I used to drive a Honda Civic, and it served me well for over 12 years. When I arrived in Ontario, I realized that an 88 Civic just wasn't going to cut it. I found the Outback, formerly leased, with only 35000 km for $24000 Cdn, or about $16000 US. Fully loaded, with every option available for a '98 Limited, I couldn't believe how lucky I was. I'm 6 foot 8 inches tall, and had to fold myself into the Honda. I FIT IN THE SUBARU!! This may seem a small thing to most people, but not to me. I commute an hour and a half to and from work every morning and evening...comfort is at a premium in the Outback. The factory sound system, with 8 speakers, is a dream. The CD player has yet to skip, despite lots of offroading. Smooth, and quiet, I have confidence in this vehicle.

The cup holders are a sadistic bit of engineering. The alloy rims are a pain in the a**, especially if you live in a cold climate. After a few weeks, all the tires had slow leaks from the rims contracting. Steel should be the choice for any car like this, especially if you plan to drive anywhere other than a paved road. A bit more passing power would be nice, but the new 2001 is available in a 6 cylinder, so I guess Subaru listened to the suggestions of owners of the 2.2/2.5L 4 cylinder.

Recommend it? Damn right! This car has saved my life a couple of times already. Weather conditions that would have left me sidelined with the old car don't even phase this bad boy. Excellent design, great value for buck, especially considering I got it used, barely broken in!!

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-all-wheel drive - price
-handling - value
-looks

-slightly underpowered; would be awesome with 6-cylinder!!

The car handles very well. It also gets good gas mileage in comparison to any 4-wheel drive vehicles. The looks are also a +. The value and reliability of the vehicle is great! Also, I have the limited edition
which provides for some nice additions such as great sound system (subwoofer/amp/cd/tape), leather interior with heated seats.
I bought the car from CarMax with 44,000 miles on it. After reading several different reviews from consumers, I didn't hesitate to purchase it with a little miles on it. This car should last 175,000+ miles with the right service and care.

I bought the car with anticipation of moving where the weather isn't as predictable as atlanta. Can't wait to drive it in the snow/ice!! I've been on several camping trips in remote camp sites and the car traveled through the gravel/rock/muddy road without any problem. Ground clearance is nice.


It is a little under-powered but not as much as some reviewers make it out to be. The ergonomics of the car are not the most practical but not that big of a deal either.

I would definitely recommend this car from what i've seen so far...

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Ford Explorer

Sharp looking car, every option I could wish for is in this car, great gas milage for this size car, great in snow.

POOR PAINT QUALITY. cloth door panels constantly coming apart. weak brakes that start pulsating every 6000-7000 miles that require new rotors

I bought this car in 99 after 6 great years with a 93 legacy that never had any more than routine service required( I never had a need to take it back to the dealer for service, not once!) Unfortunately, the quality that had been put into that 93 is not in the 99. After 2 years, 23000miles and 14 trips back to the dealer, I cant take it anymore. It will be sold as soon as my Highlander arrives. after 9 months the top surfaces had to be re-clear coated because of how dull and spotted the clearcoat became(Subaru would not pay for this until we wrote a letter to the CEO)I wax every 3 months and its garage kept. The cloth door panel inserts have been replaced 3 times and the day after I got it back from the dealer the cloth on the 3rd set started separating from their backing! (The dealer had given it some free customizing by installing 3 dents to the drivers door) The front seats squeaked and had to be repaired twice.(I guess what can you expect for 23K?) Brake rotors last about 7000 miles before needing replaced because of pulsating, the engine started cutting out right off of idle when cold.(took 4 trips to partially fix that)The dealer has had the car in their shop for a total of 7 weeks 3 days. SUBARU: NEVER AGAIN.

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93 legacy

Rides like a luxury automobile. I love the smooth ride on paved roads. I've up to the mountains and of-roading. It was great fun! I was in complete control on dirt roads. So much so that I sometimes felt reckless. It was great knowing that this outback was firmly all wheeled on the ground

I haven't found any yet!

I would strongly recommend this car. I paid $23900 out the door for this new 2000 outback. My wife drives it to work and I drive it on the weekends for adventure.

