Very car-like for a 4WD and handles well;safety features(constant 4WD/ABS braking/dual airbags/seatbelt pretensioners/centre rear lap sash/body rigidity etc); high quality build; quiet, fast and reliable.

Could do with a larger 3.0 litre 6 cylinder motor rather than the stnd 2.5 litre 4 cylinder (coming out soon). Very capable traction off-road but ability is limited by long overhangs front and rear which severely affects approach and departure angles.

The best car type 4WD at the moment, I would recommend this vehicle to anyone looking for comfortable, safe and reliable family vehicle - with a touch of panache and style. The car is good looking and is well suited to Australian road conditions where the constant 4WD system is an added bonus on dirt roads, snow, sand and slippery situations.

In Australia, Subaru 4WD's enjoy an enviable reputation for dependability, good build quality and honest motoring at a reasonable price. There are many stories in the Aussie bush where farmers and wilderness cattle station owners have driven their Subarus to 500,000 kms (312,500 miles) without any major problems. The boxer engine is inherently reliable (if a little noisy)and has good torque characteristics at low revs.

I have owned a few Subaru 4WD's in my time and they have never let me down.
A family member had one from new up to 247,000 kms and he never had any problems. In that time one CV joint, the exhaust and brake pads were replaced and no other maintenance other than regular servicing. When he sold the car engine compression was still within spec., the car still had the original clutch and virtually no rust...you can't ask for much more than that!

These vehicles are very capable off-road. Traction in sand is superb with the combination of an excellent load distributing 4WD system, a relatively light body and good power to weight ratio helping the situation. I am a keen fisherman and have taken Subarus into very wild places where only big 4WD's go, without too much trouble. One word of warning though, the television advertisement of Outbacks being thrown around the dirt with 'gay abandon' is a bit misleading. Although underbody ground clearance is good at 205mm, the car does have a very similar approach angle to a normal sedan...so be careful off-road not to crunch the front end. My solution to this will be to replace the front bumper with a nicely styled bull bar that has carefully designed approach angles and in addition put on an aftermarket lift kit to further raise the vehicle.

The on-road manners of the Outback are superb and the car is an excellent country tourer with the cruise control and good power. The constant 4WD and added safety features always makes you feel safe in the vehicle. In fact, in Australia, government crash testing of several family vehicles has shown the Subaru Liberty/Legacy to be one of the safest vehicles (equal to Volvo), but at half the price.

As you can see, all in all I am generally very happy with my Subaru Outback and would recommend the vehicle to anyone.

My ratings are 5 Stars for Value and 4.5 Stars Overall (minus the half star for ultimately more power needed, and the front end needs sorting out for off-road situatons).

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Many other light and heavy 4WD's

Nice styling; fun to drive (when it's not in the shop)

Very loud engine rattle; frequent stalls; frequently does not start; frequent illumination of 'check engine' light; the absoluter WORST customer service I've ever received in my life.

My car has been in the shop at least 7 times in the last 6 months for problems with the engine. Although I'm still under warranty, Subaru refuses to admit that any of the problems are a result of a defective engine. The car sounds like a diesel truck, and they consider this to be within "normal operating parrameters." I would Highly recommend you do not spend any money on a Subaru. Occassional screw-ups are understandable, but continuously terrible customer service on both the local and national levels is inexcusable. Drop me an Email if you'd like more information.

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Audi A4; Nissan Pathfinder - both are nice cars with MUCH MUCH better customer service

Great looks inside and out. Nice firm seats. Dual sunroofs, great audio system, nice ground clearance.

Some controls hard to see from behind the wheel.

This is a great car. Rides and drives every bit as good as my Lexus ES 300, and better than it in the snow. I would buy another.

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VW Passat AWD Wagon. Audi A4 AWD Wagon

Nice paint job. Good 5 speed transmission.Matches engine perfectly. 16 inch wheels are beautiful. Handles great. Headlights look great.

