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What did you consider before buying your Outback?

11K views 80 replies 60 participants last post by  DanielAcosta 
#1 ·
We currently have a 2018 Outback (our first Subaru), and are considering another one when the 2021 model year comes out. I've done some online vehicle comparisons, and so far the Outback is winning.

What other vehicles did you seriously consider before buying your Outback?

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#9 ·
Knew I wanted an OB, did not consider anything else. Test drove a 3.6R in 2019 that I wasn't really impressed with how much power it had. 2020 was just around the corner so waited till the first car was at the dealership for a test drive. There was one car in the whole region that I test drove and put in my factory order right after.
 
#10 ·
Honda Ridgeline, Honda Passport, or another F-150. Previous to my 2020 Outback I have only owned Ford Trucks. Just over a month in and I am loving the ride quality of this wagon over my trucks. Time will tell if I ever miss the cargo capacity of the F-150, but I figured it was my turn to be the guy borrowing others Pickup's.
 
#12 ·
We came from 20 years of Hondas with a few Toyotas sprinkled in. Last time we looked at Subaru was in 2012; we chose a CRV over the Outback because of our good Honda experience and the CRV interior and infotainment was better.

This time around we were downsizing from an Odyssey and wanted awd for the snow and off-road. Whereas in the past Subaru was the undisputed king of awd, in recent years Toyota and Honda have made improvements in their systems. Most reviewers and YouTube demonstrations I saw still picked Subaru's as the best, so we focused on Ascent, Forester, and Outback in that order. If cost wasn't a factor, Ascent would have won as we really like it, but for the same $$ we could just get another Odyssey with more space and better mileage, albeit without awd. We liked the seating height better in the Forester, but the Outback felt like a more substantial vehicle and has 7 inches more length in the cargo area behind the back seat, so here we are. RAV4 was eliminated because of too many negative magazine reviews. We really liked the Highlander, but the cost for comparable equipment was ridiculously higher. Funny side note: on vacation my wife tried to get in a Highlander parked next to our then 19 Outback, they did look very similar from the side.

The final decision came when test driving a 16 Outback with around 35K miles and a new 19 CRV: the Outback was smoother, quieter, and just felt better overall. If we liked a 3 year old Subaru better than a new Honda, we felt safe buying our first new Subaru in over 30 years (last Subarus we owned were an 85 and 87).

We're still getting used to the smaller size of the Outback and the feeling of sitting lower to the ground, and we do totally fill up that cargo area. For comparison, here is the list of all the vehicles we looked at before narrowing it down to one of the Subarus, along with cargo length behind the second row measured with my tape measure. There were a few surprises for us, most notably that the cargo length in the Outback is the same as the Passport, which we perceived as a much larger vehicle (the Passport is wider). Word to the wise: if you really care about cargo capacity, measure it for yourself rather than going by the numbers the manufacturers provide. Subaru really did a disservice to themselves when they changed the way they compute/report cargo capacity going from the 19 to the 20 model year because it makes it sound like the 20 Outback's cargo capacity is smaller than it really is.

Depth (in) Vehicle
42.5 Passport
50 Pilot
38 CRV
60 Odyssey

49 Ascent
34.5 Forester
42 Outback
 
#54 ·
We came from 20 years of Hondas with a few Toyotas sprinkled in. Last time we looked at Subaru was in 2012; we chose a CRV over the Outback because of our good Honda experience and the CRV interior and infotainment was better.

This time around we were downsizing from an Odyssey and wanted awd for the snow and off-road. Whereas in the past Subaru was the undisputed king of awd, in recent years Toyota and Honda have made improvements in their systems. Most reviewers and YouTube demonstrations I saw still picked Subaru's as the best, so we focused on Ascent, Forester, and Outback in that order. If cost wasn't a factor, Ascent would have won as we really like it, but for the same $$ we could just get another Odyssey with more space and better mileage, albeit without awd. We liked the seating height better in the Forester, but the Outback felt like a more substantial vehicle and has 7 inches more length in the cargo area behind the back seat, so here we are. RAV4 was eliminated because of too many negative magazine reviews. We really liked the Highlander, but the cost for comparable equipment was ridiculously higher. Funny side note: on vacation my wife tried to get in a Highlander parked next to our then 19 Outback, they did look very similar from the side.

