I bought my kind on impulse; I had a Jeep Renegade that I bought new and stuck with it…I had problems from the start that either got worse or never went away depending on how the dealers mechanics handled it. I was looking for something else and popped into the local Subaru dealer. They had a demo with about 8k on it, a 23 Limited, Black Leather and Silver Ice exterior. I had driven a few Subies that my employer had and found them to be odd but intriguing devices (Crosstreks, and an older Legacy with a proprietary touchscreen) and fun to drive once I discovered the CVT. The Outback seemed like a very refined vehicle, the sales staff were nice people, no pressure or bad vibes at all, and the price was right, so I gave it some thought and bought it. Oddly enough, a good point for me was the fact that I can crawl in and lie down, so I can camp in it.
It’s nice to be at a dealership that is well organized, clean and doesn’t try to rush me like a carnival sign.
I am very pleased with this car. I drive a bit for work on long trips and had a set for the weekend right after taking delivery. it’s polished and refined in ways I hadn’t expected. Crosstreks were kind of loud and this one is very quiet. Very easy to drive long distances. It handles well considering the ground clearance and weight. The gearshift is surprisingly neutral, I just drive. No surprise. I’m looking forward to getting some new tires on the road next year which should help some issues. I’m sure I’ll do well in the snow. A friend of mine has some Blizzaks he’ll hook me up to from his old Subie that he traded in for a RAV Hybrid, already assembled and ready to go.
I’m enjoying the stereo; I haven’t had any serious trouble with it, but I’m used to how the newer ones work now. I generally have to “hack” all the newer stuff to make things simpler and smoother. I’m a bit of a digital audiophile as I have a lot of lossless HD files ripped from vinyl to flash drives. It’s usually a bit difficult to figure out how they work, as each platform has file restrictions of some sort. This does a great job of playing the FLAC stuff I have up to the 192Khz stuff. At first it sounded a bit loud and punchy, but I found that if I flatten the speakers in the back, it tones down a bit and starts to use the substance instead of directing all the bass to the door speakers. I’ve learned not to ask for things when it first starts. It takes a while for the drive to scan and index each time it boots, and the touch screen may be sleepy while this is happening. Because of all the tasks the system takes on, from driver options to sound and climate, it will be slow at first. I’ve seen worse so I’m okay with it once it starts. I haven’t had any problems with the Sirius freezing, but I don’t use it much. I will probably let him go after the trial. I can use the phone for navigation and the music is kind of flat compared to my stuff. CarPlay works very well.
Adaptive speed control is nice. I’ll be interested to see how things go in the fall since it’s belly season. The Crosstreks braked for every tumbleweed we saw cross the road. I hope the newer system does a better job. I don’t use lane keeping as it seems weird, but if I get tired I’ll try it. I have keyless entry with all sensors. Works great once I figured it out. Apparently the tailgate, which surprises a lot of people, works best if you lean on it and hold it there for a second until it falls. I think it’s for when you have two bags of groceries and the fob in your pocket. There is a switch to the left of the steering wheel that will allow this feature to be turned off. It’s nice to run something that he thought about going into design. I like the blind spot and rear collision sensors.
The engine is sloppy when you ride it a bit, but it sounds like a Subaru should. It’s smooth and quiet at idle, unlike the Jeep’s Soviet Tractor sound at idle (all the time, actually). Works great on Regular. It does not use a single drop of oil. I worked at Subies a long time ago and was very impressed with how simple everything is. Alternator and AC compressor right on top, so easy to fix. everything is easy to reach (plugs will be interesting though), and well designed. Glad to see the timing belts are gone. The ones I worked on were the old ones from the 70s-80s; I did clutches and of course the water pump and often the timing belt when the engine was out.
The mileage thing (about 18 in the city with short trips to work) is likely due to the long warm-up. I thought it might be something wrong the first time I ran into this on our Subies at work in the dead of winter, but that’s how they work, it runs around 1700 until the engine warms up. I won’t let him go until he calms down. The dealer and many mechanics agree, so there you go. I got pretty good mileage on long trips, 30 and up. After it warms up, it guzzles gas around town. It’s a bit squishy off the line and hums a bit at low speeds; I tried the calibration procedure and it got better for a bit and then came back so I will ask the dealer at the first oil change. I heard there is an update that addresses this.
The CVT response reminds me of an old Buick with Dynaflow, but there’s a big difference here with 30 mpg and only 2.5 liters pulling as much weight as an old Buick 8. And it runs fine if you just push the pedal down. I heard someone suggest that they like a linear throttle application. High speed trannies on most everything else usually have to be pushed hard to get a down and they drag around town. I think it will probably be quite reliable with all the upgrades and proper maintenance. It won’t pull, so it’s likely the fluid will be changed at around 60k or so.
I got a nice long warranty, with pre-certification, and added the Subaru extended warranty, no discount. With all the things that have gone wrong with the Jeep, I want things to be fixed when needed without any hassle, and I’m very confident with that extra layer of protection. I’ll probably get rid of the discount on my windshield as it seems to be a problem spot.
I think this will be a good experience. I’m happy to have a nice car and I’m happy to be here.
