2010-12 vs 2013-14

[Looby]

IMO, the 2011 suspension is just about perfect for PA's rural
(unmaintained) secondary roads and unpaved dirt/gravel in
the state forests. Stiffer would just defeat the purpose of
the OB's generous suspension travel.

Don't give a rat's rump about flying thru twisties in the OB,
that's what the Miata and the GL1800 CouchRocket are for.

Don't even know whether I care about the front-end "styling,"
'cause the grill and fogs aren't visible from the driver's seat.

...anyhoo, it's just a freakin' station wagon,

Looby

[BadAV]

Having owned my '13 for about a week and a half now, I think the ride is just about right not too soft and not too harsh.

Much softer, and I would agree with the "wallowing" assessments I've read here. Of course that can be better controlled with larger anti-sway bars.

I'm 50 miles into my second tank of gas, with the average sitting on 26.4 right now; the first tank averaged 25.5 mpg. My drive into work (28.4 miles one way) in the mornings is pretty much 65 mph the whole way after 3.5 miles of surface streets to reach the highway. The commute home is stop and go for at least half of the trip. I'm pretty satisfied so far, and I expect the mileage to go up a little as the engine loosens up a little.

[Nickshu]

Originally Posted by Looby

IMO, the 2011 suspension is just about perfect for PA's rural
(unmaintained) secondary roads and unpaved dirt/gravel in
the state forests. Stiffer would just defeat the purpose of
the OB's generous suspension travel.

That works for you but honestly I think 98% of Subaru drivers never take the car off road. I think the best solution is to build future Subaru's with a more competitive suspension design, then offer an "off road suspension package" as an option for those who prefer a marshmellow for the purposes of articulating over rough roads.

[Looby]

Originally Posted by Nickshu

I think the best solution is to build future Subaru's with a more
competitive suspension design...

I believe that was called the "Subaru Legacy Station Wagon"...

...it went extinct (AFAIK, with no help from meteors),

Looby

[bigwally]

Originally Posted by Looby

IMO, the 2011 suspension is just about perfect for PA's rural
(unmaintained) secondary roads and unpaved dirt/gravel in
the state forests. Stiffer would just defeat the purpose of
the OB's generous suspension travel.

Same here. My 2011 has the most impressively compliant suspension of any car I've driven where I live, and I like the handling after adding the 19mm rear sway bar. I'm going in a straight line or taking an easy curve 99.99% of the time anyway, so how it does that is more important to me than taking a hard corner.

It would be nice for all Outbacks to have a soft and sport suspension setting to make everyone happy, but the additional cost could keep a lot of people out of the car completely.

[Nickshu]

Originally Posted by Looby

I believe that was called the "Subaru Legacy Station Wagon"...

...it went extinct (AFAIK, with no help from meteors),

Looby

Hey I agree 100%. If I could buy a Legact GT wagon with a 3.6 that would have been my choice over the Outback. Unfortunately the older iterations of that car were a little too frumpy looking for the sports sedan loving crowd who wants to avoid and SUV but needs the extra wagon room (IE: Me).

The focus groups say that Americans hate wagons and 5-door hatchbacks (which consequently are my two favorite cars). Heck even Volvo doesn't sell the V70 in the USA anymore. I remember reading that in 2010 Volvo sold one (that's right ONE) V70 wagon per dealership in the US! The most functional car I ever owned was a Saab 9000 Turbo, unfortuately it was not AWD, but good handling, amazing power, and tons of room in the back for everything from ski trips to hitting Home Depot.

[AltaBrig]

I watch Swedish and Norwegian shows on Netflix. It is all about the tight Euro Sportwagen Saabs, Volvos, VW, BMW, Mercs and lots of Ford econohatches (5 door) thrown in to boot. Must be my nordic blood that loves the functionality of a good wagon for surfing, skiing, hauling crap and not burning full size pickup amounts of gas while retaining a bit of driving sportiness.

For GEN 4.1 vs. GEN 4.2:

I like the bigger fogs on the '13, the removal of the ludicrous MPG gauge trick, but chiefly the suspension is what I envy.

The aesthetic and comfort differences are really non-utility points IMO which amount to marketing flash. The headlight surround color, exterior and interior color changes, stereo, nav, and the comfort and convenience of a memory seat don't raise my passion.

But with a preggo wife, I am swayed emotionally by the keyless entry at the SAP level trim.

I do like my suspension during the <1% of driving I do which is on gnarly backcountry roads. For the rest >99% driving, on roads twisty and straight, I sure wish my 3.6 '11 had a tighter suspension.
And god@mn do I wish the engineers had given Gen 4.1 a stiffer ride.

Suspension, suspension, suspension.

On a side, I can't imagine a 2L turbo wheezing through a 6 speed auto tranny (if one is in the works) or the 5EAT on the current OB iteration. Maybe on Gen 5 if the engineers send her to weight watchers.

3.6 will stay until Gen 5.

[japmaxse]

Originally Posted by Nickshu

I don't mind the size of the fogs but I don't like how they stick out further than the bumper and headlights. It gives the front end a wierd profile when looking from the side.

This is exactly what I was thinking from the side it looks very weird with those bulging plastic bits protruding out. They could have molded the bumper more towards the Fog from the side to give it a cleaner look yet still maintain the larger fogs from the front view. If it was me I would want the same design of the 10-12' fogs but as large as the 13'. lol Imagine that.

[japmaxse]

What I like the most about the change is the larger front bumper opening at the bottom (where the under-guard goes) that little touch makes the front look much more aggressive. The times I've driven the 13' I found it a little too stiff for my liking, I can only imagine how stiff it would be offroad. I take my 12' offroad every week or so and find the suspension perfect, it's pretty amazingly smooth over some rough stuff. Only thing that I would like to improve on is it's cornering ability. One of these days I'll throw on the 19mm RSB and see if that lessens the roll, if not the next step maybe shocks. Still it's not that big of a deal to me to the point of spending hundreds of dollars to remedy it. I'm like Looby instead a miata I'll leave it to my 350z I'm building for the joys in the twisties. Other than that every other aspect of my OB is perfect, I freaking love this Lifted Wagon.

[AltaBrig]

Originally Posted by japmaxse

This is exactly what I was thinking from the side it looks very weird with those bulging plastic bits protruding out. They could have molded the bumper more towards the Fog from the side to give it a cleaner look yet still maintain the larger fogs from the front view. If it was me I would want the same design of the 10-12' fogs but as large as the 13'. lol Imagine that.

Sounds good. The big new ones have a Nissan xTerra, Honda Element look to them.

Get the RSB.