The final decision came when test driving a 16 Outback with around 35K miles and a new 19 CRV: the Outback was smoother, quieter, and just felt better overall. If we liked a 3 year old Subaru better than a new Honda, we felt safe buying our first new Subaru in over 30 years (last Subarus we owned were an 85 and 87).

We're still getting used to the smaller size of the Outback and the feeling of sitting lower to the ground, and we do totally fill up that cargo area. For comparison, here is the list of all the vehicles we looked at before narrowing it down to one of the Subarus, along with cargo length behind the second row measured with my tape measure. There were a few surprises for us, most notably that the cargo length in the Outback is the same as the Passport, which we perceived as a much larger vehicle (the Passport is wider). Word to the wise: if you really care about cargo capacity, measure it for yourself rather than going by the numbers the manufacturers provide. Subaru really did a disservice to themselves when they changed the way they compute/report cargo capacity going from the 19 to the 20 model year because it makes it sound like the 20 Outback's cargo capacity is smaller than it really is.

Depth (in) Vehicle
42.5 Passport
50 Pilot
38 CRV
60 Odyssey

49 Ascent
34.5 Forester
42 Outback
you should try driving a Honda Civic 2002 Ex for 18 years and tell me the Subaru Outback has a smaller trunk LOL Buy a Truck man
 
#13 ·
I was considering lots of avenues.. not buying one at all and continueing to drive my husbands toyota corolla, (he has a truck also) but that little thing can't even get out of it's own way... I thought about getting another Impala, I loved my previous one, (gave it to my youngest son). But, I knew that wasn't really practical for my life at this time, as I decided I wanted something I could put my kayak on, so I could go kayaking sometimes without the husband.. So I looked at the 2021 Kia Seltos, they looked great online, when I went to see one in person, it was not what I saw online, so that was nixed immediatly, I kinda liked the Mazda CX-5, but it looked like every other small SUV, then there was the Outback, a guy who rents an office in our building has one, and I really like it.. PLUS I'm short so getting a kayak off the Outback verses a taller vehicle really appealed to me, as did the space in the back for my doggos.. So I went and drove the limited, and the limited xt, and bought the later the same day...
 
#14 ·
They seem sort of worlds apart, but a Mercedes Metris. Never ended up driving the Metris - fell in love with the Outback when I drove it. It's perfect for road trips, light off roading, dogs, snow, skiing and as Gidgit mentions, easier to put stuff on top of than something larger.
 
#16 ·
I was originally looking at a Toyota Rav4 and a Chevy Colorado (v6), while shopping for an Outback.

I liked the Rav4's Hybrid but wanted more ground clearance, which the Adventure trim had but was weaker than the Hybrid (better towing though). Doesn't have a huge amount of cargo space either. I dropped Colorado because the only one that interested me was the V6, but the occasional use of a bed wasn't worth the trade-off for the MPG (since it is a daily driver).

Live others I was looking at a Cross Country (V60) as well, but I needed something a little more rugged with bumps and bruises (the ground clearance and drive train scream "Take me off-road", but the styling says "Only if it's a paved mountain highway").

The Outback had the best combo of power, utility, and MPG for my needs. Haven't looked back in 6 months so far.
 
#19 · (Edited)
For the longest time, I wanted a Toyota 4runner TRD. Loved the aggressive look, the simplicity and the reliability of a Toyota. But I just couldn't get myself to justify ANOTHER SUV and their crummy MPG (I had a 2005 Nissan Xterra which guzzled gas like Nicolas Cage did booze in "Leaving Las Vegas"). The 4runner is rated 18/20 which let's be honest, probably means more like 14-15 miles in the city and 18-19 highway. Just couldn't do that to myself again with how much I hit the road.

