This was the first Subaru I have ever owned and will be the last. I bought it brand new and have been disappointed ever since. The speedometer has always been off and I was told they were allowed to be off and there was nothing they could do about it, I also have always had problems with the car pulling to one side and was told that was normal because of the roads, which are things that I lived with until now at 68000 miles the transmission went out. Because it was only 8000 miles over the warranty and a transmission should not fail at 68000 miles, I called Subaru of America for help, what a waste of time! They avoided me for 3 weeks until I paid the dealership for the repair that I had no choice but to fix and then informed me that the dealership did not recommend they help me with any expenses because I was not a good service customer even though I purchased the lifetime oil change and had them rotate the tires every 15000 miles and followed their recommendations on maintenance. I have never had such a bad experience with a dealership or auto manufacturer. Both of them blamed me for the problem even though the transmission fluid was "inspected" at every oil change as is recommended in their service manual. 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. It leaves me with absolutely no confidence in any of their products.

Inside cargo space. Height from ground especially for a disabled person. Heated seats. Good tireware. Still has the original tires.

Transmission, breaks, engine, sunroof not opening very far, driveability, service.

This vehicle has been nothing but trouble. We purchased it new and the transmission went out at 1,023 miles. The dealer did replace it but did not offer a rental car. Next the driveability was terrible. It is a 5 speed. I have driven 5 speeds my entire 30 years of driving. This car has always had a problem starting off in 1st gear. The dealer said it was me, other people have driven it with the same lack of success. Next we had rotor problems. Now, at just of 50,000 miles we have started the over heating and the headgasket saga. The dealer did replace the head gasket, after trying additives to the radiator and a new water pump. However, after 5 months, it is overheating again. The "check engine" light comes on when it feels like it and no one knows why. Now the dealer, which is the 3rd one we have had to locate because they keep going out of business, tells us to try a new radiator cap. Another problem is dealer location. We live in the Atlanta area. Although other car dealers are numerous in Atlanta, Subaru seems to have limited dealers here. We have to drive over an hour to get to a dealer now. This is rediculous in a metro city of this size. We will not recommend this vehicle to ANYONE, and will never consider another Subaru for our own personal vehicle. Please note we did homework on reliabiliy before we purchased. We did not find negative info.

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Saturn SL2, Chevy Astro Van, Volkswagen, BMW motorcycle

Decent off road and in snow, Heated seats, better mileage than my previous vehicle (SUV), cheaper auto insurance, and it doesn't burn oil so that one would notice between oil changes. Fulltime available all wheel drive is sweet.

Wind Noise, Rear inside hatch covering keeps falling off, Lots of windshields damaged on the highway by rocks/debris. I am on number 5 and I need number 6.

It's been a good car with a few annoying problems. Had a fuel injector die. Lots of rattles in exhausted shields that the dealership cut off, my point was if they're not needed why are they there? Once it was off warranty dealer offered to weld them a rattling shield for a price. The Outback wagon could be a lot of things more than it is, but all-wheel drive in the snow belt, a 5 speed shifter, comfortable seats and the ability to haul my purchases back from Home Depot is what I need it to do. The lower car insurance, better acceleration. and 9 more miles per gallon are steps up from the old SUV.

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Nissan Pathfinder 88-96 Nissan Pathfinder 96-99 (glad I didn't buy it)

smooth ride, solid car, quick acceleration, decent gas mileage (26mpg) for AWD.

too soon to tell.

See previous review- leak was a a head gasket problem which was repaired by Subaru of America without cost to me - this is a known recall item, even on high mileage vehicles. That work will be guaranteed for 12 mo/12k. I got lucky - timing belt was due for a change and the job cost only the price of the belt. This car is now up to snuff and am looking forward to the winter. This car rides beautifully on new tires, Goodyear TripleTreds, with a V tread design.

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honda civic and accord, toyota 4runner.

glued to the road, smooth shifting, quiet ride (now, see summary).

an engine or tran leak, too early to tell how severe... will know more this week.

