Wife and I have a brand new Outback Onyx XT 4cyl turbo that we both absolutely love. I did not expect this thing to get up and go the way it does. It really moves on the road, handles snow just fine. Very fun to drive and very nice inside. I did not expect to fall in love with this thing but I absolutely have.

If it helps, I get 24.1mpg combined real world driving (and I am NOT gentle on the accelerator). I absolutely would get the turbo again.

The wife drives a 2017 Rav 4 XLE. It has been super reliable with tons of tech for the $$. But I find it to be an unrefined driver with excessive engine noise, mediocre seats and limited visibility out the back.

2020 Outback Onyx XT - Love it - More car like that high step in SUV's. Comfortable.

Wished it had Memory Seats - Me 6ft wife 5ft.
10K miles Zero issues.

2021 Outback Limited XT here. I love it. Very comfortable ride and has enough power with the turbo. I never in a million years that I would like a heated steering wheel (in the South!), but I do!

Be aware that the infotainment unit/software can be really glitchy. If you search the Outback forum you'll find plenty of information.

I want one so bad...will have to make due with my 2015 forester touring

quote:

Originally posted by Ronin101:
I want one so bad...will have to make due with my 2015 forester touring

Yeah, my current plan is to drive my 2016 Forester Limited for another 4-5 years until it hits 100-120k or so, and then buy a 2-3 year old newer gen Outback XT with 30k-ish miles.

(I wanted a Forester XT back when I bought this ~4 years ago, but couldn't find a lightly used XT at a price that I could justify.)

Thanks guys, Subaru feedback is always a mixed bag.

I am back where started. Honda Passport. I am trying to convince my wife to go Ridgeline. The 2007 we bought has been a really good rig. But this is her rig and she would prefer a smaller suv.

We will be headed to a dealer later this week to let her look and drive on hopefully. A deal hinges on them giving us a decent trade in number on or Ridgeline. So, we'll see.

Appreciate all the feedback.

If you're after an Onyx and looking new, production is ending this month so you're limited to what's in dealer stock.

quote:

Originally posted by sgalczyn:

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!

Been researching both of those and what I found out is the 16/17/19 mpg the 4Runner is suppose to get, only occurs with a tail wind while going down hill (direct quote from several 4Runner owners). Jeeps with any accessories that most people would like on a daily driver are north of $50 grand. The Outback Wilderness is about $38 grand. The one I like is the Onyx, which is about the same price but has the excellent gas mileage. Add some real all terrain tires (there are sets that are a good compromise between off road and daily road driving), and maybe a 1 inch left kit and you are good to go....with still pretty good gas mileage.

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

I had a ‘15 Legacy but the 3.6R. Went to almost 80k with no issues before I went back to BMW.

Bought my daughter a new 2020 Impreza sedan with the 4 cyl and cvt. She’s at 27k miles now with no issues. It’s not leaking anything nor burning anything. She’s doing oil changes at 6k intervals and we measure it when we take it out.

She’s going to give the car to my mom if I help her with getting a new Crosstrek.

Passport is also one of the vehicle I have been looking at. It probably has the best AWD in the class. Adding stuff to make it a bit more off road is not that expensive. Put on some good All Terrain tires, a 1 inch lift kit, and some skid plates and you are good to go.

I am thinking about waiting to see what happens with the 2023 models. Honda came out with Trailsport edition which is mostly badging and a "promise" of more things to come.

I have a ‘20 Crosstrek, and I’m super happy with it, especially now since I regularly get at least 33 mpg.

I have over 30k miles on it, and the only’problem’ I had with it was the center dash info screen malfunctioning one very cold morning for a few minutes until it warmed up. It only did that once since I’ve had it.

I’ve been getting “free” oil services every 6k miles, and they made that back up at my 30k serv, which was a hair over $700.00. The lady instantly gave me a 10% discount to lessen the shock.

My complaint is the auto engine shutoff. You can deactivate all of the othe Eyesight features, but the engine on/off has to be deactivated by the driver each time the vehicle is started. It is annoying, but not a dealbreaker.