We are already thinking about buying the next 2001 outback 6 cyclinder 214 horsepower for myself. I can't wait

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AWD, reliability, overall room (especially headroom), Torquey engine, driveability

Front cupholder position, roadnoise, Long-term seat comfort, general instrument egonomics

Bought new for about $21500 USD in 1996. Less than a week after I bought it, I took my family to Table Mountain in central Washington State to look at Comet Hyakatake. We got about 3/4 of the way to the top when I decided we were far enough. The narrow road was getting thick with snow, and was officially closed, so I didn't want to chance it with my family with me. However, the next night, I took a friend with me and we drove all the way to the top, where there was nothing but snowmobile tracks, on a snow level of two to three feet. We couldn't see the road at all. Bear in mind that this is 12:00 midnight - 1:00 AM. Well, the clouds were too thick to see anything, so we drove around the top of the mountain for a while, which was a lot of fun, then returned to the bottom. The car inspired confidence the whole time.

That summer we drove to North Dakota, and cruised at 95 mph most of the time through Eastern Montana, occasionally going 100 mph or more, even with a Thule on top. The car was entirely stable, but I took care not to make any quick turns at those speeds.

It has taken us on many other long trips since.

I drive to the mountains occasionally, but don't push the car too hard off-road, mostly seeking out of the way camping sites.

Comfortable ride, but the seats have become a bit less supportive over time, with all of us complaining about back pain on long trips.

Even if the cupholders were placed elsewhere, I still don't like the dash ergonomics. HVAC, audio, etc., aren't well designed. Window controls and steering column controls are OK, but not great.

Visibility is excellent, which I have found to be extremely valuable in the crowded traffic around Seattle.

Steering/Handling is very good, especially at normal driving speeds (see above).

There is a bit of road noise, which is probably due mostly to the tires. We have 68,000 miles on the original set, with maybe 5,000 more to go.

We just had to have the front main engine seal relpaced, because it was leaking oil, which at driving speeds would get blown back onto the exhaust manifold, and the car would smoke and smell like burning oil at any stop. We have had no other problems, only routine maintenance.

It has a good amount of interior room, but I wish they would widen it at least two inches.

I am glad we bought this car, which at the time was more than we felt comfortable paying. However, it has turned out to be an excellent value.

I highly recommend this car, mostly because of the AWD. If you live where it never rains or snows, or if you have perfect pavement everywhere you drive, you probably wouldn't appreciate its unique characteristics.

I am tempted by the new model, as it has addressed most of my complaints. (I am glad they listen to consumers.) However, I am also tempted by the Audi A6, but is it worth the extra $10,000-15,000??????

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It's the only AWD/hybrid we've used

Quality, dependable

Could use a few more horses

I am on my second Outback. I started with a 1997 and loved it. The only reason it is gone is because someone hit me (Car held up nicely though). Traded it in on a new 2000 Outback and love this one even more. Build quality has gone up a few notches, not that it needed it. The new one feels very solid and feels like a much more expensive car. I have a Toyota 4Runner also, and the Subaru was $10,000 cheaper, gets better mileage, rides better and can hauls almost as musch stuff in the back. A real value.

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Toyota 4Runner

Price / value ratio is great. Interior space is huge. Quality and appearance of interior materials is excellent. Exterior paint and design is excellent. Extremely quiet interior and smooth on roads (near luxury levels).

Stock 4-cassette stereo is garbage. High profile tires cause the car to have more body roll than it should. Stock tires aren't very good for winter traction. Rear wiper isn't intermittent. Should have an interior temperature gauge. Could use a slightly larger engine. Needs better approach/exit angles. Seats could be extended with the ability to recline higher.

I would recommend that anyone who needs the swiss-army knife of vehicles, should look at the Outback or Legacy. There's not many cars which can be so many different things when you need it to be. It can pass as a pseudo-luxury car, a pseudo-SUV, a pseudo-station wagon, and even a pseudo-sport vehicle.

The only concern I have is that this car needs a bit more power than it has.

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Great gas mileage for a AWD vehicle (20-24 mpg. Good handling real well in rain, mud and snow. I took this car backpacking in the Eastern Sierras and had no problems on the dirt mountain roads leading the trail head. Ample room for packing all your gear and holding 4 people. Decent stereo system.