The dashboard reflects the sunlight into the windshield. Makes it hard to see out.

Nice car. Very popular in this area because of it's AWD and the fact that in the Northwest many people are using these cars to go camping, kayaking, bicycling or some outdoor activity. The roof rack is perfect for attaching bike racks or other extra racks to. They support about 150 pounds. The rack that comes with the Outback looks good and matches the car. I purchased the Outback with the 5 speed transmission. I think it's better suited to the 4 cylinder 2.5 liter engine than the automatic. Handling is fantastic for a wagon. I can't wait for the winter when there's ice and snow on the road.

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Ford Escape.

very comfy rear seats, styling, interior stuff, moonroofs, cargo and convenience of a wagon, nice on rough dirt roads

bad place for seat heater buttons, cold weather package should be an option because I will never need it in Florida

very nice car overall, very very comfy, drives great, enjoy it very much, haven't hade any problems, recommend it highly, will purchase a Subaru again!

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none really

None. If you run into a lemon like me, don't expect Subaru will treat you with any respect.

Defective transmission and differential. Subaru of Canada refused to acknowlege that there was a major problem with the car.

The seal which separate the differential from the transmission on my 99 brand new Subaru Outback Limited was not properly installed in the factory causing a leak of transmission fluid to the differential bursting the differential seal. I had made numerous trips to the dealership to have the problem corrected but the dealership failed to correct the problem completely, it came down to a small leak of transmission fluid very now and then. Finally the dealer refuse to service our vehicle further. Complain was filed with Subaru of Canada and I was treated like dirt by them, they were so obviously standing on the dealer's side.

http://members.tripod.com/Subaru_lemon/Outback_1.html

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Volvo V70 T5, a lot more fun to drive. It out perform the Subaru in every category and it does not come with a fatal defect. Service has been excellent.

The car is very quiet and handles well. Mileage is as advertised, 20 in town and 25 on the road. Fit and finish are good.

The seats! The best seats in the car are the rear ones. The front seats are the worst and the driver's seat is the very worst. They are just plain hard. It is like sitting on a board. There is very little spring travel up and down so that when you go over a bump you are driven down hard into a seat with no give left in it. The seats are so hard that after a short time it will make your legs and butt numb unless you keep shifting position. On the drivers side you will be constantly using the seat controls to try and find a more comfortable position. There is no seat cushion that I have found (including $100 memory foam cushions) that will correct the problem. If you are interested in this car, rent one for the weekend and take it for a very long driving trip. I test drove the car for short (20 minute runs) and the problems with the seats did not really show up until I drove it for about an hour. I have about 3000 miles on the car and expect to get rid of it before it has 5000 miles. What point is there in keeping a car I can only drive comfortably for very short distances. I would never buy another Subaru unless they correct the seat design.

I have only one problem with the car. The seats are so hard that it makes rides of more than 30 minutes a read "butt numbing" experience.

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My other car is a Jeep Grand Cherokee and I can drive 7 or 8 hours in that car and the seats never bother me. I looked at the Mazda Tribute, but it had way too much tire noise and engine noise plus the seats are not all that great either.

There seems to be a ton of room for any trip. My wife and I do triathlons so there is always a ton of junk to bring. The Outback had more than enough room (much better than my 98 Jeep Grand Cherokee).

Oil changes are every 7,500 instead of 3,000 due to how the engine is layed out.

The Outback drives like a car and not a truck which is nice for city and highway driving. It also doesn't feel as heavy as other SUVs.

The steering is nice and tight.

The leather seats are nice and firm.


The rear seats fold flat and create a ton of storage space.

Everyone I have met in person who has had a subaru loves them.

First Sunroof doesn't slide back. I would change that in the next model.

V-6 still isn't very strong if you go up big hills/mountains - like V8s

Doesn't come with optional tented rear windows like almost all SUVs

Key and Remote isn't as cool as Volkswagons (They have a very cool looking key)

You have to buy 89 or 92 octane instead of regular gas. I have been using 89 without any problems. It suggests 92 though.

