I have never owned a Subie. Mostly a Toyota and Honda guy. Other than bigger trucks. So on the smallish suv front. How does the outback compare to the Rav4, Highlander, Passport rigs. I am not much of a Chevy or Ford guy in this class.

The TouringXT with the H4 engine has all the bells and whistles for around $40k. Which is a bit cheaper than the Highlander and Passport which neither has impressed me a great deal to this point.

Is the H4 a good engine. Is this generation of outback a good rig? Has this version been out long enough to have the bugs worked out.

Thanks guys.

I’ve owned 3 Subaru’s. No Outbacks. I never had one of the engines that had issues so I can’t speak to that. I have to think they are past those. I also owned a RAV4 and was underwhelmed by its engine. The bigger engines in the Subaru’s have plenty of get up and go.

I also still own a Highlander. Great car but a different class from others mentioned. Ours has been nearly perfect.

If you are just looking for a small SUV the Crosstrek with the 2.5 motor is pretty good and a lot cheaper. That is my daily driver and I love it.

We nearly bought a non-turbo Outback Limited, quite liked how I drove & how roomy it was.
The CVT was one of the better that I've driven & the Eyesight system seems to work well.

The XT engine debuted in the Ascent, for MY2019.
I believe the Outback got the XT for 2020.

My daughter's friend's parents have an Ascent & haven't had any major issues with it.

My 2019 RAV4 had an automatic transmission. All 3 of my Subies had the CVT. I read all kinds of complaints about CVT's on here. I like the Subaru kind. The Toyota and its normal transmission sucked. It hunted for gears, you felt every shift. If I wanted that I would go buy a manual. I like their CVT.

Have/had the Outback (2014 2.5 Limited). It was a great car and I sold it to one of my daughters. Recently, while driving the Subaru on the freeway at the Speed Limit (70 mph) my daughter was hit from behind by a 21 year old girl who was texting while driving. The impact sent my daughter into the center divider after which she bounced back and spun around. Her Outback was totaled. She suffered no injuries at the scene so the car took the rear ending impact pretty well. She's receiving PT sessions because of the accident but again, the Subaru took that impact pretty well.

I have a Highlander (wife drives) and a F150. The Outback Eyesight is better than the same version in my F150.

We now prefer the Highlander over the Subaru. Both perform about the same in the snow but I might give a slight edge to the Highlander. My wife prefers the Highlander because she sits higher than she did in the Subaru Outback. One drawback of the Highlander is the gas mileage. The Highlander has a 6 banger so the MPG is not as good as the Subaru 2.5L.

I prefer the Eyesight to Toyota's version as well. They weren't the same generation so that might not be a fair comparison.

As for snow, both my wife and I much preferred the Subaru in the snow. The Highlander is AWD and my wife's car and even she preferred my Subaru (Crosstrek). It was a mountain goat, we lived in Maryland and had plenty of chances to try it out in the slick and the hills. I don't even think it was close. The Subaru always felt more stable and stuck to the road. It also had the X drive which was very nice on the big hill we had to traverse to get home.

I have a 2016 Crosstrek for my daily driver (PA). Fantastic to drive, and it is a blast to drive in the snow. Vs my old Grand Cherokee, for on road snow driving, the ‘trek wins hands down.

[insert standard Subaru head gasket/vaper meme]

We have a 2015 Legacy Sedan with the H4 & paddle shift if you want to use it.

The engine and transmission have been flawless in 36000 miles, with upper 20s mpg,& more with care on the longer freeway runs.

We had no lack of passing or climbing power with the lowly H4. And while I rarely drive it, I give the paddles a work out just to see what I've been missing.

Do a search in the forum for all the (non-lesbian ) Subaru owners here (5 and counting just for me).

You will get honest opinions to help you chose.

Added after all the neg info below - YMMV:

2000 OB wagon: 2.5L HG at 90K - under warranty---again at 180K on my dime - donated it to SalArmy at 365,000 miles.

2002 Imprezza - 165K 2.0l goin6 fine - driven by #3 son.

2009 Forester - 2.5L 250K - driven by #2 son - no issues

2012 OB wagon 2.5L - 120K driven by wife - no problems

2018 Forester - 2.5L - now at 67K - no issues at all.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: sgalczyn,

I once owned a Justy! And my experience with chix who drove them and had zero concept of proper maintenance was very good.
If Subaru made a pickup (not a Brat) I would be driving one now. Lots of Subies of all types here in the Yoop. Great snow car!

