So I did a lot of research when I was considering the '17 Outback 2.5i LTD coming from a '15 Forester XT, scouring the forums for people that did the same, trying to make sure I knew what I was getting into, and wanted to provide my feedback for those that may be in the same situation (or vice versa).
Power / Drivetrain:
No question the XT can put down power, seriously impressive, barely slower than my 2016 GTI, and probably a bit faster than my 2013 BRZ. Although CVT, it was smooth power delivery, and effortless to accelerate. Although hate putting premium fuel in anything I'm not putting on the track.
Power-wise, the OB wasn't as bad as everyone made it out to be, the 2.5 does just fine, not a ton of power, but enough to get up to speed on the highway on-ramps. And regular fuel, horray! One of the reasons why we made the switch. The few times we needed the acceleration in the XT was not worth the price of putting premium in it all the time. Plus, I like the simplicity of a N/A 2.5 engine for longevity reasons.
The CVT in the OB feels like the S# mode in the XT; the shifts have a slight surge to them at the top-end, not great and are noticeably artificial, but bearable. I think the transmission in the XT is a bit smoother than the OB, and actually prefer it the XT's transmisison
Ride Comfort / Handling:
The OB is SO much smoother, a lot bigger difference than I thought it would be. The XT feels like a dump truck compared to the OB, very stiff suspension, feeling every bump in the road. Handling wise it isn't as darty as the XT, as the XT had a sportier feel to it, which isn't a pro or a con, just a different feeling. This is definitely a cruiser, handling-wise. Turning radius in the OB isn't that much worse, feels about normal for a sedan / wagon, but the XT was noticeably impressive in that category.
Interior:
Seats - it's like going from a wooden park bench in the XT to a nice couch in the OB. The seats in the XT were absolutely terrible, my biggest gripe with that car. The length of the base of the seat was very short, tons of overhang on my thighs (6" tall), and just not comfortable overall. The OB seats aren't the best, most comfortable seats I've ever been in, but they're a serious improvement.
I like the sedan-ish center console in the OB, higher than the XT, as it gives the car a better cockpit feel. Cupholders are better (the XT center divider would always pop out) and the coin-holder (which is really a cell phone holder) in front of the cupholders is very convenient.
I really dislike the fact that you have to get wood-grain interior trim on the OB, and it's a PITA to swap it out. On the plus side, it's not that noticeable with the matte finish, but I just think wood grain looks ridiculous, and would have been nice to option that out. My wife joked about it and asked where the wood paneling was on the outside.
We have the same % window tint on the OB as we did on the XT, and wow is the inside of the OB dark! I chalk it up to a lower roof, as the greenhouse area (and windows) isn't as big, but it sure is nice. Keeps it cool for the baby in the backseat. Speaking of the backseat, OB has rear seat warmers and rear HVAC vents, which is awesome.
As far as size goes, the OB is noticeably longer and wider, especially when pulling it into my garage, but I prefer the additional size.
Eyesight and other tech:
The XT had Eyesight/Nav, so I wasn't expecting much of a difference with the OB. There is 1 additional distance setting (4 instead of 3), it does feel a little bit smoother under braking and quicker to identify cars further out, but overall feels close to the same. The High-Beam Assist is nice, although for some reason it would turn-off the high-beams when I went down a steep hill on a dark back country road, not sure why, but overall it works well. The biggest surprise was the "Lane Keep", as the salesperson told me - I had no idea Subaru had this technology. The car will literally steer itself to keep itself in the lane. Pretty cool stuff. The blind-spot monitoring,
Navigation seems the same as our XT - I still don't bother with it, and use Google Maps on my phone. The text message reading is VASTLY improved from our XT, which would tell me "you have a new message" like 1,000 times after getting in the car for the first time in a while, trying to read every message on my phone since the last time it was sync'ed up. It actually works now! The radio is much better, with the ability to pause a radio station, restart a song on a radio station, a lot more presets, and can assign XM, AM, & FM all on the same preset list.
HVAC controls are a bit more simple to use on the XT and better laid out IMO, so kind of a draw, but still nice in the OB. I do like having a much more detailed center screen between the gauges than the XT, as it just feels more consolidated. The XT would display the info in the stand-alone screen on the top of the dash.
Oh, and the cross-bars that swivel back into the side rails, that is a wonderful feature. I had a roof rack on my GTI and the wind noise and MPG hit was frustrating, but not worth taking on and off all the time. We'll be adding a cargo box for our road trips to see family up north, so this feature is fantastic.
