Ten months now with an 2021 Outback Onyx edition. Came from a MINI Countryman "S" which just got too small. Not sold on the CVT, but otherwise, its O.K.

I do miss the gut wrenching acceleration of the MINI, but the Outback will get up and go if you dig into the throttle a bit.

We specifically bought this model for the turbo and the LACK of the nanny watching the driver's eyes all the time.

Comfortable and quieter than the MINI. Gas mileage is O.K. at about 26MPG and the regular is a definite boon.

No problem to date.

RMD

I got a pre-owned (but only 9k miles) 2017 Subaru Crostrek in 2018. I'm a Subaru fanboy, got it from my Dad who only owned Subaru's for the last 10-15 years of his life.

I DIG my Crosstrek, it's basically a hatchback on steroids. Great car, luxury upgrades, etc., but the engine is a bit weak and loud. Only complaint. If I could do it again, and next time I will, I'll get the Outback

2013 with 60k miles, great gas mileage and plenty of zip for a four banger. Check the years if buying one used. Some are better than others.

We’ve had 3 Subbies and they are on the short list for my wife’s next vehicle. All have been very dependable and very good in sloppy conditions.

The two things to keep an eye out to see if it works for you is that the cvt transmission is not truly off road worthy (saw an Outback get stuck in Canyonlands this fall and we had to tow her out with our Jeep ;-)). Also I think these things don’t tow very much….

Just ordered a 2022 Ascent Onyx a couple weeks ago, should have it sometime in January. We test drove the Ascent, Outback, Hyundai Santa Fe and Honda Passport.

We sat in a Hyundai Palisades and Honda Pilot.

This is technically going to be my wife's car but I'll be driving it more than her given that she rarely drives when we go anywhere and she works from home. So I'll split time with my truck to get a couple more years out of my truck.

Out of all those vehicles we test drove and sat it she said the Ascent was the most comfortable and she felt like she could see everything well. The Honda Passport was a close second.

Since I'll be driving it 75% of the time she made me pick the trim level. Was going to get the Limited but saw the Onyx and thought to myself "That makes me feel not too old, lets get that one". Got the moonroof package and few other option features.

Engine has plenty of power, can tow up to 5k lbs and as far as I know the 2022 will not have the auto stop/start bullshit.

They aren’t good towing cars. The new Crosstrek from Sport and up have the bigger engine. It’s noticeably better. When they put an even bigger engine in it will kill the WRX sales so they might not.

I have the nanny stuff on 3 cars. 2014 Toyota, 2017 Subaru, 2021 Subaru. The stuff on the Toyota is awful. Horrible adaptive cruise control, very choppy application, there has been applications that weren’t really warranted, and when they apply they apply harder than they should. I don’t like. 3 years newer the 2017 Subaru has very good adaptive cruise, very smooth and you can set some guidelines. Once or twice it has seen a phantom in the road but never to the swapping end over end degree described above. Then there is the 2021. You can set following distance with more user input, the adaptive cruise control is basically perfect. You set the speed and the distance on the steering wheel controls and it very smoothly does exactly what you asked. It couldn’t be better in any way I care about. I use this extensively.

Then there is the lane keeping assist. This sucks. It likes to nudge you to the center of where it thinks the middle of the lane is. I only use this if I’m really fatigued and probably shouldn’t be driving anyway. This feature unlike many others is turned off once and stays off till you reengage which for me is basically never.

The start/stop is basically going to be with us until we get a handle on the EPA and the range mandates. There’s a big button that I put a reflective tape border around to remind myself to hit it every time I start the car. Stupid asshole feature with zero saving grace.

So to recap, of all the nanny features I only dislike one. The lane assist. You turn it off once though and it’s off forever. I don’t know how much easier that can be. As for the other stuff, you guys kind of sound like my father in law talking about anything electronic. It’s all bad. Lol. The rear backup warning stuff is gold in a parking lot. You get jammed between two big F350’s and can’t see for shit, that warning system works perfectly and I honestly can’t see how anybody could complain. The adaptive cruise is smooth and highly variable to your desires. Win. As for the pre crash braking, well the odds are way in your favor that this will save you before it will kill you. By a lot. As for “I’ve driven all my life without this bs” guys, well times change. You never had a cell phone, laptop, cable tv, and a P365 when you were younger either. Stuff changes. You can be the guy pissing in the wind irrationally or you can accept that not all change equates to the four horsemen of the apocalypse and might actually be better.