Then someone turned my attention to the latest Rav4s. And after doing some research and a test drive, I came this close to buying the Rav4 Hybrid XSE. With 41/38 MPG, decent ground clearance, modern amenities and a sweet sweet new design, I thought it was near perfect. BUT it lacked a couple of things: I couldn't lay out in the back to car camp which I do semi-often and it was at a price point here in So Cal that exceeded my budget ($39-41+ K). Also, they are in super high demand especially in the color/trim I wanted that I thought as long as I have to wait for them to come in, I'd give Outbacks a try.
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I have a TON of friends who are Outback owners but in the sport I participate in (trail running), they are almost a cliche given how popular they are. Plus, they just struck me as very middle of the road and a "safe" choice (read: boring).

Enter the Onyx XT.

489959


As soon as I saw the 2020 Subaru Outback Onyx XT, I fell in love. Had the stylings of the Rav4 XSE but at a much more reasonable price point (~$5K less), an upgraded turbo engine and all the amenities and more that the Rav4 didn't have such as better safety, a longer cargo/back seat area, levers to fold seats down, better ground clearance, StarTek seats so I can jump into the car without worrying about sweat seeping into the seats (Xterra had cloth interior) and much more. While I do miss riding high, the other positives more than outweigh that.

Yeah obviously the hit in MPG sucks (41/38 to 23/30) but it's good enough and I'm happy with the compromise in exchange for the 260 HP 2.4L turbo engine for the giddy up needed on mountain passes and highways. Definitely not your aunt's Outback!

While it has its shortcomings (imperfect start/stop, throttle response off the line, Infotainment, etc) they haven't bothered me like it has others in here. More importantly, I LOVE driving this thing and am looking forward to post-break in driving to really open it up on longer road trips!
 
#20 ·
I drove three other vehicles before I finally decided on the Outback. Main factors were the ability to haul lumber (I do a little woodworking), AWD and price. Anything shorter than about 185" in length generally puts an 8' long board a couple of inches from the dash which rules out an awful lot of vehicles. I did't want anything drastically larger than the 2011 Mazda CX-7 I was trading which left a very narrow field of finalists in my price range. The competition was:

VW Tiguan - Just barely large enough for my needs but it would have done the job. My least favorite of the four to drive.​
Nissan Murano - This was the highway cruiser of the group. Relatively quiet and comfortable. Great seats. Smallest cargo capacity even though it was one of the larger vehicles in the group. Generally much more expensive than the others but they aren't selling well and they were offering huge rebates to move them. The only V6 of the group.​
Hyundai Santa Fe 2.0t - This was my second choice. It felt bigger inside than the Outback and had more storage up front, but it also felt like it was much larger to drive even though it's smaller. Quieter on the road but you had to push it harder to get the engine to open up. More features for the money (including a pretty spectacular panoramic sunroof) and a better base warranty. It was really close but my wife had some trouble seeing out of it.​

Out the door price between the Outback Limited 2.5 and Santa Fe would have been very close once I added in the extended warranty to the OB. In the end, the Outback drove more like a car and was more responsive driving around town so it won. If I hadn't been able to make a deal at the Subaru dealer I probably would have gone across the street and bought the Hyundai. I'm pretty sure I would have been happy with any of the four.
 
#50 ·
Be grateful you passed on the Murano. I bought a brand new one - after deciding to dump my gas guzzling Ram 1500. It was also my first Nissan, always been a Toyota and VW guy. They sell you on all the amenities and ride and then kill you on service. Way over engineered, put too much electronics into the vehicle that are untested or are cheap. I went through 3 radiators, 2 transmissions and 2 wheel sensors in the 5 years and 60k miles of ownership. That summed up to many trips to the dealership, many strandings on the roadside, many tow jobs, many loaners. As soon as my extended warranty was up I traded it in on a Scion xD because it was a simple car that gave me great mileage and in 11 years and 130k miles, always started -never failed me and never cost more than regular maintenance. My grandson now drives it and I bought my first Outback because friends love theirs and I like their mission statement.
 