Overall, I'm extremely happy with the switch. I was looking for safety features, comfort, reliability and efficiency, and the OB ticked all of those boxes.
Power / Drivetrain:
No question the XT can put down power, seriously impressive, barely slower than my 2016 GTI, and probably a bit faster than my 2013 BRZ. Although CVT, it was smooth power delivery, and effortless to accelerate. Although hate putting premium fuel in anything I'm not putting on the track.
Power-wise, the OB wasn't as bad as everyone made it out to be, the 2.5 does just fine, not a ton of power, but enough to get up to speed on the highway on-ramps. And regular fuel, horray! One of the reasons why we made the switch. The few times we needed the acceleration in the XT was not worth the price of putting premium in it all the time. Plus, I like the simplicity of a N/A 2.5 engine for longevity reasons.
The CVT in the OB feels like the S# mode in the XT; the shifts have a slight surge to them at the top-end, not great and are noticeably artificial, but bearable. I think the transmission in the XT is a bit smoother than the OB, and actually prefer it the XT's transmisison
Ride Comfort / Handling:
The OB is SO much smoother, a lot bigger difference than I thought it would be. The XT feels like a dump truck compared to the OB, very stiff suspension, feeling every bump in the road. Handling wise it isn't as darty as the XT, as the XT had a sportier feel to it, which isn't a pro or a con, just a different feeling. This is definitely a cruiser, handling-wise. Turning radius in the OB isn't that much worse, feels about normal for a sedan / wagon, but the XT was noticeably impressive in that category.
Interior:
Seats - it's like going from a wooden park bench in the XT to a nice couch in the OB. The seats in the XT were absolutely terrible, my biggest gripe with that car. The length of the base of the seat was very short, tons of overhang on my thighs (6" tall), and just not comfortable overall. The OB seats aren't the best, most comfortable seats I've ever been in, but they're a serious improvement.
I like the sedan-ish center console in the OB, higher than the XT, as it gives the car a better cockpit feel. Cupholders are better (the XT center divider would always pop out) and the coin-holder (which is really a cell phone holder) in front of the cupholders is very convenient.
I really dislike the fact that you have to get wood-grain interior trim on the OB, and it's a PITA to swap it out. On the plus side, it's not that noticeable with the matte finish, but I just think wood grain looks ridiculous, and would have been nice to option that out. My wife joked about it and asked where the wood paneling was on the outside.
We have the same % window tint on the OB as we did on the XT, and wow is the inside of the OB dark! I chalk it up to a lower roof, as the greenhouse area (and windows) isn't as big, but it sure is nice. Keeps it cool for the baby in the backseat. Speaking of the backseat, OB has rear seat warmers and rear HVAC vents, which is awesome.
As far as size goes, the OB is noticeably longer and wider, especially when pulling it into my garage, but I prefer the additional size.
Eyesight and other tech:
The XT had Eyesight/Nav, so I wasn't expecting much of a difference with the OB. There is 1 additional distance setting (4 instead of 3), it does feel a little bit smoother under braking and quicker to identify cars further out, but overall feels close to the same. The High-Beam Assist is nice, although for some reason it would turn-off the high-beams when I went down a steep hill on a dark back country road, not sure why, but overall it works well. The biggest surprise was the "Lane Keep", as the salesperson told me - I had no idea Subaru had this technology. The car will literally steer itself to keep itself in the lane. Pretty cool stuff. The blind-spot monitoring,
Navigation seems the same as our XT - I still don't bother with it, and use Google Maps on my phone. The text message reading is VASTLY improved from our XT, which would tell me "you have a new message" like 1,000 times after getting in the car for the first time in a while, trying to read every message on my phone since the last time it was sync'ed up. It actually works now! The radio is much better, with the ability to pause a radio station, restart a song on a radio station, a lot more presets, and can assign XM, AM, & FM all on the same preset list.
HVAC controls are a bit more simple to use on the XT and better laid out IMO, so kind of a draw, but still nice in the OB. I do like having a much more detailed center screen between the gauges than the XT, as it just feels more consolidated. The XT would display the info in the stand-alone screen on the top of the dash.
Oh, and the cross-bars that swivel back into the side rails, that is a wonderful feature. I had a roof rack on my GTI and the wind noise and MPG hit was frustrating, but not worth taking on and off all the time. We'll be adding a cargo box for our road trips to see family up north, so this feature is fantastic.
Overall, I'm extremely happy with the switch. I was looking for safety features, comfort, reliability and efficiency, and the OB ticked all of those boxes.