Looking to buy a new car, specifically a Subaru Outback.

I like the thought of AWD, with winter coming up. I also spend a lot of time hiking, xc ski-ing, camping, etc. I feel this car might come in handy, but they can be a bit pricey.

Anybody own one of those? Have a friend or close relative who owns one? Opinions on this vehicle?

Thanking you all in advance!

My dad has a Legacy which is the junior brother to the Outback and he′s pretty happy with it. It has had a strange problem that comes and goes and we still don′t know what causes it. It′s an electronic error where suddenly the cruise control stops working and several warning lights go on. Nothing that affects performance other than the cruise control but it′s annoying.

But other than that he′s had about four years with no problems. I′d say it′s quite reliable. Are you going for a brand new Outback?

I have a Quattro but I like the Outback because of its height. I′m often traveling on small roads which can have lots of snow sometimes and height combined with permanent 4WD is much desireable.

While I dont own one I can say that it is wise to research your credit and have a realistic understanding of your budget before you go in.

How many miles do you drive per year? What kind of driving do you generally do?

Subaru makes some nice, reliable, cars. Not sure what their warranty is like on new ones though, something to pay attention to, and where you can go for service as well. Having to drive 50 miles to the dealership for warranty work gets old in a hurry.

I LOVE AWD in the winter. Keep in mind though, that while it WILL help you accelerate faster in poor conditions, it will NOT help you slow down faster. I have seen to many folks not realize that, and they end up paying me to haul them out of the ditch.

It also won't help you corner better, except that your wheels will slip a bit less when accelerating during a turn.

We have an Outback. Bought it new in 2012. No problems at all. Very good in snow.

If I were buying another car, it would be a Subaru. I know other Subaru owners who feel the same way. They are good reliable cars.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SdopTDcQtog

My wife and I have an 2002 Outback Sport. It's the lower end of the Outback models. It's been a good little car but since it's over 10 years old it's starting to show it's age. As long as you change the oil and keep up with the maintenance it'll last a really long time.

Anyone who lives in an area with regular amounts of snow fall but refuses to change to snow tires has nothing to complain about, in my humble opinion.

Snow tires make a huge difference, and with AWD, it's about as safe as safe can be.

Just some of the benefits:

-up to 30% decrease in braking distance.

-specifically designed for cold temperatures

-improved handling on ice and snow

-reduces the need for AWD at stops due to the better traction

Yeah, they're not cheap, but considering the alternative, well worth the investment. Once you buy a set, they'll last about 5 years, depending on use.

Know a couple people with Suburas that love them. Having driven a few of them I'd agree that they are good vehicles. My roommate has a 99 outback that is way up in miles and still runs great.

That said, I'll stick with my Accord. Though I'd rather still have my TSX that got totalled by someone looking at their phone and not paying attention to the road.

Yep, they certainly do, and if you can afford to have another set of wheels/tires, or pay to have them swapped twice a year, that's all well and good. Not to mention having a place to store the wheels/tires that aren't on the car.... Not something I am really interested in doing, thankyouverymuch.

Of course, I drive a 3/4 ton 4x4 truck, and my tires are pretty aggressive in any event. I don't have problems getting to where I need to go, even when other folks are trapped in their driveways, or in a snowdrift..... (and I keep a log chain in the truck for just such occasions......) On our van, which is AWD, I have one set of tires, also fairly aggressive, and they do just fine year round. Of course, the van won't handle the deep snow nearly as well as the truck..... but, for crappy driving conditions, it's great. (so long as the snow doesn't get too deep.) On ice, unless you have studs, or chains, doesn't matter what tires you have, you are going to have extremely limited traction.... (and both of those are illegal here.....) So, either don't drive, or go VERY slow.

I drove home from work one day, about 40 miles, after we had freezing rain. The roads were covered in black ice. Even with all-terrain tires (different truck then), and 4wd, 25 mph was too fast.... a strong wind could blow me right out of my lane, and I became a passenger with a steering wheel. Had to hold on till I hit one shoulder of the road, or the other, so I could regain control. That was a LONG ride home.....

Spiky tires ftw

Indeed, if I had been able to use studs, it would have been a breeze, but, for some obscure reason, the michigan legislature, in their infinite wisdom...... decided we couldn't use them any more. Tearing up the roads when they WEREN'T snow covered apparently.

At that point, I decide that if there was a quarter inch or more of ice on my windshield when I went out to go to work, I just stayed home.

It has been proven though that those tyres, by rugging up the surface, help those without spikes as those tend to polish the road and make it even slipprier.

Is that a word; slipprier..?

Bought a used 2011 Subaru Legacy last year with under 27000 miles on it. Love it in the bad weather, gives you a bit more control. Now for me it isn't a big jump even moving from RWD to AWD, just don't have to worry about control as much.

You lose a bit of gas mileage, but it's worth it especially if you live an area with consistent cold and/or precipitation or unpredictable weather (like southeast PA)

There's not much gas mileage loss any more, with AWD. All of the Subaru cars are AWD, and their gas mileage is comparable to their FWD competitors. I'd say that the slight fuel-economy difference would equate to the difference in weight; the extra drive-line adds weight.

One nice thing about Subarus is that they have a low center of gravity for an AWD, because of the boxer-type engine, which is flatter and lower.

You are right about the gas mileage. If you ever do get in an accident, you will never recover the costs of having to "save gas mileage". I got into an accident and thank God I didn't have those cars that save on gas. 5 car pile up, car in front of me, his back end an accordion, car behind me, front and back turned into an accordion, my car, just a scratch and not written off.

So I never care when someone says, there car gets better gas mileage. When they get into an accident they will never EVER recoup the costs of the "savings" they got.