Feels secure and stable in snow (but you can't put chains on the tires, not enough clearance--spoke with Customer Service and their response: "Put on studded or snow tires in the winter.") Good sound insulation and feels solid all around. Peace of mind in the winter with AWD. Can reach my bike rack on top of car. Long enough in back (barely) to sleep while camping. Service dept. willing to help with issues under warranty. Subaru Customer Service gave me a small rebate for dealership issues (see below).

Things seem to be going wrong, even after all regular scheduled maintenance was done, and I baby my car. Also this is a dealership issue, but I pre-ordered another Subaru, waited four months, then after much inquiry that they had sold it to someone else. The salesman had orginally told me, "We don't know what happened to your car, we think it was damaged during transport." After much persistence I finally got to the truth. I truly wish car salesmen (they are all men here) would get it together and start to show some integrity.

I take exceptional care of my vehicles, because I travel a lot and want reliable transportation. However, since owning this car I have come across minor and major issues that leave me perplexed about just how well this car is made. The short list: 1. Rear hatch leaked, entering into light assembliy; replaced under warranty. 2. Distorted door window gussets caused excessive wind noise; also replaced under warranty. 3. Subaru upgraded stereo system sounded scratchy when bass setting>2 and vol.>5. Dealer replaced a few speakers and bass unit, then said the upgraded speakers simply cannot tolerate the power of the bass and I should get aftermarket speakers. 4. Brakes squeaked; they found the shim clearance was excessive and replaced the front shims. 5. Right headlight would intermittently go out; dealer would not do anything until I noticed it was out and drove it right over. They found faulty wiring; replaced the wiring harness. 6. Car alarm did not go off when someone backed into the front of my parked car; had to readjust sensor several times. 7. Timing belt tensioner was loose and rattled on idle; >$350 to replace tensioner. 8. Brakes squeaked, had front brakes replaced ($350). Still squeaked. They re-surfaced the rotors. Still screech and grind a little, first thing in morning and after being parked for several hours. Service Dept. says this is "normal". Contacted Subaru Customer Service today. 9. Now I have oil leaks at rear access cover, axel seals and headgaskets!! Cost to repair >$600 not including headgaskets! I've had this car five years and 65k miles. It's falling apart!

Similar Products Used:

Toyota 4WD pickup (purchased new) 1994; Honda Civic (new) 1999; currrent Subaru Outback (new) 2002.

Feels secure and stable in snow (but you can't put chains on the tires, not enough clearance--spoke with Customer Service and their response: "Put on studded or snow tires in the winter.") Good sound insulation and feels solid all around. Peace of mind in the winter with AWD. Can reach my bike rack on top of car. Long enough in back (barely) to sleep while camping. Service dept. willing to help with issues under warranty. Subaru Customer Service gave me a small rebate for dealership issues (see below).

Things seem to be going wrong, even after all regular scheduled maintenance was done, and I baby my car. Also this is a dealership issue, but I pre-ordered another Subaru, waited four months, then after much inquiry that they had sold it to someone else. The salesman had orginally told me, "We don't know what happened to your car, we think it was damaged during transport." After much persistence I finally got to the truth. I truly wish car salesmen (they are all men here) would get it together and start to show some integrity.

I take exceptional care of my vehicles, because I travel a lot and want reliable transportation. However, since owning this car I have come across minor and major issues that leave me perplexed about just how well this car is made. The short list: 1. Rear hatch leaked, entering into light assembliy; replaced under warranty. 2. Distorted door window gussets caused excessive wind noise; also replaced under warranty. 3. Subaru upgraded stereo system sounded scratchy when bass setting>2 and vol.>5. Dealer replaced a few speakers and bass unit, then said the upgraded speakers simply cannot tolerate the power of the bass and I should get aftermarket speakers. 4. Brakes squeaked; they found the shim clearance was excessive and replaced the front shims. 5. Right headlight would intermittently go out; dealer would not do anything until I noticed it was out and drove it right over. They found faulty wiring; replaced the wiring harness. 6. Car alarm did not go off when someone backed into the front of my parked car; had to readjust sensor several times. 7. Timing belt tensioner was loose and rattled on idle; >$350 to replace tensioner. 8. Brakes squeaked, had front brakes replaced ($350). Still squeaked. They re-surfaced the rotors. Still screech and grind a little, first thing in morning and after being parked for several hours. Service Dept. says this is "normal". Contacted Subaru Customer Service today. 9. Now I have oil leaks at rear access cover, axel seals and headgaskets!! Cost to repair >$600 not including headgaskets! I've had this car five years and 65k miles. It's falling apart!

Similar Products Used:

Toyota 4WD pickup (purchased new) 1994; Honda Civic (new) 1999; currrent Subaru Outback (new) 2002.

Feels secure and stable in snow (but you can't put chains on the tires, not enough clearance--spoke with Customer Service and their response: "Put on studded or snow tires in the winter.") Good sound insulation and feels solid all around. Peace of mind in the winter with AWD. Can reach my bike rack on top of car. Long enough in back (barely) to sleep while camping. Service dept. willing to help with issues under warranty. Subaru Customer Service gave me a small rebate for dealership issues (see below).

