OT 2020 Subaru Outback

[Ozz]

Originally Posted by stephenmarklay

I wouldn’t buy one but I am driving a 2015 Prius V wagon which is a company car. I wouldn’t buy it because it is just too boring of a ride for me
....

Best description of a Prius (read here) was to start with a perfect car, and remove everything that makes it fun to drive. You are left with a Prius!

They are fine for around-town errand running. Don't like driving it on the freeway. It is small, under-powered and I swear people just like to f*ck with Prius drivers.

[stephenmarklay]

Originally Posted by Ozz

Best description of a Prius (read here) was to start with a perfect car, and remove everything that makes it fun to drive. You are left with a Prius!

They are fine for around-town errand running. Don't like driving it on the freeway. It is small, under-powered and I swear people just like to f*ck with Prius drivers.

Funny! The Prius V is the larger Wagon. I travel within my state and it is not uncommon to put on 450 mies in a day. For this it has actually been a really good car. While it doesn’t excite me I am still impressed with it.

The Forester is my wife’s car but we both use it around town. Neither one of us go to an office every day so it works well. The Forester has more character but it isn’t a thrill either. Now my 2004 Forester XT was a thrill! Both were/are manual trans cars which is still my preference.

[scoobydrew]

The new Outback XT seems to have favorable reviews, but the number one complaint with the higher equipped models seems to be the big screen infotainment system. Comments have ranged from "cumbersome to use" to "already feels outdated".

[fmradio516]

This kinda blows. I have always had well used, older cars (both cars came to me with 150K+ miles on them). Right now I have an 04 Grand Cherokee which i really like a lot, but it is climbing up on miles (188k) and I am worried ill be needing to get a new car one day. Im back and forth between subaru and toyota. I thought Toyota was a safe bet but it seems like theres some issues on even low mileage ones from the last couple of years.

As someone else said, the days of having a trouble free car for the first 75k or so is a thing of the past.

[veloduffer]

We just bought a new 2020 Outback Ltd in March - this is our third Outback and was trading in a 2014 Premium, which has been trouble-free. The reason for buying was to upgrade, including quieter car, heated steering wheel, and other minor wants/

We looked at other vehicles, as we were diehard loyalists. For the most part, most wagons (Volvo, Audi, VW) didn't have much cargo space with the back seat up. Other small SUVs also were not as spacious (cargo and rear leg room) except the Honda CRV. I really wanted a Mazda but again a compromise on room. Note, we use our Subie to fit all my son's stuff when he goes to college, and don't even use our cargo box.

Our LTD is equipped with the new turbo-4 engine, hitch, and most options like adaptive LED headlamps; it is similarly equipped to the XT except for mostly cosmetic options and about $2k less. Dimensions interior and exterior are very close to the 2014 Outback (our first Outback was a 2000).

This Outback is much improved over previous models - stiffer chassis feels more solid and planted on the road, lighter steering (the 2014 was like having no power assist) and peppy engine (good acceleration, no longer sluggish).

The interior is greatly improved with stitched leather and much softer materials. Moreover, the Subie is mucho quieter than before - I hated the amount of road and wind noise of previous Subies as well as Hondas and Toyotas but those were my wife's vehicle and not her priority. Some wind noise when you hit 80+ mph but road noise is almost gone except rough roads. Good suspension that absorbs bumps well.

The infotainment system is good with a big 11" screen. It's pretty good and has some things buried in the menus which could have been laid out better. By no means awful - I don't really understand car reviews and how hung up they are on these systems. I remember how professional car reviewers complained about the Ford system (I had Ford Explorer and Lincoln MKX) and it wasn't complicated at all! I currently have the Mercedes MBUX system, which is great but complicated - nevertheless I figured out most of everything in 2 weeks. Most car reviewers get the car for a day or two, so no real time to spend with the car.

We got the new car in March and have been quite satisfied thus far. All my comparisons are to my car (2020 Mercedes GLE450) and Mercedes loaners that I've driven. I recently had a Mercedes CLA sedan as loaner and the Subie easily compares and is a lot less.

Savings bonus for previous Subie owners - if you call Subaru directly, ask about their loyalty program. They gave us $500 off (on top of the dealer negotiated price).

Despite visiting the dealership near closing time on a Saturday, the place was completely packed with every sales person engaged with a customer (9 or 10 reps). Still, price was almost 10% off list.

When my son needs a car, we will probably buy another Subie for him -either Crosstek or Forester or Legacy (really nice compared to Camry and Accord).

If anyone has a question, drop me a PM.

[justaute]

FWIW, I'll pitch in my 2 cents on the Volvo V90 CC. Almost bought a new one back in 2018, but obviously did not. At the time, I had an Acura MDX SUV.
- Love the exterior aesthetics. Very "athletic" stance.
- Gobs of power
- Just a bit bigger/longer than I had wanted (before V60CC came out). Longer than XC90, I think.
- Thought the SW was just ok.
- MPG is not good. I wanted to be "greener".

In the end, I got a Tesla Model 3.

[bigreen505]

I'm in the same boat. Not sure how many Subarus in my family, but a lot. One Forester and the rest Outbacks. The first one was my 2002 Outback and they've multiplied since. My mom has a 2013 and it doesn't inspire confidence in Subaru's reliability. Mine (2002 and 2007) have leaked oil from any place an engine can find to leak oil. One friend had his (Gen 4, not sure of year) back the seals out of the front of the engine and dump oil everywhere. My colleague who is a Subaru loyalist has had two new engines and a new top end on his Impreza, all done through recalls.

