Subaru Outback

[Tonyz]

Looking at buying a '02 onwards Outback, But want to hear from owners past and present what they really think, esp. parts cost,tyre wear, and fuel economy.
We need something all wheel drive for the road coditions over here but DONT need or want a large bugga.
Or should we look at something other than the Outback.

Have tried the AUSubaru.com forums but no response (man could we show them how to respond.

Any other advise taken on the chin, wousers butt out.

[Outbackrr]

Owned an Outback from new 1998-2003, 2.5 litre. No parts needed in that time. Fuel economy good if driven sensibly. Tyre wear (on tyre shoulders) can be a bit of a problem but overcome by keeping pressures correct and a few more psi than the recommendation.

All told, a great car which I enjoyed owning. AWD spoils you, I now wouldn't consider FWD or RWD only.

Was going to trade it in 2003 for the new model with 3.0 six but couldn't resist the Forester Turbo and have been more than happy with that since.

[Tonyz]

thanks for the reply . How is the forrester compare interior wise for 3 adults. I beleive all the Subs are on the same floor pan, if so where is the differences come from

[q9]

My parents have one and it is comfy for all 4 of us. Drives just like a car, and has a very tight feel to it. Easy to throw through the bends and has good grip and communicates well what is going on. Seems fairly neutral in its tendencies to me, but I haven't really had a chance to explore the limits yet.

Extra room probably comes from relatively higher seating position, meaning legs more vertical.

I'd actually consider one of these myself...good allrounder.

[Chesand]

I have had a 2.5L Outback (my third Subaru) for 3 years. The only problem I had was bad alignment on LHS resulting in premature tyre wear.
Drives well, comfortable and reasonable on petrol particularly on the open road.

Hope that helps

[Outbackrr]

thanks for the reply . How is the forrester compare interior wise for 3 adults. I beleive all the Subs are on the same floor pan, if so where is the differences come from

Forrester seemed the same cabin size as the Outback, which was previous to the current model, just a bit shorter in cargo area. Five adults no problem. Also, seating is a bit higher too.

[seriph1]

among the best cars on the road IMHO - I own a 2 litre Legacy (same thing as liberty/outback but quad cam twin turbo) and as mentioned, its AWD is sensational.....

[Wild Dingo]

Nice timing for me logging on after a somewhat turbulent few months around here

Im about to buy a 2002 GT Turbo Forester... so tonight Ive been doing some homework checking out online reviews and asking questions... so far of all the comments reviews Ive read all have been good... other than a shortage of room in the rear passenger compartment otherwise all have been positive.

The one Im getting has ALL the fruit!! Good greif its even got bloody aircon!! I mean the first and only car Ive ever had air con in!! WHAHOOO Im gettin all modern :U I did have some worries about the lack of the second shifter (the high low shifter) but seems it was something to do with auto getting them and manual not for some reason... the vehicle is more comfortable than most Ive driven and definantly way more comfortable than the big 4x4s Ive used... almost lounge chair comfy with the arm rests :2tsup: on the road (bloody salesman wouldnt let me go offroad... this will change tomorrow! I will simply tell him Im not payin 24K for an all wheel drive without finding out IF its any good on the sand dirt etc) but on the road it was bloody brilliant smooth as silk gear changes smooth and power to spare... amazing handling compared to most cars it just STICKS to the road!

The drivers veiw was excellent with no impediments to the mirrors or front and side views, this one has less than 80Ks on the clock which I think worked out at something like 12K a year!! bloody hell we do that in less than a month :doh:

Anyway Id been looking at a Land Rover or Range Rover for a few months then the Triton and Navaras Pajeros and such but was having a bit of an issue justifying the economic costs overall... fuel, repairs along with usage needs again this meant the associated fuel costs... the Subaru was just traded and I literally walked into it as the bloke that owned it walked away to his new magna... bloody stunning not a mark on it either on the obvious outside nor the interior so underneath I scampered and nothing... a few small scuff marks on the plastic pan under the motor which Id say was more likely caused by hitting a high road hump than anything even remotely off road.

