last time I checked you only live once. Just make sure you don't hurt everytime you end up buying $5 gas.

i drive a 4 cyl 04 Rav4. if i had it to over again, i'd a gone for one year newer with a v6.

I am so torn between the 4 and the 6 cylinder. Part of me wants the gas mileage, the other part wants the power. It's going to be my run around and weekend car. The AWD is a plus for winter skiing up in Tahoe.
I really want this one.

[norcalbiker]

i bought that FSA seatpost for $100. You are swimming in $$$. And by the looks of the crotch rocket you ride, happiness is warm, powerful gun. Last time I checked you only live once. Just make sure you don't hurt everytime you end up buying $5 gas.

i drive a 4 cyl 04 Rav4. if i had it to over again, i'd a gone for one year newer with a v6.

Are you saying to go with the 6 cylinder?

[eddief]

if your wallet is ok with the potential to feed it gas, then go for more power. if gas goes up and every time you have to fill it you regret you went for power, then tone it down and get the 4 cyl.

one thing i have considered, but never done is to actually rent the car i want to buy. and then take it for a real drive and experience real driving condiitions rather than around-the-block test drives. maybe a good dealer will let you do that on a demo model for a day.

[slowandsteady]

Girlfriend bought the standard, 4cyl, 2010 and LOVES it. The things drives great, easily fits her 54x54 CDA inside, gets good gas milage and is pretty stinking awesome all around. The 6cyl would be more fun but also more $$$ initially and at the pump. If you crave power then go 6.

I bought a 6cyl VW Touareg 5 yrs ago to this day miss the power of the 8...but it was what I could afford at the time and I am happy with it other than the seriously poor gas milage I get. On that note I have a fun car give me the zip i crave now and again...

[AngryScientist]

i dont own one, but the biggest complaint i've heard about the new ones are the roof racks are lousy.

[Ken Robb]

I think both the 4 and 6 are "flat" engines--no "V" six. To do much driving in the mountains I would probably want the extra power of the six. I forget the exact formula for power loss vs/altitude but I think you could be down 30+% at 8,000+ feet.

[mgd]

I am so torn between the 4 and the 6 cylinder. Part of me wants the gas mileage, the other part wants the power. It's going to be my run around and weekend car. The AWD is a plus for winter skiing up in Tahoe.
I really want this one.

so much different from the old ones.

[tkbike]

I also have a 2011 2.5i Limited, I have only owned it for 5 weeks and 2000 miles but am extremely impressed so far. I have rented the 6 cyl version on a number of vacations but opted for purchasing the 4 cyl for the gas mileage and environmental reasons. I am averaging 29 mpg in mixed driving conditions with either 2 kayak racks, 2 bike racks or a combo of both on since new. I have not had a problem with the factory racks as of yet, I use Yakima front loader bike racks and a combo of kayak racks either Yakima or Thule depending on the kayak and if I am also carrying a bike. I have never attempted to put a bike in the back so I can't help you there.

[witcombusa]

so much different from the old ones.

They have indeed gotten HUGE. And you can't get a manual with the 6cyl boxer engine :confused:

[CunegoFan]

They have indeed gotten HUGE. And you can't get a manual with the 6cyl boxer engine :confused:
The first time I saw the new Outbacks I did a double take. I could not believe it. They are massive. Subaru used to have a TV commercial that mocked huge SUVs by showing a school bus made up as an off road vehicle. Now they have become the very thing they were parodying. It is really sad.

I like my little Impreza.

[retrogrouchy]

My wife bought a new Forester Turbo about a year ago. She loves it so far. The only downside is that she is averaging only 21 mpg, but the 0-60 difference with the turbo is about 3.5 seconds (not a typo.!), so very, very significant. It replaced an 18 mpg minivan, though, and she drives about 50% fewer miles per year now than she used to, so her fuel consumption overall is way down....

[Rainier1]

The first time I saw the new Outbacks I did a double take. I could not believe it. They are massive. Subaru used to have a TV commercial that mocked huge SUVs by showing a school bus made up as an off road vehicle. Now they have become the very thing they were parodying. It is really sad.