#24 ·
My short list came down to the Mazda CX-5 (an upper trim level, with the turbo), a RAV-4 Hybrid, and the Outback. I wasn't totally convinced I needed an XT at first, but two test drives convinced me. I would have been OK with either a Limited XT or a Touring XT, but am happy I opted for the Touring. (Part of it is that I wanted a white OB, and if I had gotten a Limited I wanted the Ivory leather. These were actually in shorter supply than the Touring XTs, which only come with the Jave Brown interior (which I like the look of, a lot...).

The Mazda drove nicely, but was a bit small, in terms of cargo and rear-seat room, and I also thought that the infotainment system was a bit outdated looking. The Rav-4 Hybrid was pretty nice, but for some reason I have a hard time in warming up to Toyotas....

IF the Honda CR-V Hybrid had been out at that time, it would have received strong consideration. CR-V's seem just a tad "wimpy" to me, in terms of their "vibe", but the CR-V Hybrid drive train is really nice. (We have a 2018 Accord Hybrid with the same drive-train, albeit without AWD. It is very well done, being fairly quick, and with very little "hybridness" to it.....)

I also considered some more luxury brands and models, primarily the Audi Q5, Volvo XC60, and Acura RDX. But in the end, a loaded-up Outback had all of the features (or more), when compared to the luxury brands, and (for me) just represented better "bang for the buck". That said, all three of the above are very nice vehicles.

My prior Outback (a 2010 3.6R Limited) had served me well, for 10 years and 224,000 miles, so that also predisposed me to another OB. (Actually, this is the first time I have ever bought the same make of car, twice in a row, let alone the same model.....)
 
#25 ·
I've been wanting an Outback since 2007, but life and situation prevented it. My wife, while agreeing on the looks and capability of the Outback, suggested that we check out some alternatives just in case things turn out not the way we expected from catalogs and YouTube reviewers. Prior to picking up the Onyx XT, we checked out the following:

Toyota Rav4: Overall not a fan with lack of Android Auto at the time of review, and that was one of the main reasoning why I passed on it.
Honda CRV: Nice in and out, more suv than car
Subaru Forester: Wanted a better built car as in the Outback, but it came really close between deciding the Onyx and the Sport. Had the Forester Sport come with a Turbo, it would have given a slight advantage over the Outback
Audi Alltrack: Impressed with acceleration and drivetrain, less impressed with outdated electronics and entertainment console. Reasoned that if this is a car that I'm going to pretty much be the only driver on roadtrips, then it should be comfortable and easy to use too.
 
#26 ·
We seriously considered a Kia Telluride, Toyota Venza, Hyundai Palisade and a Toyota Highlander. Oh and my wife let pretend a Kia Stinger was an option for a minute or two. Looked at Mazdas but interiors were a little small for us and seemed a little outdated.

Took them all for rides. Negotiated best prices. Besides the OB the Telluride was our favorite. Airy cabin, quiet ride, nice leather, quite a bit of tech. But Kia dealerships, at least in our area, refused to negotiate on the sticker price and we weren't going to pay full sticker price for a Kia or anything else for that matter.

The OB was the best value for the money out of all of them and after having it for 5 months now we are very glad we didn't choose one of the others. Although I do have a love/hate relationship with the infotainment system.

Plus this is our 5th new Subaru in 7 years and we really like them.
 
#27 · (Edited)
This is our first Subaru. I wanted another sedan, and I wanted more trunk space than what we have now in our aged Altima. We were more actively doing camping at that point, and I wanted a roomier trunk along with a more comfortable ride. But parking on the street, I didn't want anything much longer than the Altima.

I was liking the idea of a hybrid. I started out enamored of the idea of an Avalon or even a Camry, and then the Accord caught my eye and I spent some months focused on those. But eventually I came to my senses, and started obsessing over the Outback last fall. And as it happens, the length of the Outback turns out to be half an inch shorter than the Altima*.

I may never go camping again 😢, but I do have the perfect car for it anyway.

*Looking at the specs on the Edmunds site, it shows the Outback being .2" smaller than the Altima. That's gonna open up a world of parking spots for me!
 