:re the various posts on Subaru wind noise at the driver/passenger sides. I just got my Subaru in October with 92,000 on it, and it had the wind noise problem. I took it to a local body shop guy who reseated and lubed the door gaskets and door mechanicals, tightened the metal bracing under the plastic molding at the window brace points... all for only $60. This baby is now tight as a drum and quiet, quiet, quiet! My recommendation - get a local guy who pays attention to detail and does basic bodywork - very economical solution to a big noise headache.

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Toyota 4Runner, Honda Accord, Honda Civic.

AWD. Only some slippage on uneven pavement, or pot holes. Smooth highway feel, nice car like ride.

Brakes Tires Alignment Wheel Balancing Needs a 6th gear Cargo cover First gear/clutch

I have been reading about other people with the same problems that I have with this car. The brakes: Resurfaced 3x's over the life of the car, rotors replaced 3x's. The third time I started questioning the service departments (I went to two dealerships), on what is going wrong. They both said it was MY FAULT (me being a woman and I ride the brakes and drive too many hills). Hmm, I find that odd because it's a manual transmission, and if anything on this car should be going out, it would be the clutch. At 40,000 I had to replace all 4 tires. Constant wheel balancing, and alignments still the car moves to the right, again, they say it's my fault, my driving doing this. I hate the clutch. I have driven a Ford Escort (POS) for 9 years - never a clutch problem, driven a porche w/clutch, a 1960something Ford truck, Buick Skyhawk and brand new Hyndai, none I had any problems with figuring out the clutch. This Subaru, I hate first gear, and baby the darn thing as much as possible so I am not scrubbing the asphalt with the tires. I also get the wind noise, mentioned in other reviews, on the passenger side. It is highly, highly annoying, especially to my son, who has a neurological defensiveness disorder. Needs a higher gear. At 65 miles an hour, it is over 3,000rpms and hard engine noise. My last major beef would be the back cargo cover. I now keep a screw driver in the back, to constantly tighten the small screws that hold the stays on the cover. Otherwise, they loosen every week and will fly off, thus preventing me from having any cover over that back area. The dealerships said I have to order a new one. But why? So the new one can fall apart also?

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Saab, Ford, Porche, Subaru Forester, Audi

Feel put together well. No problems with it in our first 6 months of ownership. I expected something to not be right, but we are up to 6,000 miles with no problems at all. And the price was RIGHT

Some people have complined about gas mileage, but you must remember, its all-wheel-drive. That's why you bought a Subaru. It weighs a little more.

Out first Subaru. Because the 2005's were due out in 5 months, our 2004 was $5,000 under the factory sticker. Got it from a fairly small / new dealership. Had some problems duting the "negoiations", but after 4 hours I "won" the war and got my price. Ours has the H-6 and auto. The dealer even threw in free oil changes for life. It drives far better than I expected, and my wife loves it. She has already had it in our local mountains exploring the back roads. Even my mechanic was impressed with how well it drives. And it looks far better than the 2005's which must have been designed by Toyota, cause they sure look like a Camary.....boring.

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Just got rid of a 94 Dodge Grand Caravan that wasn't too much of a problem. Also own a 2000 GTI and a 97 F-150.

Design Fuel economy Value

None noted

This is our first Subaru. It is an excellent vehicle in every respect. We have had no reason to return the vehicle for quality issues. The Outback is extremely well engineered to handle snow and rain. The cold weather package is a nice touch. We are giving serious consideration to purchasing a Forester to compliment the qualities the Outback provides.

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Volvo XC70

Smooth ride Confortable interior Feels safe and solid - not like tin

Underpowered with 4 cyl. engine -- and way overpriced with a six Moonroofs are useless - stupid design Difficult to reach anyone at Subaru coroporate by phone - can you say "hold" or "busy signal?" Not very roomy for the price. More room in my wife's Camry. Can't shut daytime running lights off if engine is running.