Ive seen several for sale since around the same price but none with the quality of standard of care this one has been given... 24K is a tad high in my book really but hey with less than 80K on the clock in as new showroom condition I really cant justify anything else

AND!!! Best of all I can buggar of pretty much ANYWHERE I want in this thing in comfort!! :2tsup:

Actually tonight I had a gander and drive of a 2005 or 2006 Outback it was nice but not to mind up to the standard of the Forester...

Sooo go for it I say!! :2tsup:

[Tonyz]

Hey Dingo good timing as U say. Can you say more why you werent so impressed with the Outback please

[seriph1]

I spoke to a bunch of drivers of both..... I reckon the people who buy Outbacks want a 'car' look and the others want a four wheel drive look.... :D

[Outbackrr]

Wild Dingo: Shame that Forester isn't the 2003+ 2.5L XT, then you'd be even more impressed!

Steve: Nothing to do with car or 4WD looks as far as I was concerned when changing over from Outback to Forester, it was just the sheer power of the turbo model I had to have after a test drive:D

Tonto: An important factor we haven't mentioned is the 4 or 5 star safety rating (depending on what model).

[Burnsy]

Nice timing for me logging on after a somewhat turbulent few months around here



Sorry to hijack but welcome back Shane, hope all is well and nothing to untoward has happened to keep you away.

Cheers,
Burnsy

[Geebung]

I have an Outback 2.5...bought it second hand for a great price. I love it, handles well, but the big plus for us was the ANCAP rating - the highest of any passenger vehicle on the road (at the time).

I must admit that the back (boot) area is smaller in comparison to the Corolla that I used to have.

Haven't had to do much maintenance - it has only been serviced once. I believe they sometimes have a propensity to chew through oil...I had to add two litres to mine the other day (the caveat being that I had not serviced the car for over a year!).

[dazzler]

Ive had three liberties but not an outback.

I would rather go with a RAV, CRV or similar as they are AWD like the outback but do it better. The outback kinda go the SUV thing on its way but havent moved along enough IMO

[Doughboy]

We are the owners of a 3 lt 6 cylinder 2006 Outback. Drove the Forrester GT, Legacy B4, and the Forrester XT.
We paid just on 50,000 for it and love it. I like to get it on its toes and give it some stick on occasion, keeps the SS Commodores and XR8 Falcons honest.

We have been offroad but it is not a 4WD just an AWD and if that is your thing then that is your thing, we dont do serious offroad but it will handle more than you originally think.

As for towing it is a dream to use. I pull a double horse float with two horses and all tack needed for a weekend away and you can barely even notice the extra weight.

Fuel economy is supposed to be 11lt/100kn but we are currently at 7.6lt/100km so pretty good by all accounts.

Only one downside I have found is that the tyres, Yokahama Geolander are a dedicated tyre to the Outback and are only good for 30 to 35,ooo km, and I am talking my wifes driving not mine. But like I said this is the only downside we have found.

Having said all that I would seriously consider the Mazda CX9, which is soon to be parked alongside the Outback.

Just my thoughts.:U

[Ashore]

Have had two foresters the first a 2.0 litre , which lacked grunt and the second a 2.5 which I still have 6 yrs old and great car for two people and the ocassional small grand children, though with a booster seat their leg room is too small

Dingo the turbo forester is a great unit has a detuned wrx engine and is quick .....however you need to run it on permium unleaded which is what 10cents a litre dearer and does not come with factory cruise controle cause subaru wont fit cruise controle with their turbos ... why :?

[Outbackrr]

Don't know about cruise control on the GT Dingo is looking at, but the XT I have is a manual and has cruise control.

Doughboy: Been there with the Geolandars on two new Subarus, replaced them with Bridgestone Potenzas in both cases for much better mileage.

[Christopha]

Wife (ex) bought my parents Outback when they bought their new Forester. I have always been a fan of Subys and have had 4 or 5 of the old 1800 wagons. BUT. The Outback of the wifes' uses more fuel than her supercharged Holden Calais used to, it eats bloody tyres, the power steering pump got a squeak in it and had to be replaced for $1200 as it was not a repairable item. The radio has never worked and it keeps running into things, like a post Friday night and a roo on Saturday night.....

[Gra]

wasnt there a problem with them "losing" their spare tyre in their middle of the night recently?

