[Tystevens]

I've had my '07 2.5i (49k miles) for 12 days and one tank of gas now, and I have a couple of questions and observations thus far.

Questions:

• Does everyone's mpg computer calculate in 0.3 increments?
• Is the transmission supposed to downshift when going downhill in sport mode, or will it just hold the gear I was in?
• What does the parking light button on the steering column do?

Overall, nice car thus far. My first tank of gas was probably a pretty typical one for me -- commuting to and from work (70% city/30% freeway), running errands, plus a couple trips up the canyon (4100 ft to about 9700 ft over about 10 miles) to mountain bike, with 2 bikes on a hitch mounted platform rack. Mileage for that tank was 23.7 (hand calculated -- computer showed 24.3), which is about what I'd expected, but a little less than I'd hoped for.

Things I like so far:

Car performs very nicely in the twisty canyon. Granted, I've been driving either a 3/4 ton pickup or a Suburban the last 3 years, but it handles quite nicely and feels solid.

You have to rev it to get the power (quite different from my diesel pickup, obviously), but it goes pretty well when you push on the pedal hard enough.

Love the interior, dash setup, center stack. Very clean, well thought out, like the white and red dash lights. I'm impressed every time I get in it.

Upholstery on the seats is good. Texture looks kinda rough, but is more comfortable and seems more durable, easier to clean than the "velvety" cloth that was in my truck.

4EAT performance is just fine -- I thought I wanted a manual, but couldn't find a clean one I liked. Nice to have sport and manual shift options -- great for driving in the mountains. I'm not regretting getting an auto at this point whatsoever.

Car looks good, easy to transport bikes, will fit my lifestyle pretty well (except family needs -- see below). Does 75% of what my truck did (gets me to work and to recreation in all weather conditions, hopefully), and burns less fuel.

Things I don't like so far:

The rear seat room is ridiculous. I didn't spend much time worrying about the rear seat when shopping, but for such a big car with a family reputation, it seems unacceptable. Really struggled to get 3 kids w/ carseats in there (2 boosters, 1 infant seat) -- was like twister to get them all buckled in. I had 3 12 yr old girls back there the other evening and they were complaining about the space (esp the bump in the center seat). I was hoping that this car could serve for family day trips and so forth until baby #4 arrives in the spring, but it isn't gonna work. I am quite disappointed -- the seat in my father-in-law's 10 yr old Toyota Corolla is bigger (I know this b/c he dropped me off dealership to pick up the Outback, w/ the kids' -- of course, they wanted to ride home in the new car -- and I thought I was going to have to call him to come back and get one of them!). Given the car's size, I assumed the seat would be comparable to other mid-sized sedans, eg Accord, Camry, etc., but it is not even as big as a compact sedan!

Plastic bumper and wheel trim don't exactly match the paint (dusty gold) in the sun very closely. Just a cosmetic issue. No, the car hasn't been in a wreck, at least according to Subaru's warranty history and Carfax. Now that I'm paying attention, I noticed this on another 3rd gen OB (silver) in my parking lot as well, although a different black 3rd gen in the parking lot seems fine, so maybe it is an issue only with the lighter colors.

Getting used to the frameless doors, but still kinda weird when the windows are rolled down and you open the door. What is the rationale behind thiss design again?

Anyway, just a few questions and thoughts from a new, first-time Subie owner ...

 

[subiesailor]

I've had my '07 2.5i (49k miles) for 12 days and one tank of gas now, and I have a couple of questions and observations thus far.

Questions:

• Does everyone's mpg computer calculate in 0.3 increments?
• Is the transmission supposed to downshift when going downhill in sport mode, or will it just hold the gear I was in?
• What does the parking light button on the steering column do?

Overall, nice car thus far. My first tank of gas was probably a pretty typical one for me -- commuting to and from work (70% city/30% freeway), running errands, plus a couple trips up the canyon (4100 ft to about 9700 ft over about 10 miles) to mountain bike, with 2 bikes on a hitch mounted platform rack. Mileage for that tank was 23.7 (hand calculated -- computer showed 24.3), which is about what I'd expected, but a little less than I'd hoped for.