The snowy mountains of Colorado in a snowstorm is where this thing shines. There is an X-mode button for when conditions get bad, but this vehicle never had any problems with the really messy stuff I tested it in.

I’m way happier in this than our three ‘16 RAV4s. Those rattle, don’t handle as well, and the ride like trucks compactor my Crosstrek. The leather is nicer, and the technology is far better, also.

Yes, it has a CVT, but so far, I’m not having any problems so far.

2017 Crosstrek. Excellent car, very reliable. Only con is a relatively weak engine. Not bad, only a minor knock, but I'd have gone with a Forester if I could do it again...

My Dad, of blessed memory, was a "just SubarU" for the last decade of his life. I guess I'm following in his footsteps.

I have a 2020 Outback XT Onyx that had a bad battery at about 1200 miles replaced under warranty. The start / stop is annoying but the last software update put the disable button up on the main screen to turn it off, which unfortunately is every time you start it. Otherwise, great in snow and comfortable with weird throttle response but good power. I even learned to get used to the CVT but shifting it manually is a lot more fun.

On the less off-roady side.
I had an Impreza hatchback for a long weekend in CA when we were there for a wedding.
Flew into Sacramento & drove up to Chico, back to Roseville to visit family & back to Chico for the wedding, then down to Sac to fly home.

Really enjoyed the little Impreza, pretty impressed with how well it drove & had more oomph than I expected for a N/A 2.0 engine.

CVT was no problem & had simulated 'shifts'/gears/preset ratios in normal driving.
Don't recall the MPG, but it sipped fuel for the time we had it.

If I weren't looking at something a bit bigger, the Impreza hatch or Crosstrek would be in consideration, especially with the 2.5 from the Outback/Forester.

Right now, my attention is on the Ford Maverick & Bronco Sport.
But, both of those require a brown interior in top trim + lux/tech pkg.
Maverick Lariat + lux pkg = brown interior
Bronco Sport Badlands + tech pkg = brownish orange interior
Bronco Sport Outer Banks, good interior look for me, but not the 3 cyl engine.

I have a 2017 and a 2021 Crosstrek. The 21 has the bigger (20%) more HP than the 17. They are both really good cars that don’t break the bank, drive well, get decent mileage, are mountain goats in the snow, do everything I need basically for a reasonable price.

I could afford a much more expensive vehicle. I do t want one. The “nanny” features are pretty good. I hate the auto off feature and at first stop light usually remember to turn it off. This feature is going to become fairly standard as long as we allow the EPA to dictate gas numbers. I had a 19 RAV4. Typical Toyota quality with a woefully underpowered for weight engine. Also the wonkiest auto transmission I’ve ever owned. It would hunt and peck for gears like me on my iPhone. Ugh. I will take the Subaru CVT every time. The Subaru is lighter and at 182 HP feels much quicker (by no means fast).

If they ever give the Crosstrek the WRX turbo engine it will put them out of business. It would be a killer combo.

Give me the factory lift, bigger tires, higher roof rack weights, bigger motor. Yum.

I prefer my Subaru’s over the multiple Toyotas I have owned. They are both quality products but the RAV4 and the dealer left a bad taste in my mouth. Plus, the front end grill treatment on Toyota’s now is gosh awful ugly. So much grill. Why? Ugh

quote:

Originally posted by pedropcola:
Give me the factory lift, bigger tires, higher roof rack weights, bigger motor. Yum.

They already offer that for a Crosstrek... It's called the Outback/Forester.

I actually owned a Forester. It was my gateway Subaru. Great car. Had some tailgate issues. Unlike Toyota they were very reasonable. Up to and including recognizing they hadn’t completely solved the issue and confirming that it would be fixed even if the warranty expired. Toyota did everything to say there was nothing wrong. Excuse after excuse. They only started fixing it after I started sending their managers a video every other day showing it not working. Toyota lost a long time customer with their bullshit.