Speaking of which, I love how so many people forget how truly shitty cars used to be. Carburetors sucked. I remember being at the top of Crater Lake and that elevation change was enough to make our station wagon just not want to start. Like I tell my kids, when I was their age a good car started MOST of the time.

One year ago we bought a Subaru Outback XT - my wife's vehicle - and within the week we bought a new Forester as well - needless to say within that first week as new Subie owners loved the Outback and doubled down on another Subie

No regrets - we love them both

I have a new 2021 Outback Limited XT. I love it.

Pros:
The ride is very comfortable and quiet. I think the seats are comfortable.

The XT has a 260-hp turbocharged 2.4-liter engine. It's quick enough and fun to drive.

The Eyesight system works well. More importantly, it's pretty easy to adjust how active/intrusive you want the system to be.

Cons:
Mileage in town isn't very good, but highway mileage is.

The auto stop/start engine feature: I live in the South and there's no way I want to sit at a red light in the summer with the engine off. However, this turned out to not be the big deal I thought it would be. Pressing a single button before I back out of the garage turns it off. Also, if I apply lighter pressure on the brakes at a red light, the engine won't turn off even if the auto stop/start "feature" is on.

Touchscreen/audio/car settings: There are reports on the Outback forum of the software having glitches such as settings for driver profiles not being retained, the screen/unit resetting, etc. I think updating software can be a challenge.

Door locks: This a silly complaint, but there's no walk-away locking feature. I either have to use the key fob or touch the door handle before walking away to lock the car. My last few Hondas would auto lock after I walked away, and I do miss that.

Wife has an '18. My only gripe is the seats aren't the best. Otherwise it's been a great vehicle. Unstoppable in crappy weather.

I love my ‘20 ‘Trek. I could’ve had an Outback or a Forester, but I just couldn’t justify the need or desire for the extra size/room.

Subarus are well-built, reliable, handle well, ride nicely, and are fuel efficient. Their AWD system is perfected, and their bodies are relatively rigid.

So far, after 26k miles since May ‘20, I’ve had no problems. I know that is too soon since it is relatively new, but that is a lot of miles for that short of a time especially since I drive a company car, not putting daily driving miles on the ‘Trek.

My complaints are the start/stop being automatically activated at startup and the collision braking activating when I’m not in danger. I’m not for the nanny features, but they work as advertised for those who need or want them. The CVT in’t a dealbreaker, but I had to get used to it.

I would only be in the market for another vehicle IF Subaru would release another truck. That Hyundai Santa Cruz is neato, but I don’t want to be lost in the ocean of Hyundai customers at the dealer for service like I was when we had a couple of Kias.

We have a 2015 outback limited with 75k miles.

Fantastic car and so far just replaced the tiny battery, tires, and brakes. Great both around town and highway travel.

Heartily recommended!

Thanks, all, I appreciate the comments.

I put on about 30 miles a day on the routine commute, and after having it for a few days now, I'm really liking it. And hating that what I really want is an Infiniti Q50 Red Sport 400 AWD. It's very much NOT a Subaru, for sure, and significantly more expensive (and less practical). But it's screaming fast! Not that fast should be the main consideration, but I've never had a truly fast, strong, and luxurious car. I digress....

Back to the Outback... does a model's XT designation simply indicate that it gets the turbo engine? It seems that the difference between Limited and Touring is simply that the Touring version gets ventilated Nappa leather seats and some shiny bits. Anything more important than that?

And on a different note, I found last night that there's no lug wrench under the rear floor. The jack and spare tire are there, but no wrench. Do those normally get removed from rental cars?

quote:

Originally posted by vthoky:
Thanks, all, I appreciate the comments.

I put on about 30 miles a day on the routine commute, and after having it for a few days now, I'm really liking it. And hating that what I really want is an Infiniti Q50 Red Sport 400 AWD. It's very much NOT a Subaru, for sure, and significantly more expensive (and less practical). But it's screaming fast! Not that fast should be the main consideration, but I've never had a truly fast, strong, and luxurious car. I digress....

Back to the Outback... does a model's XT designation simply indicate that it gets the turbo engine? It seems that the difference between Limited and Touring is simply that the Touring version gets ventilated Nappa leather seats and some shiny bits. Anything more important than that?