Things I like so far:

Car performs very nicely in the twisty canyon. Granted, I've been driving either a 3/4 ton pickup or a Suburban the last 3 years, but it handles quite nicely and feels solid.

You have to rev it to get the power (quite different from my diesel pickup, obviously), but it goes pretty well when you push on the pedal hard enough.

Love the interior, dash setup, center stack. Very clean, well thought out, like the white and red dash lights. I'm impressed every time I get in it.

Upholstery on the seats is good. Texture looks kinda rough, but is more comfortable and seems more durable, easier to clean than the "velvety" cloth that was in my truck.

4EAT performance is just fine -- I thought I wanted a manual, but couldn't find a clean one I liked. Nice to have sport and manual shift options -- great for driving in the mountains. I'm not regretting getting an auto at this point whatsoever.

Car looks good, easy to transport bikes, will fit my lifestyle pretty well (except family needs -- see below). Does 75% of what my truck did (gets me to work and to recreation in all weather conditions, hopefully), and burns less fuel.

Things I don't like so far:

The rear seat room is ridiculous. I didn't spend much time worrying about the rear seat when shopping, but for such a big car with a family reputation, it seems unacceptable. Really struggled to get 3 kids w/ carseats in there (2 boosters, 1 infant seat) -- was like twister to get them all buckled in. I had 3 12 yr old girls back there the other evening and they were complaining about the space (esp the bump in the center seat). I was hoping that this car could serve for family day trips and so forth until baby #4 arrives in the spring, but it isn't gonna work. I am quite disappointed -- the seat in my father-in-law's 10 yr old Toyota Corolla is bigger (I know this b/c he dropped me off dealership to pick up the Outback, w/ the kids' -- of course, they wanted to ride home in the new car -- and I thought I was going to have to call him to come back and get one of them!). Given the car's size, I assumed the seat would be comparable to other mid-sized sedans, eg Accord, Camry, etc., but it is not even as big as a compact sedan!

Plastic bumper and wheel trim don't exactly match the paint (dusty gold) in the sun very closely. Just a cosmetic issue. No, the car hasn't been in a wreck, at least according to Subaru's warranty history and Carfax. Now that I'm paying attention, I noticed this on another 3rd gen OB (silver) in my parking lot as well, although a different black 3rd gen in the parking lot seems fine, so maybe it is an issue only with the lighter colors.

Getting used to the frameless doors, but still kinda weird when the windows are rolled down and you open the door. What is the rationale behind thiss design again?

Anyway, just a few questions and thoughts from a new, first-time Subie owner ...

2010 redesign was long awaited by all the growing family subaru owners and was a HUGE improvement over the old platform 09 and older. Back seat space in the 09 and older platform was a major competitive issue for the legacy platform for years and years.

The frameless windows were a subaru trait now gone with the Gen4 redesign

 

[JAvendan]

[*]What does the parking light button on the steering column do?

i have a '12 premium.

if the button is the same as my '05 forester 2.5x then it is for the parking lights.

joel

 

[subiesailor]

In SF I used the parking light switch quite a bit on my street while unloading the car before finding a parking spot etc. The down side is that this switch can and has caused a few dead batteries when accidentally left on without knowing it etc. Also has caused some confusion with running lights when the switches don't work as one would think when the parking light switch is in the on position.

 

[BigNuge]

I've had my '07 2.5i (49k miles) for 12 days and one tank of gas now, and I have a couple of questions and observations thus far.

Questions:

• Does everyone's mpg computer calculate in 0.3 increments?
• Is the transmission supposed to downshift when going downhill in sport mode, or will it just hold the gear I was in?
• What does the parking light button on the steering column do?

Overall, nice car thus far. My first tank of gas was probably a pretty typical one for me -- commuting to and from work (70% city/30% freeway), running errands, plus a couple trips up the canyon (4100 ft to about 9700 ft over about 10 miles) to mountain bike, with 2 bikes on a hitch mounted platform rack. Mileage for that tank was 23.7 (hand calculated -- computer showed 24.3), which is about what I'd expected, but a little less than I'd hoped for.