The passenger seat is not electric.
The doors don't auto lock after getting up to 15mph like in the Jeep.

There is no memory for seat location like many high price Cars/SUVs have. Can be a pain if you share the car with someone of a differnt size. My Jeep has two settings. Lucky for me my Wife loves the Jeep and I love the Subaru.

This car rocks. It drives extremely smooth and takes corners much better than my Jeep. I purchased the Pearl/Grey color scheme and it looks sweet. Installing Yakama racks on the roof were a snap and I didn't have to remove the rails that came with the Outback. I also installed a plasic subaru front hood gard with ease and no drilling required.

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Jeep Grand Cherokee - I prefer the outback to the jeep for the ride, space.
I prefer the jeep higher visibility(can see over cars better) and offroad use. The jeep also uses regular gas vs outbacks 89/93 requirement.

None

The car runs extremely bad. It has no power, the engine trembles as if it was running on 3 cylinders (Subaru claims that it is normal). Everything is a weakness with this car. Our VW Golf seemed to have more cargo space!
What a terrible purchase.
The biggest weakness: after sales service. There is NO repair of the problems if you buy a lemon. NONE. Because they refuse to admit that there IS a problem. Look at other people complaining of their Subaru Lemons. They share the same story. We're abandonned the the dealers! and Subaru!

Extemely BAD impressions. Owning this car has been a nightmare since day-1. There are multiple problems with the car and both the dealership and Subaru-Canada refuse to admit that there are problems, and they cannot repair the problems, even with teir recalls.

Their last attempt to fix the poor running of the engine was to recall the cars and replace the engine control module and the oxygen sensor. This only made the car worse.

The problems range from a rough-running motor, "Engine Light" randomly ON, horrible smell in the car when it is cold out, uncomfortable seats that won't stand up when you recline them, heated seats that do not work, "clunk" sound in the rear differential, the clutch smells and shutters when the car is cold, and the list goes on..

Basically, the dealership told us that they are washing their hands from the problems.

No service, no quality, no garantees!! NEVER again a Subaru!!!
Buyers Beware: Buy a Subaru at your own risk! If you get a bad one, you ARE stuck with it. There are no way out! NONE. Subaru is a bad deal!

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No other product was this bad, so I have to compare it with an old car that I had at University which was a 1979 Dodge Aspen. But SUbaru is worse!

AWD, Smooth 6 cylinder, Interior design, Clear sounding stereo, Climate control, Dual moonroofs, Etc.

Complaints... perhaps the secondary cup holder. But, I didnt purchase the car for the cup holders!!

This a very smooth, quiet AWD vehicle. We are extremely impressed with this car. The AWD works great. Have had the opportunity to corner this hard on off ramps. ( 120kph, vs. 60kph ) This car holds the road very well. Remember this is a wagon/suv, not a sports car. Its tuff.
Yes, we would and have recommended this car to friends and people who have approached us. Cars will always drive smoother, quieter, and more predictable ( emergency manouvers ) than any "SUV" Subaru has a perfect balance.

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Well this is the list we looked at before this purchase. 2002 Explorer. Harsh ride and engine. 2002 Envoy. Much nicer than the Explorer but its a truck. Drive these bigger vehicles at 100kph, jerk the steering wheel back and forth...body roll.
2001 Volvo XC, very nice, $15,000 more for the similiar equipped vehicle.
2001 VW Passat GLX, / Audi A6, nice as well. Liked them both although the Audi price range was in the Volvo category. The Vw was the direct competition for the money. We liked this car.
The "VDC" and the ground clearence is what won us over. With the conditions of our local streets, there was no doubt that the Passat would be bottoming out in winter.
Like most people we did alot of research on all these automobiles. The Subaru is what we preferred.