[adgjqetuo]

Took the family down to NC during Christmas vacation so my grandfather could meet his great granddaughter for the first time. We had a great time and the Outback did wonderful on her first road trip - so thankful for the increased interior space and smooth, quiet ride down!

The weather going down was awful (snow, sleet, and rain) so it took us an additional 3 hours to get there with traffic and needless to say I was fully impressed how it handled in the adverse weather!

My 3-month old even managed to sleep nearly the entire 13-hour drive down!

Anyway, my grandfather can't walk on the sand, so when I snapped this picture of my Outback during our visit to Topsail Island I think he thought I was taking a picture of him - lol.

She's only 36 days old and already has 3,200 miles on her (but I've enjoyed every mile so far)!

 

[dark]

Nice looker! Did you get gas mileage numbers? What size engine?

 

[mcbrew]

Great pic! I love that color...

 

[adgjqetuo]

Thanks!

I had the below mileage (which considering i'm used to getting 12 mpg on premium with my old Jeep) I was pretty happy with.

First Fill-up - Going down this fill-up was 90% 45-50 mph because of the weather. 359 miles, 12.71 gallons of fuel, averaged 28.2 mpg

Second Fill-up - Mostly driving 70+ mph + normal city driving in NC for a few days. 428 miles, 15.629 gallons of fuel, averaged 27.4 mpg

Third Fill-Up - Mostly driving 75+ mph back to NJ plus a pit stop in MD to see a friend. 460 miles, 17.236 gallons of fuel, averaged 26.7 mpg

Because of our newborn, we also stopped at a rest area every 2-2.5 hours, but I don't think that had much of an affect.

She only has 3,100 miles and still on her original oil with winter blend fuel so i'm optimistic it will improve some in time. Regardless though, it's a heck of a lot better then my Jeep!

 

[AO River]

Very nice :29: I'm also looking forward to racking up some miles with some upcoming winter trips. It's reassuring knowing that the Outback is a reliable vehicle with decent fuel efficiency that can handle some nasty weather!

 

[adgjqetuo]

I have to say I was really impressed. A specific example I remember was driving down 95 in the pouring rain / sleet. I could barely see 2 car lengths ahead and was going about 45mph. I hit something that I believe was a patch of deeper water / puddle. Once I hit it, the car jerked to the right from hydroplaning but before I could even react I felt the Outback immediately compensate and pull the car back to the left. I just thought it was really cool how it handled the sitution instantaneously and definitely look forward to the miles ahead!