My lease on this car expires in August, and I had been thinking about buying it, but after reading some fo the horror stories in reviews on this site, I'm reconsidering it. Is Subaru corporate that unresponsive? I can't tell, becuase I can never get through to them on the phone! So far, it's a "nice" vehicle, but I don't love it. I have 42,000 miles on itas of today. No major repairs needed, although one of teh oxygen sensors went bad just after the warranty expired. It still runs OK even without that $250 repair. The ride is nice, but the car could sure use some more power for acceleration. Nice smooth ride once it finally starts moving. The seats seem comfortable to me, although at only 5' 10" I don't need as much leg room as taller folks. Our two little ones are fine in their car seats in the back. Leather interior gets a bit hot when you're in shorts on a summer day -- next time we're going with cloth. The moonroofs are absolutely useless. Don't be fooled into think two roofs are better than one! The front roof is a "pop top" that barely opens. The power sliding moonroof is actually over the back seat -- which does nothhing at all for anyone up front. When the roofs are open, you must also open a window part way or the car feels like it's vibrating. On the highway, a wind deflector would be a must if you ever want to hear your stereo or anyone talking. Gas mileage is fair -- better than most SUVs with a 6 cyl engine, but rarely more than 24 mpg. I like teh car, but so far I'm glad I'm just leasing it. My far is that at higher mileage (above 50k) things will start going wrong sooner on this car than they would on a Honda or Toyota. All teh head gasket horror stories you read on these reviews are enough to make me consider another vehicle.

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Several Honda Accords, one Civic, one Prelude, two Toyota Camrys, one Nissan Altima

* All wheel drive traction * OEM tires * H6 motor * McIntosh stereo * Value compared to Audi, Volkswagen, and Volvo

* Some fit and finish issues * Somewhat expensive to maintain * Gas mileage - but AWD isn't as efficient. No one should be surprised * Problems with brake rotors warping

I bought my Outback VDC wagon in July of 2002. I've put over 60,000 miles on it in a bit under 2 years. So far, I'm very, very happy. The only problems I've had with my car have been with the McIntosh stereo and weather seals on the front doors. The stereo had a bad amp when I got it, which was fixed under warranty. Aside from that the stereo has been excellent and was another good reason to buy the car. I haven't been tempted to buy any more car audio, as the McIntosh is excellent. The weather stripping on both front doors has given me trouble. The driver door stripping had to be replaced as it kept falling out on the bottom. It was replaced under warranty and has been fine since. I travel a lot. I've had trucks and motorcycles in the past. I love having the storage space in the Outback wagon, I love the security of the all wheel drive, and the H6 motor is very nice. I'd enjoy more power and I'm very interested in the 2005 Outback, but if I use the 3rd gear I almost always as much as I want. Traction is excellent. The VDC traction control has only come on a couple of times for me, where I live in Northern California. The tires have been great. I've squeezed over 60,000 miles out of them. I intend to replace them, finally, in the next week. They OEM Potenzas are an excellent all-purpose tire and a great fit for this car. They handle very well on everything that I've driven. They drift a little on gravel if you drive hard. And this winter, they did get kind of crappy in heavy rain. The next set of tires I get will probably also be Bridgestone Potenzas. But I think I'll get something a little more performance oriented. Overall, the Outback VDC is a great all-around car. I needed something I could travel in with lots of gear, and that I could sleep in. I would have loved a WRX wagon, but I needed more room. The Outback VDC handles well on the pavement and the dirt. Of course, it's a little soft on the road and a little harsh on the dirt. But it's a compromise. I doubt I drive it as intended. I push it really hard. It almost always has what I need. The H6 motor can cruise at 90 mph on mountain roads and I've actually had it up to 120 mph. It only starts to choke at high altitude (over 6,000 ft) on very steep roads. As I said before, the 3rd gear in the automatic transmission is great. For most purposes, it moves the revs right into the power band.

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Previous vehicle was a 1990 GMC truck. Friends with comparable Volkswagens and Audis seem to have their cars in the shop more, and I know they paid more.