Things seem to be going wrong, even after all regular scheduled maintenance was done, and I baby my car. Also this is a dealership issue, but I pre-ordered another Subaru, waited four months, then after much inquiry that they had sold it to someone else. The salesman had orginally told me, "We don't know what happened to your car, we think it was damaged during transport." After much persistence I finally got to the truth. I truly wish car salesmen (they are all men here) would get it together and start to show some integrity.

I take exceptional care of my vehicles, because I travel a lot and want reliable transportation. However, since owning this car I have come across minor and major issues that leave me perplexed about just how well this car is made. The short list: 1. Rear hatch leaked, entering into light assembliy; replaced under warranty. 2. Distorted door window gussets caused excessive wind noise; also replaced under warranty. 3. Subaru upgraded stereo system sounded scratchy when bass setting>2 and vol.>5. Dealer replaced a few speakers and bass unit, then said the upgraded speakers simply cannot tolerate the power of the bass and I should get aftermarket speakers. 4. Brakes squeaked; they found the shim clearance was excessive and replaced the front shims. 5. Right headlight would intermittently go out; dealer would not do anything until I noticed it was out and drove it right over. They found faulty wiring; replaced the wiring harness. 6. Car alarm did not go off when someone backed into the front of my parked car; had to readjust sensor several times. 7. Timing belt tensioner was loose and rattled on idle; >$350 to replace tensioner. 8. Brakes squeaked, had front brakes replaced ($350). Still squeaked. They re-surfaced the rotors. Still screech and grind a little, first thing in morning and after being parked for several hours. Service Dept. says this is "normal". Contacted Subaru Customer Service today. 9. Now I have oil leaks at rear access cover, axel seals and headgaskets!! Cost to repair >$600 not including headgaskets! I've had this car five years and 65k miles. It's falling apart!

Similar Products Used:

Toyota 4WD pickup (purchased new) 1994; Honda Civic (new) 1999; currrent Subaru Outback (new) 2002.

Fast!, AWD, Fit and Finish, Heated Seats, functional roof rack, Manual shifter is vey smooth and tight

Back seat a little tight, steering wheel does not teliscope (not really a problem)

Great car! I have had many cars / trucks and this one is the best. All of the Fords that I have had were duds, the Nissan truck was good but underpowered. This is my first Subaru and I have put over 11000 miles on it so far with no problems at all. Great MPG for an AWD, and the power from the turbo boxer engine is great, it will beat just about any Audi, BMW or Volvo station wagon off the line. No problems at all, and Consummer Reports gave the car great revews as well. Also, this car got the highest crash test scores possible. Some of the past revews mention headgasgets going at 130000, well that does not sound that bad. As far as customer support I have had no problems getting then when I had a question about the car. I think that some people write multiple negative reviews because the used Subaru they bought with over 100K did not run perfect. Many of my friends have Subaru's and love them. I can not say enough about this car, test drive one and you will forget that you are driving a station wagon, it feels more like a high performance sport car.

Similar Products Used:

Audi A4, BMW Wagon (both way to expensive) Volvo XC70(Ford no way)

Appearance of quality, AWD, responsiveness and start up reliablity of boxer engine, general comfort.

Quality of Engine, poor service from Subaru of America.

I am very worried about Subaru. Originally purchased the car due to the AWD, good hp for a 4 cylinder and quality. The first 5 years were good but over the past 2 it's been down hill. Ove r the past 24 months anti knock sensor, o2 sensor, oil pump have all failed. Just recently after only 49k miles the head gaskets failed requiring new gaskets, radiator, water pump and thermasat. Total costs over $1000, (after dealer agreed to pay $1,600 of head gasket repairs! We have 4 Suba's in the family but the '99 has me concerned and wonder if buying the '05 and '06 is a mistake. Make sure you go to a very good dealer. The work quality and experience of my dealer is fantastic.. but sometimes a pain to work with.

Similar Products Used:

'76 Buick-junk, '77 MGB - junk, '80 honda civic - fantastic, 86 T-Bird - junk, '89 honda civic wagon - very good, 95 Mercury Villager - bad at first then very good, '99 subaru Outback - not sure, '05 Subaru Imprezza - great so far, '06 Subaru outback XT - great so far.. but worried.

"Sport Shift," quick off the line, great fm receiver, very "user friendly," interior capacity is big & well-configured,

Low mpg, no heat to rear seat, small radius corners of t-gate window make it v. hard to clean, I'm not used to paying for in warranty tuneups, but I guess that's the standard these days, no i-pod port...