I like my little Impreza.


Same reaction. I ended up getting a used 2006 because I couldn't handle the body update. The 2.5 4cyl is awesome, I get 34mpg highway and it is a beast in the snow.

I got the 5 spd though, not sure I'd go auto unless you get the 6. Even then I'd drive it to make sure it has some life

[ctam]

My wife and I were considering an Outback but then I stumbled upon a Subaru forum and started reading about issues with the steering wheel vibrating/shaking at highway speeds. Seems like it's a problem that Subaru can't solve completely even after issuing 2 or 3 different technical service bulletins. What we found funny is that all the dealers denied any problems with the steering wheel until I mentioned the discussions in the forums. Then they would at least acknowledge the issue...

It appears not every Outback suffers from this problem, but we didn't want to take the risk of getting stuck with one of the lemons. We're holding out until this issue gets resolved. Here's the link to the Outback forum....they have an entire sub-forum dedicated to the shaking problem.

http://www.subaruoutback.org/forums/108-steering-wheel-shake-issues/

[AngryScientist]

The first time I saw the new Outbacks I did a double take. I could not believe it. They are massive. Subaru used to have a TV commercial that mocked huge SUVs by showing a school bus made up as an off road vehicle. Now they have become the very thing they were parodying. It is really sad.

I like my little Impreza.

i agree with this and it is sad to see Subie jump on the awful trend.

anyone remember what compact pick-up trucks looked like? that segment has totally dried up too, very unfortunate. i still have a small 4-cyl S-10 pick-up that i use to haul stuff, move bikes around. gets about 28 mpg all day long and is big enough for most tasks. today you cant buy anything nearly as small as my little red truck. sigh.

[hnovack]

Very happy with second Outback. I put 145,000 miles on first. No issues. The second is an 08 with the 6 cylonder. No issues. No steering wheel shaking. Very stable car in bad weather, handled north east winter well. Despite Consumer Reports comments on poor handling at high speed turns (Slow stability control) have found it to handle well. Reliable. Mileage 24-26 on highway and some town.

[palincss]

The first time I saw the new Outbacks I did a double take. I could not believe it. They are massive. Subaru used to have a TV commercial that mocked huge SUVs by showing a school bus made up as an off road vehicle. Now they have become the very thing they were parodying. It is really sad.


It it larger, to be sure, but there's still a huge difference between an Outback and a Land Rover or Ford Explorer, never mind behemoths like the Escalade and others in the Monstro Gigantor class.

[1happygirl]

i agree with this and it is sad to see Subie jump on the awful trend.

anyone remember what compact pick-up trucks looked like? that segment has totally dried up too, very unfortunate. i still have a small 4-cyl S-10 pick-up that i use to haul stuff, move bikes around. gets about 28 mpg all day long and is big enough for most tasks. today you cant buy anything nearly as small as my little red truck. sigh.

Yeah. Friend had one. The old S-10 rocked!!! :hello:

Subaru used to have a small pickup too I think or Isuzu. Those were nice little trucks too.

[pjm]

No offense to owners, but, like most Japanese cars, this thing is fugly. Kia has the right idea. They hired an ex-Audi guy to style their cars.

[MattTuck]

My experiences can be found here: http://forums.thepaceline.net/showthread.php?t=76753&highlight=outback

I'd recommend Rocky Mounts if you end up going with the Outback and your only roof cargo is bikes. It's a much better system. if you already have a lot of roof rack gear, it might be less practical.

The steering wheel shake was somewhat annoying, I had the shop work on it. Seems to have corrected the issue for the most part. A slight shake comes in at about 65-70 mph sometimes, so I just move it to up to 72, and no worries.

Overall, I've been pretty happy with it. It's a 2011 2.5 premium. I drove over some railroad tracks (ie. not recessed into the road) , going about 15 or 20mph (it was night time and I thought I was turning around in a parking lot, but it was a rail yard) and the car I think got airborn for a moment, my passenger looked at me like I was a maniac, but the car seemed to handle it in stride.