[aljenit]

Hello,
I have a 2005 H6 3.0L outback. Fuel economy 70km/Litre.Can take 95 Octane or 98 octane fuel,but not regular unleaded. Great car for camping and driving,loves a country drive. AWD is a bonus,but it's not built for real off road 4WD (unless it's your hertz hire car of course:oo::oo:) I am very happy with mine and looking to the upgrade I would get another one as long as parts etc stay as easy to get.Cheers ALjenit

[Big Shed]

Hello,
I have a 2005 H6 3.0L outback. Fuel economy 70km/Litre.Can take 95 Octane or 98 octane fuel,but not regular unleaded. Great car for camping and driving,loves a country drive. AWD is a bonus,but it's not built for real off road 4WD (unless it's your hertz hire car of course:oo::oo:) I am very happy with mine and looking to the upgrade I would get another one as long as parts etc stay as easy to get.Cheers ALjenit

70km/Litre? I'd like to see that!:oo:

[Ashore]

70km/Litre? I'd like to see that!:oo:
A lot of time behind a tow truck :?:D:D:D

[wood_wizard]

Subaru's are top cars, and very reliable, but if you get one that has been even slightly neglected they can begin to cost you money, especially in the drive line department. My advise is get it checked out by someone in the know before you buy it, make sure it has service history and look for any signs of damage or accident repair.

Mum and dad own a Rav4 and its a top little car, i dont really like toyotas but for value for money they are reliable, have good resale values and have good parts availablilty. Matt

[Grahame Collins]

The mate had one,
I can say one thing for them ,and that is they do not waste space.
I counted no less than 20 odd pockets recesses and spaces for knicks and nacks.
Lovely vehicle.
Grahame

[Tonyz]

THanks Guys my faith in humans has been restored. Ive placed roughly the same Q in 4 different forums including 2 Subby specials and got no answers, so thanks

[kkperth]

I have a 2006 2.5l Outback and it's a great car, smooth and tight to drive, 5 star safety rating and good on the juice. I have had similar issues to others with the tyres. The Geolanders only lasted 22,000km due to excessive wear on the outside shoulders. Replaced them with cheaper Pirrelis and these are lasting well with regular wheel alignments. I will use the slight over inflation idea to see if this improves the wear.

Around town we use on average 9l per 100km and down to 7 litres on the open road. My mechanic services someone elses 2004 Outback that has done over 400,000km and he said it runs as good as new, here's hoping mine does the same!

Tonto I couldn't recommend it more highly.

[rsser]

Anyone looking at a new or 2nd hand car would find the money well spent on the independant The Dog and Lemon Guide.

It's an annual publication; I picked up my 2007 issue in the newsagent.

Its subtitle is The world's toughest car buyer's guide, written with wit and style by complete cynics!

It covers safety ratings, recalls, common faults, used values etc, and summarises models as either Avoid it Like the Plague, It's OK, or Recommended.

One of the things it says about Subies is that they're good and reliable until things start to go wrong when they turn expensive. IIRC about 150,000 km is the watershed.

As for the Liberty/Outback, they give it a Recommended rating but list four recalls for models from end 1999 to March 2005.

http://dogandlemon.com/

I have an '08 Forester.

[rsser]

I wasn't quite accurate in my post: models up to and inc. 02 are rated as OK in the Dog and Lemon Guide. Current models 'Recommended'. This is from the 07 edition.

[wheelinround]

Interesting thread

I would be ever so careful buying 2nd hand cars right now especially the Forester so many were photographed caught in recent floods with water well up to dash level and some beyond.

How did so many of us miss Shanes return :rolleyes:

[Batpig]

Dear Tonto,

From what I can remember when I was looking into that model, keep the oil changes up, and they're pretty much bullet-proof...

Seem to recall that there might be some "good oil" on them, so to speak, over at drive.com.au. Do a search over there...

They stack up, that's for sure. Pity you can't get the Forrester GT motor in them. Would be ideal for me except that you couldn't stand up a row of chairs in the back of one like you could in, say, a Carnival, or a Vito, or one of those new Hyundai iMax (rear wheel drive...) You can get a 4wd Ssangyong Stavic by the way (Mercedes drivetrain - petrol or diesel) but you'd have to a careful look at the seating versatility pretty closely to see if it suited...

Good Luck,
Batpig.