We live in the Santa Cruz Mtns. (Hills) and, overall, love the car. Acceleration is v. good at all speeds. So glad we talked ea. other into the "sport Shift" option, as the auto shift alone is tuned for fairly high performance--with the Sport Shift, you can opt to be more gas-economical. MPG is far more effected by the turbo and such, so it's no big sacrifice on the economy side.
We've a "Mtn. road" drive to get almost anywhere--I counted the switchbacks once and there are over 100! So, it took a couple trips to get used to the understeer compared to out Benz Hatchback. But that's like saying a hand-saw is quieter than a chain saw--DUH! Once we got a feel for where the 3.0 could accelerate in the turn, the Outback became a... sawsall... whatever, it was no longer a factor.
Seats are more comfortable and supportive than the Benz, interior cleans easily, A/C doesn't take effect as quick as the Benz, but still v. good, Exterior looks FANTASTIC--we don't tire of the compliments. (Atlantic Blue also looks v. good--classy buy fuctional. )Cruise control works better than Benz, AW tires c/b better on dusty roads with switchbacks, but are great in rain.

Similar Products Used:

2002 Benz Kompressor hatchback

Looks

Head Gasket Transmission

This was my first Subaru and will be the last. I bought it brand new and have been disappointed ever since. I had problems with the Heater not working properly and it was replaced under warranty. At 72000 miles the Head Gaskets blew costing me $1700 and 5 days later the transmission went. I have never had such a bad experience with a dealership or auto manufacturer. SOA basically told me that since I did not spend money at their dealerships, I could not expect any relief. Even though the transmission fluid was inspected at every oil change as is recommended in their service manual and a flush was done at the dealership at 40000 miles. I will never recommend or own another Subaru just because of the poor customer service. I can understand that cars have problems but I can't understand a company that is run with such poor customer service. A company that does not stand behind the products that it manufactures. It leaves me with absolutely no confidence in any of their products. I recommend everyone to do their research dilligently before even considering a Subaru. Do not be deceived by their Drive magazine or their glossy ads.

Handling, cargo room, gas mileage, highest safety rating. (almost 30 mpg on highway!)

Could be a bit quicker and shifts a bit weird in 2nd gear. If speed is an issue for you, go for the 4cyl turbo if you have the capital.

This car is great. It gets excellent gas mileage, its comfortable and was a great value for a brand new car. The handling is superior to any SUV or other 2 wheel drive wagon. I highly recommend it. In fact, most of my friends are now interested in purchasing a Subaru as their next vehicle. The dealership is awesome, in fact, they call to follow up with service visits and even called me this month to remind me that my inspection sticker is due! I have had the car for just over a year and have 23,000 miles and only had an issue with my radio. In the few rare instances I had it off, it would randomly turn on by itself. No questions asked, it was replaced by the dealership. I have had a total of 18 cars, this is my second Subaru and its great. These do the same job as the Audi Quattros, but far less problematic and the new ones are much more stylish.

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I have had 3 audi quattros, they handle great but aren't so great when it comes to reliability. 1 former Jeep Cherokee, was great reliability, but a danger in the rain and no where near the gas mileage capability.

AWD, Storage space, comfortable ride, lots of ground clearance to plow through high snow drifts or plowed up banks.

not a thing as of yet..

Just a coment on the bad rap Subaru Customer Service is getting. October 2004, I leased a new 2005 Outback 2.5i. Several months later while on a snowboarding vacation in Vermont, I lost control of the car on black ice and got tossed into a ditch and boulders. That car saved me and 2 of my friends lives! Now, insurance say the car is not a total loss, so they start fixing it. Anyway, it took 3 months to get the car back and it didn't feel right or look right. I consulted with Subaru Customer Service abiout the difficulties I was having and what had happened to me. Well, in the end Subaru Corporate Headquaters reinbursed me my downpayment money so that i could trade the fixed car in a get another brand new one. Downpayment was $3500!!! Now that my friends is excellent and far beyond what I expected from them. They were friendly, kind and comforting. The dealer ship was wonderfull as well. They (both the dealer and Subaru Headquaters)fully understood my fustrations and saddness I felt since the car was only 3 months old and the entire left side of the vehicle was destroyed! Now that I am in another brand new Outback, all I can say is that, I am happy. 10000 miles allready and not a sigle thing wrong with the car! Loving it. As for everyone who had bad things to say about Subaru Customer Service is dead wrong. Maybe you were rude to them. All I know is they treated me with the most respect and dilligence in resolveing the matter. Once I said I wanted the offer they gave me, I had a check in mail box for $3500 4 days later! Now that is customer service for ya!

Similar Products Used:

2002 Subaru Outback Sport, I had leased prior to my 05 Outback

4 cylinder w/good power, braking, handling, speed.

Could use a little tighter suspension.

So far I can't say enough good things about this vehicle. I tow a camper that weighs in around 15-1600 lbs loaded down all over Colorado. Up and down Eisenhower Tunnel and it is incredible. Jeeps, F150s, many Dodge turcks all over heating on the side of the road as I go flying by in my Outback up one of the steepest highways in the country (with trailer in tow). It took me 17 years to admit the Japanese make a better vehicle and it didn't come a moment to soon. I love this car, it is fast and good on gas. I have put it under a heavey loads and it does great. Prior to this I bought a Dodge 1500 (big mistake) and it blew up. I will never spend my hard earned money on anything but a Subaru again.