2 bikes and a lot of other stuff can fit in it.... as evidenced by this picture of the car packed for a cross country trip....

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-215k4DGMdxo/TGTnha8kDMI/AAAAAAAAABg/IFdZYX6OTww/s912/Seattle%252520or%252520bust%252520007.jpg

and here's one of the car in Yellowstone.

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-VhQkHSA7puw/TGTqUTSDxMI/AAAAAAAAAMo/FHSyezDMltM/s912/Seattle%252520or%252520bust%252520406.jpg

[MadRocketSci]

2011 4 cylinder 2.5i outback here. The shake is a minor annoyance, not a biggie, at least on our car. In addition to the additional size, the clearance was increased which gives it more boaty ride and handling over our previous 2002 base outback. The stock conti tires suck in snow.

The 2.5i boxer engine is nice but has a history of suffering from head gasket leaks - at least in our 2002, so I'd do just a bit of research to see if this is still the case for the late models. AFAIK, they are coming out with a new engine for 2012, but I might be mistaken on that also.

the CVD is a little annoying at times, but I appreciate the 80mph cruise at 2000rpm. Though, the manual 6-speed transmission on the forester might provide something similar.

all in all, though, it's a nice car to take to the mountains with stuff....

[norcalbiker]

The first time I saw the new Outbacks I did a double take. I could not believe it. They are massive. Subaru used to have a TV commercial that mocked huge SUVs by showing a school bus made up as an off road vehicle. Now they have become the very thing they were parodying. It is really sad.

I like my little Impreza.

I do like the Impreza, especially the Outback Edition. It's just too small for me.

[norcalbiker]

My wife and I were considering an Outback but then I stumbled upon a Subaru forum and started reading about issues with the steering wheel vibrating/shaking at highway speeds. Seems like it's a problem that Subaru can't solve completely even after issuing 2 or 3 different technical service bulletins. What we found funny is that all the dealers denied any problems with the steering wheel until I mentioned the discussions in the forums. Then they would at least acknowledge the issue...

It appears not every Outback suffers from this problem, but we didn't want to take the risk of getting stuck with one of the lemons. We're holding out until this issue gets resolved. Here's the link to the Outback forum....they have an entire sub-forum dedicated to the shaking problem.

http://www.subaruoutback.org/forums/108-steering-wheel-shake-issues/


Thanks for the link.

[norcalbiker]

No offense to owners, but, like most Japanese cars, this thing is fugly. Kia has the right idea. They hired an ex-Audi guy to style their cars.

Non taken. :D

[spiderman]

had it's maiden voyage last year for our road trip to frisco, colorado
where we rode the copper triangle route.
on our return trip we ran into some really bad weather
and i was able to rearrange the gear
and get all three bikes inside!
i usually travel with a suburban loaded
but i have been lacking for nothing with this car!
i like the subaru so well we just bought my middle daughter a forester.
--double thumbs up as a go anywhere/do everything vehicle...
you're going to love it.
while climbing hills out in colorado
i was thinking the v6 would've been nice
but even as loaded down as we were
the car performed flawlessly!

[cinco]

2010 Outback 6. Think I bought the 1st one available in Houston for my wife to drive around town. So, low milage usage = low $ gas penalty. We drove it up Pike's Peak last month. Real performer. All she ever says about it is that she loves the extra power. Stable as all get out. And, I don't care what you say about styling, the Subarus just appeal to my sensibilities.

[witcombusa]

had it's maiden voyage last year for our road trip to frisco, colorado
where we rode the copper triangle route.
on our return trip we ran into some really bad weather
and i was able to rearrange the gear
and get all three bikes inside!
i usually travel with a suburban loaded
but i have been lacking for nothing with this car!
i like the subaru so well we just bought my middle daughter a forester.
--double thumbs up as a go anywhere/do everything vehicle...
you're going to love it.
while climbing hills out in colorado
i was thinking the v6 would've been nice
but even as loaded down as we were
the car performed flawlessly!


