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New Outback, 2.5 or 3.6 ?

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Fishbowl

Fishbowl

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As an skiing appliance though, there are few better options.

Can I ask why, what makes it special or different? They seem to be liitle joy to drive, are overpriced in the 3.6 and have less cargo space than Mia size SUVs, often requiring a top box. Obviously I am considering buying one, but the longer the thread goes on the less appealing they seem. Is there some special sauce in the AWD system that makes them more capable than other AWD variants. Or is it just the private parking st Snowbird that makes them so desirable?
 

Blue Streak

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Another question. If you take a crossover, like the Edge, Rogue or Journey and add AWD to them, do you end up with the same off road capability as a Subaru, which are basically Legacy’s and Imprezas with AWD added? Or is there more to the conversion that gives Subaru this legendary ability to “point and go” anywhere”.
An Outback is not an off-road vehicle.
But neither are those others.
 

MarkP

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Depends. For me no. Are there a few mountain passes I've wished I had the bigger engine for a short stretch? Sure. But the 2.5 is plenty of power for pretty much all my driving, and I prioritized fuel economy.

I had a rental with a 2.5 last year. 3 guys and two large travel duffels each with camping gear and a week of supplies. We were low altitude but a fair number of long runs up and down 7-10% pitch. Not the most stressing load, but equivalent to a ski road trip. I was impressed with the solid feel, adequate acceleration and ability to maintain speed on the uphills. I didn't have any issues with engine noise.

That said, I personally would opt for the larger engine. Less stress over the long run just says to me it will hold up better/longer.
(And we all hear occasionally that "size matters!" <grin>)

The Outback has been on my short list for replacing my now 15 yr old Highlander. Just wish it had a bigger towing capacity as getting a trailer to tour around in once I make it to retirement is also on my list.
 

MarkP

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An Outback is not an off-road vehicle.
But neither are those others.

Subarus have in general a bit more clearance than similar vehicles, but that alone does not an off-road vehicle make.
 

Philpug

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Can I ask why, what makes it special or different? They seem to be liitle joy to drive, are overpriced in the 3.6 and have less cargo space than Mia size SUVs, often requiring a top box. Obviously I am considering buying one, but the longer the thread goes on the less appealing they seem. Is there some special sauce in the AWD system that makes them more capable than other AWD variants. Or is it just the private parking st Snowbird that makes them so desirable?
IMHO (and having sold about 1,000 of them) there are few better AWD layouts out there, the flat longitude motor and the driveshaft straight out the back of the transmission just works well. There is room in the back to put most skis in straight..because it is an actual "wagon" and not just a jacked up hatchback..that most smaller SUV's are
 

peterm

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Can I ask why, what makes it special or different? They seem to be liitle joy to drive, are overpriced in the 3.6 and have less cargo space than Mia size SUVs, often requiring a top box. Obviously I am considering buying one, but the longer the thread goes on the less appealing they seem. Is there some special sauce in the AWD system that makes them more capable than other AWD variants. Or is it just the private parking st Snowbird that makes them so desirable?

I think there really is something to their symmetrical AWD system. Could be confirmation bias, but quite a few times in snowy/icy conditions I've noticed the SUV/truck in front of me getting a bit of wheel spin while my trusty Forester hasn't missed a beat. There are other factors, particularly tires, but I put plenty of miles on the stock tires and only just recently replaced them.
 

jzmtl

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Can I ask why, what makes it special or different? They seem to be liitle joy to drive, are overpriced in the 3.6 and have less cargo space than Mia size SUVs, often requiring a top box. Obviously I am considering buying one, but the longer the thread goes on the less appealing they seem. Is there some special sauce in the AWD system that makes them more capable than other AWD variants. Or is it just the private parking st Snowbird that makes them so desirable?

Subaru's center clutch pack are continuous duty and is engaged all the time. Most other AWD can only send limited amount of power to the back for a limited time after front slips. As an example the last gen CRV is notorious for its horrible AWD, that can only send up to 25% of total power, and overheats quickly and leave you with FWD only.

Outbacks are very comfortable highway cruisers, but you definitely feel its size, so not as nimble as smaller compact class cars. You can easily stuff 190 skis inside though so that's a big plus.
 

Corgski

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Do you see cars as an A to B appliance or something you enjoy?

I have the 2.5 Subaru and my wife has questioned whether we should have gone for a higher end model. While I might consider this for next time, I find AWD vehicles become more fun the less you have invested in it. With lugging around ski equipment, parking lots where other people are lugging ski equipment, other outdoor activities which involve driving bad roads and leaving a car unattended in remote areas, I prefer to keep my investment down.

Looking back to my college years, some of the best adventures in my life involved vehicles that could be described as total crap. The 2.5 liter Subaru is a one high performance luxury machine compared to those vehicles.
 