I bit under powered when packed with gear and going up hill. I wish Subaru would come out with a 6 cylinder or turbo model. Could use bigger and more cup holders and powered seats.

Paid about $25K in 1997. The Outback is a great AWD vehicle for day-to-day city and country driving. It is a no-nonsense wagon for the active family or outdoor enthusiast. I've taken it backpacking and camping, use it haul my mountain bike all around the SF Bay Area and to move stuff. It's a good all around multi-purpose wagon. The only draw back is it lacks power for any kind of heavy duty off roading or if it is packed with gear going up a steep hill. But I'm sure it Subaru didn't intend it for that purpose.

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Easy to drive
4WD allows you to move through varying situations seemlessly
A little more umph then similar cars
Plenty of room for four adults, enough for five

Short, hard seats
Not quite enough umph
cup holder above the stereo, how am I supposed to get at it now?
No frames for the windows

Its a great car overall. Its best for around-the-town and short haul driving. The seats really start to wear on you after the second hour. There have been some gaps in finish quality, lights behind switchs failing, but nothing that effected the performance of the car. It pulls my 18' inboard ski boat out of the lake on reasonable ramps and drives very well on the highway. The power is fairly good, as the boat example suggests, but another 20 or 30 hp would greatly improve this car. There are some curious design features, for example the absence of a rigid frame for the windows. Every time I shut the door with the window half down I'm afraid it will get knocked off its track, or worse, break. And that cup-holder! I don't think a worse position could be found for it.

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Toyota Corolla wagon

Sport ute tractability and cargo capacity in a better handling car package
Solid build quality and reliability
Easy servicability

Odd switchgear placement (secondary controls behind steering wheel, heated seat controls on console where easily bumped)
Occasional hesitation and a little short on power
The ubiquitous cupholder complaint

I bought my `99 5-speed 1 year ago for $20,100, complete with heated seats and towing package (the pending arrival of the refreshed-styled 2000 models helped to lower the $23,500 sticker significantly.) It's got plenty of power for normal commutes but seems lacking when fully laden with passengers and their cargo. I imagine the lack of horsepower would be more pronounced with the automatic.
I get more off-road miles than the average sport-ute owner (who rarely ventures further off-road than the Wal-Mart parking lot) and have been very impressed by it's performance. Ground clearance (7.3") is adequate, the only limiting factor being comparably long front and rear overhangs (an approach angle miscalculation cost me my driver's side foglight.) I've also towed with it and was impressed by it's ability to shoulder the load.
The interior is a mixed bag. The materials are quality and I haven't heard an errant squeek yet. The seats are comfortable and, unlike other reviewers, I've found that the seats' rather firm cushions hold up better on long trips than soft, coddling seats. The center armrest is solid as a rock, yet doesn't seem uncomfortable. Certain secondary controls are oddly placed (foglamps, rear-window defroster, etc. behind the steering wheel on the bottom of the gauge binnacle and heated seat controls on the console where easily bumped into activation.) I've read criticism about the position of the power window switches but I've noticed that by not putting them on a door armrest extension that it leaves more lateral legroom (I can comfortably rest my left leg against the door on long trips without resting it against a plastic grab handle.) The rear seating is a little tight for 3 people or 2 6-footers.
Then there's the cupholder. A slot-out type positioned over the radio and under the HVAC controls, it effectively blocks both while generously sharing with them any drink overspill. Just try cleaning congealed Coke syrup out of the HVAC vent selector buttons. I bought the optional rear seat cupholder for $30 (mounts on the back of the center armrest, replacing the rear ashtray.) It's far superior, being compact and capable of holding large drinks. Beware, self installers-drilling is involved.
The car handles better than you'd think a tall wagon would. Body roll is not pronounced and steering's tight (if a little lightly weighted.) The clutch has a takeup I can only describe as 'slightly weird' but you get used to it. The all-wheel drive operates transparently and, when whipped on a loose surface like gravel or snow, can be forced into playful oversteer.
The Outback makes an excellent alternative to SUVs, especially for those who have moderate off road-tractability needs but don't want a poor-handling, gas guzzling truck-based ute. Celebrating my one year anniversary with this car, I'm very happy with my choice.

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Short of an Audi A6 Avant (which is twice the price) nothing else is comparable