Things I like so far:

Car performs very nicely in the twisty canyon. Granted, I've been driving either a 3/4 ton pickup or a Suburban the last 3 years, but it handles quite nicely and feels solid.

You have to rev it to get the power (quite different from my diesel pickup, obviously), but it goes pretty well when you push on the pedal hard enough.

Love the interior, dash setup, center stack. Very clean, well thought out, like the white and red dash lights. I'm impressed every time I get in it.

Upholstery on the seats is good. Texture looks kinda rough, but is more comfortable and seems more durable, easier to clean than the "velvety" cloth that was in my truck.

4EAT performance is just fine -- I thought I wanted a manual, but couldn't find a clean one I liked. Nice to have sport and manual shift options -- great for driving in the mountains. I'm not regretting getting an auto at this point whatsoever.

Car looks good, easy to transport bikes, will fit my lifestyle pretty well (except family needs -- see below). Does 75% of what my truck did (gets me to work and to recreation in all weather conditions, hopefully), and burns less fuel.

Things I don't like so far:

The rear seat room is ridiculous. I didn't spend much time worrying about the rear seat when shopping, but for such a big car with a family reputation, it seems unacceptable. Really struggled to get 3 kids w/ carseats in there (2 boosters, 1 infant seat) -- was like twister to get them all buckled in. I had 3 12 yr old girls back there the other evening and they were complaining about the space (esp the bump in the center seat). I was hoping that this car could serve for family day trips and so forth until baby #4 arrives in the spring, but it isn't gonna work. I am quite disappointed -- the seat in my father-in-law's 10 yr old Toyota Corolla is bigger (I know this b/c he dropped me off dealership to pick up the Outback, w/ the kids' -- of course, they wanted to ride home in the new car -- and I thought I was going to have to call him to come back and get one of them!). Given the car's size, I assumed the seat would be comparable to other mid-sized sedans, eg Accord, Camry, etc., but it is not even as big as a compact sedan!

Plastic bumper and wheel trim don't exactly match the paint (dusty gold) in the sun very closely. Just a cosmetic issue. No, the car hasn't been in a wreck, at least according to Subaru's warranty history and Carfax. Now that I'm paying attention, I noticed this on another 3rd gen OB (silver) in my parking lot as well, although a different black 3rd gen in the parking lot seems fine, so maybe it is an issue only with the lighter colors.

Getting used to the frameless doors, but still kinda weird when the windows are rolled down and you open the door. What is the rationale behind thiss design again?

Anyway, just a few questions and thoughts from a new, first-time Subie owner ...

Hi folks, new to this forum but not new to Subaru.

The sport-shift tranny will not down shift (automatically) in sport mode unless you are decelerating and are going too slow for the gear you are in (basically, it won't perform engine braking if that is what you were asking for).

I have owned 3 different Subarus over the last 6 years.

07 & 09 Legacy Sedan (before we had kids). These cars were really nice. Sporty, fun to drive, a little lacking n the power (they were both non-turbo). Back seat room was very poor.

Now we have a '12 Outback Premium. The back seat room is remarkable! It is an entirely new vehicle. Tons of rear seat room and cargo room. And like the last 2 we have had it is lacking on power (non-turbo). Also, I am not a fan of the CVT in these cars now. Lots of reports of issues, and I have had a couple myself.


Sent from my iPad using Autoguide

 

[subiesailor]

Hi folks, new to this forum but not new to Subaru.

The sport-shift tranny will not down shift (automatically) in sport mode unless you are decelerating and are going too slow for the gear you are in (basically, it won't perform engine braking if that is what you were asking for).

I have owned 3 different Subarus over the last 6 years.

07 & 09 Legacy Sedan (before we had kids). These cars were really nice. Sporty, fun to drive, a little lacking n the power (they were both non-turbo). Back seat room was very poor.