If I could buy a 2018 with the 2020 chassis I would in a heartbeat, but like many I have concerns about the 2020 Outback. Depending on what you need a car to do, you might also look at the Hyundai Santa Fe and Mazda CX-9. A Toyota Highlander also merits consideration, perhaps also a Tiguan and CR-V. Crossovers are easy to find, wagons less so.

I'm intrigued by the VW Alltrack, but it is closer in size to an Impreza. Bigger than an Impreza but smaller than a Gen 3 Outback. I've thought hard about picking up a used Allroad, but I have concerns about the cost to own one.

I look forward to hearing what you choose. I've been going around in circles on this since the 2020s came out. I wish I had my ducks in line to buy a 2019 3.6r when Subaru was clearing them out, but I didn't.

[R3awak3n]

Originally Posted by CDollarsign

If only they would make a passat alltrack or something of that nature. VW checks the boxes all but size. It is just too small - smaller than my A4...

I am not sure how much bigger the outback from 2017 to 2020 but I don't think my wifes car is much bigger than mine. I think trunk space is about the same, it does a feel a bit bigger overall but not by much. Outside however it looks mamoth, I actually think they consider the outback a SUV

[dbh]

We looked hard at an Outback two years ago. It's the de rigeur family car for middle class Bostonians it seems. Mother in law had one with head gasket issues and CVT issues. For what they go for on the used market, I wasn't impressed by the notable reliability issues. Went with a Mazda CX5. Been solid as a rock.

[p nut]

Originally Posted by bigreen505

I wish I had my ducks in line to buy a 2019 3.6r when Subaru was clearing them out, but I didn't.

Plenty of good deals on 2019 3.6R’s, if you don’t mind a few miles on them. ~10k miles, $30k.

https://www.kendallgmnampa.com/Vehic...-ID/4577319923

[rnhood]

I like the Buick TourX. 4 year warranty, very nice cargo area and standard AWD with the dual clutch rear end (superior AWD system). And a reasonably strong motor, but it does have a turbo which is my only real criticism. The real good news is that it has a good transmission, not the CVS junk found on many vehicles today. Unfortunately this is it's last year for the TourX. You might find a good deal on one.

Other than the TourX, the new Plug-In Hybrid RAV4 looks very good. But its not on the market until later this year. And while I eschew the CVT, it's made by Toyota which alleviates some of my concern.

[ltwtsculler91]

Going back to your original comparison of the Subaru with the Volvo, I'd go back and take a good look at both the Volvo V60CC and V90CC. The V90 as mentioned earlier, is quite a BIG car, while the V60 will be similar in size to the A4 (if not slightly larger for a given model year)

My parents were in a similar position looking to replace a Euro wagon and comparing the Volvos with the Outback 3.6R. They went with the V60CC back in 2016 and spent a bunch of time finding a final year CPO XC70 (which the V90 replaced) when the V60CC lease ended. They just felt the XC was a better size for them.

When loaded up similarly the Subaru's get quite expensive and from friend's experiences with theirs, the cost of maintenance is the same if not more than it's been on any of the Volvo's including my '12 S60 (95k miles, with just routine maintenance and tires/brakes) or any of the wagons and the S60 my parents have owned

[oldguy00]

When shopping for a new car a few years ago I test drove the outback a few times. I liked in it general, but agree with the crappy seats, and I didn't like the low roof in the cargo area compared to SUV's.
I also test drove a Volvo S60 (I think), hands down the most comfy seats of any car I tested.

In the end I got a '15 Honda Pilot EL-X, and it has been perfect, almost 200k km's on it so far. My wife has had about 4 different honda's over the past 15 years (leases etc) and she did not have a single repair done, ever.

Honda's are kinda boring, but they work, and they have a great resale value.

[gavingould]

they're quite different cars, in my opinion.

i currently drive a 2020 V60 T5 FWD (non-CC) after 3 years in a Volvo XC60 (also T5/FWD) - have not had any reliability issues in either. previous was a VW Sportwagen dirty diesel.

i'd imagine the Volvo is fine on a dirt road, but the "Cross Country" is pretty much an inch lift and some plastic cladding over the non-CC versions, they are strongly geared to paved experiences in my opinion.
granted, i've lived in Michigan or Illinois all my life and have only run snow tires on the Sportwagen, so i'm not a huge proponent of all-wheel-drive anyway.

both are considered safe cars with a lot of standard safety-focused equipment. neither have especially notable mileage, so these are a toss-up.

if you do the vast majority of your driving on pavement, i'd lean Volvo.
if a lot more dirt/gravel/snow/etc, the Subaru is potentially a better choice.

at least when i was shopping wagons, you have your luxury/sports-car options (Benz, BMW, Audi, Volvo) and the more outdoorsy/utilitarian (Subaru, low-optioned VW if you can find one) the Buick TourX is probably more in the former than the latter.

if Tesla would make a wagon version of the Model 3, that would be interesting.

[RJR]

My wife is on her third Outback, the latest being a 2020 with everything but the turbo. She puts a ton of miles on them but has the luxury of being able to trade every three years or so. That said, until she can her dream car (Tesla X), she is sold on Subaru. I've got a BMW X6 and hers has every feature mine does and a few more. She likes that it has a ton of amenities, but doesn't look as flashy (frowned upon in her client base). All three of her Outbacks have been the best handling vehicles on snow and slick roads that we've ever driven.

On the 2020, her only gripe is they reconfigured the console...not as much room for all the crap she piles in there. That's a win in my book, but it's her car. She also hasn't mastered the new infotainment system--not as intuitive for her as knobs and dials.