There is no V6, all the Subaru's are boxer (or horizontally opposed) engines.

[norcalbiker]

had it's maiden voyage last year for our road trip to frisco, colorado
where we rode the copper triangle route.
on our return trip we ran into some really bad weather
and i was able to rearrange the gear
and get all three bikes inside!
i usually travel with a suburban loaded
but i have been lacking for nothing with this car!
i like the subaru so well we just bought my middle daughter a forester.
--double thumbs up as a go anywhere/do everything vehicle...
you're going to love it.
while climbing hills out in colorado
i was thinking the v6 would've been nice
but even as loaded down as we were
the car performed flawlessly!


Thanks for the input! :beer:

[norcalbiker]

2010 Outback 6. Think I bought the 1st one available in Houston for my wife to drive around town. So, low milage usage = low $ gas penalty. We drove it up Pike's Peak last month. Real performer. All she ever says about it is that she loves the extra power. Stable as all get out. And, I don't care what you say about styling, the Subarus just appeal to my sensibilities.


Thanks for the input! :beer:

[victoryfactory]

don't overlook the new Forester. mine has 56k miles
and when I take it in for service they lend me an
Outback which I find slow handling and sluggish by
comparison. Forester is a little shorter and lighter and
taller with much better visibility and has very good back
seat room. Surprizingly Good off road where the weakest link is the
tires. Hard to find real off road rubber for this thing.
Get the turbo if you drive long. On highways I get
23-24 mpg at 70 mph
22 overall

[SteveV0983]

I also have a 2011 Legacy (same car without the hatch) and absolutely love it. Gas mileage is fantastic, it is unbelievably good in the rain (can't speak for the snow - I live just west of the Everglades), and it is just a solid feeling car. Compared it to Camry, Accord, Mazda 6, and Altima and it wasn't even close. I have the standard 4 cyl with the CVT engine and it is by far the best car I have ever owned. Really solid feeling. Oh and it comes with something that many cars don't have nowadays - a KEY!!! None of that push button stuff that never even works during the dealer demo. Open the car, turn the KEY, and it starts. Imagine that.
You can also get a version called PZEV (which is what we got - cost about $200.00 extra), which makes it adhere to California emissions and then it puts out the same greenhouse gas as a Prius according to the government emissions website. Also, if this is important to you, the Subaru plant in Indiana is the only automotive assembly plant to be certified as a Backyard Wildlife Habitat by the National Wildlife Federation. The plant is also a "Zero Landfill Plant", so it's a good company.

http://www.subaru.com/company/environment-sustainability.html

[binxnyrwarrsoul]

PZEV. Partial Zero Emissions Vehicle. I think all Outbacks, Legacys and Foresters (and possibbly Imprezas, not sure) are PZEV's.

[norcalbiker]

PZEV. Partial Zero Emissions Vehicle. I think all Outbacks, Legacys and Foresters (and possibbly Imprezas, not sure) are PZEV's.

I always wonder what "PZEV" means. First I thought it was some kind of dealer name where the owner bought when I first saw it on the road.

Anyways, does this "PZEV" means that I never have to smog the car here in California? :D

[gearguywb]

Rumor has benn that they are bringing in a diesel next year. THAT would be a great car :)

We have been looking at a waron/hatchback for weekend trips with bikes and the dog. So far the Jetta TDI wagon has my vote but the Subie is second.

[CunegoFan]

The 2.5i boxer engine is nice but has a history of suffering from head gasket leaks - at least in our 2002, so I'd do just a bit of research to see if this is still the case for the late models.

I think that was resolved, but I don't know the year that happened, '03 or '04 maybe. Regardless, Subies have always had a good reputation for engine longevity.

One knock against Subaru has been the thin paint and susceptibility to scratches, nicks, and such. The interiors have always been pretty spartan, or at least a bit below what you expect for a car at that price. That may not be such an issue for the basic Outback, but for a WRX STI it may bother some.

For a bike rack I got rid of the factory cross bars and use a Yak rack with low rider posts that mount on the length-wise bars.