Blue Streak

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Can I ask why, what makes it special or different? They seem to be liitle joy to drive, are overpriced in the 3.6 and have less cargo space than Mia size SUVs, often requiring a top box. Obviously I am considering buying one, but the longer the thread goes on the less appealing they seem. Is there some special sauce in the AWD system that makes them more capable than other AWD variants. Or is it just the private parking st Snowbird that makes them so desirable?
Sorry to disappoint, by my 3.6 is a lot of fun to drive. With paddle shifters and plenty of power, it's a blast.
It's not a freakin' 911, but I go ripping by everyone else on the tunnel approaches.
There is a reason why the Outback is ubiquitous.
Have you driven an Outback 3.6?
 

scott43

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Subaru's center clutch pack are continuous duty and is engaged all the time. Most other AWD can only send limited amount of power to the back for a limited time after front slips. As an example the last gen CRV is notorious for its horrible AWD, that can only send up to 25% of total power, and overheats quickly and leave you with FWD only.

Outbacks are very comfortable highway cruisers, but you definitely feel its size, so not as nimble as smaller compact class cars. You can easily stuff 190 skis inside though so that's a big plus.
Agreed. I love driving the Outback in slippery conditions. Extremely predictable because it's always 45/55 Front/Rear power..always. So you can do all kinds of fun stuff with it and feel quite confident in what's going to happen. It's my favourite snow vehicle that I've had..I've had a few mid and small SUV's. Having said all that..pick your poison..great snow car..good long-range driver in the 3.6..but the steering is miserable and it's undersprung and underdamped in the back.
 

tch

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Thread drift: think a lot about what you want and why. Maybe you've decided on Subie (and there are a lot of reasons to get one), but I looked around and decided differently -- VW 4motion. Outback is much taller and makes getting stuff on/off roof hard unless you're very tall. VW drives more solidly and is spritely, whereas Outback drives more like SUV. Mileage is better and there's a lot of interior space in the back.
However, I yield to Phil that Subie AWD is best AWD if you need it a lot. And it has more clearance.
 

Jim Kenney

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I have the 2.5 Subaru and my wife has questioned whether we should have gone for a higher end model. While I might consider this for next time, I find AWD vehicles become more fun the less you have invested in it. With lugging around ski equipment, parking lots where other people are lugging ski equipment, other outdoor activities which involve driving bad roads and leaving a car unattended in remote areas, I prefer to keep my investment down.

Looking back to my college years, some of the best adventures in my life involved vehicles that could be described as total crap. The 2.5 liter Subaru is a one high performance luxury machine compared to those vehicles.
+1
 

Philpug

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Thread drift: think a lot about what you want and why. Maybe you've decided on Subie (and there are a lot of reasons to get one), but I looked around and decided differently -- VW 4motion. Outback is much taller and makes getting stuff on/off roof hard unless you're very tall. VW drives more solidly and is spritely, whereas Outback drives more like SUV. Mileage is better and there's a lot of interior space in the back.
However, I yield to Phil that Subie AWD is best AWD if you need it a lot. And it has more clearance.
I will say the Alltrack is the best car in the snow I have ever owned, but it still comes down to the tires. As I said, we really wanted to like the Subie...but the driving dynamics of the VW won out.
 

Ken_R

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With my Forester loaded up (4 people + gear in the back and in the box on top) I do wish for more power at times at 10k feet plus. But, we live in Denver and in town the fuel economy is superb and the smaller size is an asset in regards to parking. If I lived in the Mountains I would have definitely gotten the Outback 3.6 or the Forester XT (turbo) or just another (larger) vehicle. My 2009 Honda Pilot with good tires is awesome for adventures and its paid for so no worries.
 

Posaune

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Subarus have in general a bit more clearance than similar vehicles, but that alone does not an off-road vehicle make.
This is not true for the Imprezza. I have one and like it, but if I need clearance I take the 4WD Tacoma. The Subaru is lower slung than my old Ford Focus was by quite a bit.
 

ChrisFromOC

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Is the upgrade in engine size worth the extra cost?

Worth the extra cost is a tough one that is dependent on many factors. We had a 2015 2.5, and my wife really liked it a lot and had no problems whatsoever with the engine power. We gave that one to my daughter, and decided to replace it with another Outback. I plan on driving this one from time to time, or at least more often than I drove the 2.5, so we ended up test driving the 2018 in the 2.5 and 3.6. After about two blocks decided on the 3.6 and are really happy with the choice, as the extra power is great. That being said, we would also have been just fine with the 2.5. In driving around town, I don’t think there’s a huge difference at all. The difference is more evident when merging onto the freeway, etc.

The largest concern for me was the decrease in MPG, more from the perspective of carbon emissions as my wife does not drive a great number of miles per year so the extra field cost is not much of a concern.
 

MarkP

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This is not true for the Imprezza. I have one and like it, but if I need clearance I take the 4WD Tacoma. The Subaru is lower slung than my old Ford Focus was by quite a bit.

I think it's a bit of a stretch to imply a Tacoma is similar to an Impreza.
 

scott43

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Talk of the 2.5 vs the 3.6 reminds me of my first visit to the Alps..and watching the flat-landers hitting the passes in their 1.4l VW Polos pulling giant caravans up the passes, in 3rd gear at like 4k rpm... Under-powered is inversely proportional to how willing you are to thrash your lump.. :D
 

MarkP

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I agree. I was contrasting them.

I did check, and yes, the Focus has more ground clearance than the Impreza. Similar enough vehicles. My bad.
 

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