Had 4. My 2002 WRX with the Japanese market 2.0L was bulletproof. Even after 200K miles.

The other three all had the 2.5L American market engine. The 2004 Forester XT lost compression on two cylinders at 160K miles and wasn't worth repairing. The 2013 Forester X had high oil consumption and BLEW around 75K. Subaru did an engine replacement on policy, but my ex dumped it afterward. The 2013 WRX had all exhaust valves below minimum lash at 103K miles. Engine out, heads pulled and rebuilt, then reassembled - all by dealer with 1/2 paid by Subaru N.A. I dumped it afterwards because a short block issue would have trashed the heads.

The 2.5L is unmitigated trash. Class action lawsuit settlement for excess oil consumption. Class action lawsuit settlement for spun bearings (see above).

I might try a WRX with the newer DI engine, but haven't decided. I was a huge Subaru fan and promoter after my 2002 WRX ran like a champ. The Forester XT I assumed was my ex running it low on oil or overheating it at some point. The blown motor could have been her letting it get low on oil. But the 2.5 WRX was always properly maintained, oil kept full, and never overheated.

If you don't drive a lot and take 10 years to get to 100K, you might be OK. If you DRIVE a lot then good luck.

My current Civic Si 6-speed is great. But I will never like a car so much and have as much fun as the original bugeye WRX. It was still a very mechanical car, and a bit raw - real throttle linkage, real shift linkage, straight 50/50 AWD, Torsen rear end. Lopsided power curve like a 600cc sport bike. Shift to 2nd before boost and need to move NOW, you are jamming it back into first or slipping the clutch like crazy. The power built all the way to redline, it pulled harder the higher the revs climbed.

2015 Subaru Outback owner here…

We are at 80k worry-free miles on ours. Tires, oil, brakes, and one battery have been our expenses. My spouse says it’s the best all around car she’s ever driven.

Naturally we can’t speak to the newer versions but love ours.

We have 3 Subies and they are great. We bought the 2021 Outback touring last November, before shit hit the fan. We love it as it is comfortable and economical we get 34 MPG on highway with no traffic. Our only problem is the radio/computer is VERY glitchie. It handles light off road and snow exceptionally. No complaints about the engines.

I've owned 3 Subarus and still have 1, a 2016 Forester. All have been great.

While there are lots of memes out there about Subi head gaskets and oil, those are only concerns with older generation Subaru engines. Some of the older late 1990s/early 2000s Subarus were prone to early head gasket failures, but that was addressed by the late 2000s. Then some of the early 2010s model engines were prone to excessive oil consumption, but that was resolved starting with the 2015 model year. (Besides, the Outback XT models don't even use the same engine, using a turbo 2.4 instead of the usual DI 2.5.)

All three Subaru's I've owned ran well enough but they were always a generation behind Honda and Toyota in terms of NVH, interior comfort and layout, and reliability. I experienced head gasket and AC condenser failures along with multiple severely pulsating sets of brake rotors that had to be replaced. After that we switched to Toyota RAV 4's which I like more all the way around.

I’ve owned 8 Subarus starting from 80’s models to a 2018 Forester XT. I had issues with my Forester (CVT at 37000), my first Outback and one of my Legacy’s that caused me to get rid of them. My last problem with the Forester CVT made me wash my hands of Subaru after over 30 years of owning them. I now have a 4Runner and Tacoma and have no regrets. Just my two cents. FYI I am not a lesbian.

I started with a Forester, then got an Outback, and now a Crosstrek (thinking about an Ascent now that I have two dogs and thinking of getting a small camping trailer). Loved all of them. I know people complain about the CVT but I usually use "Manual" and paddle shifters when highway driving so the CVT is a non issue. All of these vehicles have been excellent in all weather and I rate the Outback as a excellent vehicle that can do it all as far as day to day driving, bad weather driving, along with trips and limited off road (if you want to do more off road or have more bad weather due to your location, look at an Outback Wilderness).

quote:

Originally posted by mrvmax:

FYI I am not a lesbian.

I recently learned that lesbians are obsessed with women.

I think that I might be a lesbian.

quote:

Originally posted by jsbcody:
....(if you want to do more off road or have more bad weather due to your location, look at an Outback Wilderness).

Only if you want to lose 4-7 MPG over the regular Outback!
Wilderness has a 2.4 turbo - and changed the gear ratio to be more "outdoorsy". No thank you - I want that kind of hit for 4-wheelin and I'll just go for the Jeep or 4-Runner!