Now we have a '12 Outback Premium. The back seat room is remarkable! It is an entirely new vehicle. Tons of rear seat room and cargo room. And like the last 2 we have had it is lacking on power (non-turbo). Also, I am not a fan of the CVT in these cars now. Lots of reports of issues, and I have had a couple myself.


Sent from my iPad using Autoguide

ACtually been here active since 09 and own two CVT's early 2010 bought in 09 and slightly newer 2010 bought in 2010. The old 5spd AT on the forums has had far more "issues" than the CVT based on the forum discussions. CVT is very different I went from 5spd MT to CVT took a long time to adjust to it. ZERO issues with both CVT's and one tows trailers both have 40K on them.

 

[BigNuge]

ACtually been here active since 09 and own two CVT's early 2010 bought in 09 and slightly newer 2010 bought in 2010. The old 5spd AT on the forums has had far more "issues" than the CVT based on the forum discussions. CVT is very different I went from 5spd MT to CVT took a long time to adjust to it. ZERO issues with both CVT's and one tows trailers both have 40K on them.

Yeah, I wasn't referring to this forum. I was researching the Subaru CVT on line. As well as the 4 other people I know around here that have the new Outback like mine. All 4 have had tranny issues. My brother used to sell Saturns before they went away, and they had the CVT tranny too......blowing up all the time.

Really, to me it does not matter. All of my Subarus have been leases, including the Outback. I will turn this in at the end of the lease and walk away for a while. I don't see any sort of fuel savings with the CVT. All 3 of my Subarus have got within 1 MPG of each other (5 spd auto & CVT). In fact, the CVT has high R's a lot of the time due to the lack of power.....you really gotta kic. This thing in the a$$ to be tit to move......that does not help the mileage....


Sent from my iPad using Autoguide

 

[rasterman]

Getting used to the frameless doors, but still kinda weird when the windows are rolled down and you open the door. What is the rationale behind thiss design again?
...

The idea of the frameless door was to reduce weight at the highest part of the door. You'll notice other design traits of the outback were selected to make the top of the car very light. The roof is much narrower than the floor pan, for example.

With less weight at the top of the car, the overall handling can be made decent while still using smaller, fewer, cheaper & lighter suspension parts.

Another advantage is that the doors could be stamped out using a smaller, older machine. One less multimillion dollar robot to amortize, at least until the 2010s came around.

 

[subiesailor]

Yeah, I wasn't referring to this forum. I was researching the Subaru CVT on line. As well as the 4 other people I know around here that have the new Outback like mine. All 4 have had tranny issues. My brother used to sell Saturns before they went away, and they had the CVT tranny too......blowing up all the time.

Really, to me it does not matter. All of my Subarus have been leases, including the Outback. I will turn this in at the end of the lease and walk away for a while. I don't see any sort of fuel savings with the CVT. All 3 of my Subarus have got within 1 MPG of each other (5 spd auto & CVT). In fact, the CVT has high R's a lot of the time due to the lack of power.....you really gotta kic. This thing in the a$$ to be tit to move......that does not help the mileage....


Sent from my iPad using Autoguide

Well regardless of your observations nothing says your afraid of cars than a lease. I own three actually own them. Toyota - VW and Subaru. The Subaru is our daily family hauler and primary road trip car has been since our first one bought new in 2001.

First the CVT in the subaru is not like any other CVT sold today or in the past. I worked for Saturn for a few years the products were so horribly cheap we actually rebuilt a few cars during oilchanges because of the horrible quality issues we had with the cars.

The 2.5 engine in my current 2010 comes from the same Design originally created back in 98. With lots of updates but the basic design is the same the CVT has made a huge difference in mileage compared to our prior 2.5 with the 5spd MT. However both cars never returned decent mileage till we had more than 20K on them.

 

[Tystevens]

Thanks for the thoughts everyone. Like I said, great car so far. I have a 1900 mile road trip coming up in a few weeks that I'm actually looking forward to! Anxious to see what the economy will be for a couple 100% freeway tanks of fuel.

Does everyone else's fuel economy computer update only in increments of .03? Not sure why, but this kind of bugs me!