And on a different note, I found last night that there's no lug wrench under the rear floor. The jack and spare tire are there, but no wrench. Do those normally get removed from rental cars?

We have the Touring XT, a 2021 which has the turbo and also has brown Napa leather with ventilated seats. I thought it was a gimmick but this summer when we were in Florida as soon as we turned on the air conditioned seats oh man, game changer that makes up for the lack of those crotch pointed vents automakers used to have under steering wheels

It's cold today, so ventilated seats are a no-need. I did find the heated steering wheel switch today. Cool!

No wait, it's warm. Eh, um, er... you guys know what I mean.

Last year we purchased a 2020 Forester Touring model. We drove the Outback, but my wife thought it was too much like a station wagon. I drove both and liked both.
Last week my battery in my truck died so I had to drive the Forester to the airport to pick up my wife. To that point I had driven it 3 times to fill the tank up for my wife. Even without the turbo, I had no problem with engine power on the highways. There are so many electronic features in the Subarus that I was a little overwhelmed at first.
I did buy an extended warranty because of all the electronics.
My wife has driven 4 trips to Georgia with it so far and the only complaint is the seats could be better on a long trip (862 miles).

Have/had several Subies in the family stable:
- 2000 OB wagon from new - donated it to charity at 365,000mi.
- #3 son has a 2002 Imprezza - 180K miles
- #2 son has MY 2009 Forester - 250K miles
- wife drives a 2012 OB wagon - 120K mile
- I have a 2018 Forester Black Edition - just crossed 60K.

I'm eyeing the Wilderness edition Forester if I shuffle my 2018 down thru the family.
#1 son bought a VW-GTI - his 1st car. Thought it was cool till he learned Dad's 1st car was a 1985-Golf GTI - had that thru 265,000 miles until I saw the light and got the 2000 OB

I had a 2013, that burned close to a qt of oil every 1k mi, Subaru said it didn’t meet the standard for the engine replacement. They did the oil consumption test, sealed the dip stick, when checked after the prescribed time, they said it was fine… when I got home, I checked the level and it was 1/4 inch above the full mark. I went back to the dealer and asked them why it was over filled? They said they were following the test.

The oils level even when I had the free changes from the dealer was never that high. dealer was completely useless as was Subaru America

Traded it in the following week, at least it had a high trade in value. Never will I buy a Subaru again.

My brother on the other hand is on his 3rd with no issues.

quote:

Originally posted by sgalczyn:
Have/had several Subies in the family stable:
- 2000 OB wagon from new - donated it to charity at 365,000mi.
- #3 son has a 2002 Imprezza - 180K miles
- #2 son has MY 2009 Forester - 250K miles
- wife drives a 2012 OB wagon - 120K mile

With a 320K-mile Nissan in my own garage, that's the kind of report I like to see!

Baran's experience, on the other hand, is quite another thing.

quote:

Originally posted by rtquig:
I did buy an extended warranty because of all the electronics.

I believe this would be a necessity. The amount of gee-whiz technology in this car is amazing.

My wife got a 2021 Outback in April. Biggest engine with turbo. It's got the goods for highway cruising. I found I have to flog the accelerator a bit to do daily commute stuff on state highways.

The biggest annoyance is the driver recognition. The facial recognition reminds me every time I get into it that I must be a generic white guy. Second biggest annoyance is the car doesn't think I am looking at the road, but I do. Eyes-on-road detection doesn't factor in you have to look down coming down a quick slope or way off to the side in a tight subdivision curve. I find that I can get the car to freak by tilting my head down and still look straight ahead.

Third biggest annoyance. Certain functions are split between the main head unit in the center dash and the instrument cluster. There's a magic little stalk at the bottom left of the steering wheel to find out things like why the car is b*tching at you about tire pressure. This, and a lot of the Subaru functions are mirror opposite from GM cars. I got a 2017 Impreza and drove it for a year before my son learned how to drive and took it with him to college. I've taken two freak-out calls from my wife to find functions on the car. It'd be easier if the criminals at the dealership would have called her back for a new owner tech walkthru.

Basically everything Rogue said about the eyesight is our complaints as well.
Power is obviously not there but it gets you there. MPG hasn't been great. Granted it takes 87 octane so that's a bonus.

Here's some mpg averages from our use, mostly mixed city/highway driving. Subarus are 87 octane and BMWs are 93 octane because of tunes, couldn't use 91 octane.