#28 ·
We didn’t consider any other makes, but we did think about different crossover models in the Subaru lineup: Crosstrek, Forester and Outback (the Ascent was a little too big and unnecessary for my parents as they still have a Toyota Sienna minivan). Everyone’s situation is different, but we were shopping for a replacement vehicle for my mom’s 2002 Toyota Camry (the last car she ever bought brand new in 2001). We were a family with a deep history of Toyotas, with a Mazda or 2 (and even a Chevy conversion van for a brief amount of time) sprinkled in the 38 years my parents have lived here.

Anyway, it was my love for Subaru that started the whole conversion process from Toyota to Subaru. I’m on my 2nd WRX with the first one being totaled following 2 major accidents a rear-end hit and run who managed to successfully escape, followed by a jackknife accident by a truck whose driver was not paying attention to a red light before careening into my WRX turning on a green arrow. Now, anyone who has been in any sort of major accident in their Subaru will probably tell you that they believe their car saved their life. And I have seen some of the gnarliest accidents where drivers should not have survived who did. I think that coupled with the fact that I haven’t had any other major issues with either of my WRXs, that the engine layout is the most advantageous between inline, flat, V- and rotary leading to the most balanced one with some of the lowest centers of gravity, the AWD system is a real AWD system and not just a system in name alone (i.e. not a FWD-based system that decides to send power to the rear axle like most common ones outside of Audi, Mercedes, Porsche, etc.), the Subaru community is one of the most unique and charity-oriented, and that it’s not the most common car down (like Toyotas and Hondas and others) here in FL all lead me to push my parents toward the brand. That being said, their cars are not perfect (i.e. Stop/Start and CVT programming to mention just a few). And while most of us Subaru drivers recognize that, a lot of us will put up with their quirks anyway.

Sorry for that essay above, but between the Crosstrek, Forester and Outback, my mom posited that this may be her last car purchase ever (as we tend to keep our cars until the wheels literally fall off or someone totals them and don’t want to keep having a monthly car payment every month) that may eventually just be the only car my parents would own (if the Sienna were to be gone). So she wanted a change, not only from Toyota, but also to an SUV/Crossover from a Sedan. So I got to thinking that the current generation 2020 Outback Touring XT would be the best choice for her. The FA24DIT motor in that vehicle and the Legacy (as well as the Ascent) are punchy and allow for passing and merging with ease. Also, the Outback is probably the most unique shape as you do not see what essentially is a big station wagon in the market (except in more luxury car brands like Volvo or Mercedes and BMW). That being said, it has impressive interior and cargo room and for a car that would potentially need to be the only car in an middle-age/elderly couple’s garage, it’s the best one in their lineup, barring the Ascent. Also with the 2020 Outback Touring XT, Subaru included some features not found on other models in their lineup, which some people may also find gimmicky, like their DriverFocus system, power-folding side mirrors (also found on higher trims of the Ascent), front view camera (also found on higher trims of the Ascent and new Legacy) and hands-free power rear gate. On that note, I do wish that they did include a 360-degree camera like Toyota and other makes have started introducing in their lineup, but that’s neither here nor there. So, features alone, I think the Outback compared to the Crosstrek and Forester was the natural choice. Also, just for comparison between Forester and Outback (as that was the main decision my mom had to make), the Outback is not as tall and top-heavy (although it does maintain the same 8.7” of ground clearance) due to its design as a wagon and not a traditional SUV, which actually makes it ride and handle more like a sedan like she was used to prior. The roof rail system is also unique on the Outback than any of their other models as it is built-in.

I hope this helps. I apologize for some of the rambling of this post. But whatever you choose, I know you’ll make the right decision for you.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
#29 ·
Honda CR-V (couldn't get past the digital gauges), Toyota RAV-4 (liked the Outback better, particularly interior), and Mazda CX-5 (Mazda better looking but Mazda's long term status in US is more tenuous). Overall, Outback checked all the boxes for me: elevated ride height while still feeling/driving more like a sedan, safety features, latest technology, and I got a really good deal on one.
 
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