Solid ride but not stiff. Room for 4 adults and luggage and adequate power with the 2.4 six. COming up on 50K miles with only an alternator recall so far.

AWD rear end hops shudders and bucks at low speed turns, especially parking.

Love the comfort and features. I'm 5'10" and my wife is 5'0" and we can both use the seats. Cruises at 90+ steady as a rock and not too noisey. THe stero is adequate but any spills from the drink holder go into the radio. Leather seats with heater are comfy and visibilty good. What is wrong with the rear end? Is it really supposed to shudder and buck at low speeds forward and reverse? The dealer says "it's Normal". We had a 1987 DL wagon that I sold to afriend and would like it back as it has 200K+ and still runs well.

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Had several vans and wagons but no other AWD. THis is the best compromise of this type vehicle but I am unconviced of the need for AWD in Southern California

mileage was great and I didn't need premium gas. Plenty of room for gear. get-up-and-go was great with the 5 speed. And I'm alive though the car's not.

the shaking. Need for another gear at higher speeds. like everyone says, poor placement for the drink holders and seat warmers, but I made do.

I had my outback for five months. Though I loved it so much, there were some problems. Like others have said about the manual transmission, I did feel that I needed another gear to shift into when I was on the highway. I only had one other problem with the car and that started at about 95,000m. The car started shaking as if the engine was missfiring. Considering the engine was replaced before the dealer sold it to me I was worried. I would take it into the shop weekly and could never get the problem to duplicate for the mechanic. To no avail I left on a road trip to drive to the lower 48. The car made it fine untill I hit Alberta when it really started shaking alot. I would start the car in the morning and the engine would rattle, however, once the car warmed up it would just result to shaking again. I have heard others talk about the subaru knock, is that what it is? I was never able to figure out exactly what was wrong. Anyway, safety rating is great, I know from personal experience. I hit a deer in Wyoming. The car is totaled, but I don't have a single bruise!!! I am in the market for a new outback now. There are 3 outbacks in my family and all of us swear by them.

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sister's 2003 fancy model, mom's 97 outback, I have friends who drive the really old ones and they are all still kickin'

Has good get up and go - looks impressive and has unique styling - cost effective to purchase

plastic screen that covers the odometer and gages to easily scratched -

Great car -- has the power needed to get places and still look good doing it. I was very impressed with the sales staff, and would recommend friends and family to atleast give the Subaru Outback a try.

Powerful smooth motor, smooth ride, excellent handling, very quiet, comfortable, very capable for light/medium off-roading.

no factory engine immobilizer (like what Honda offers), factory stereo could be better designed (but then again Subaru is not known for being car audio experts).

I just picked up an H-6 Outback. Nope, not the LL Bean or VDC versions (which are overpriced in my opinion), but a mid-year model for 2003 which is a base Outback Wagon with an H-6 engine, auto climate control, auto-dimming mirror and a few other options not standard on the base model. It's about time Subaru put out a model like this. I have been incredibly satisfied with this car. I test drove both the 4-cylinder model and the H-6 model. The H-6 is so much better... there was no comparison. But, if it weren't for this new Outback model from Subaru, I probably wouldn't have spent the extra money to get the H-6 by buying an LL Bean or VDC.

This is really a Subaru Legacy under all the hype, and they have been building them forever. There will be no surprises mechanically that can happen with some new first year models. Decent price and a high level of comfort. The bed and hatch, and yes I did get the bed extender, makes it a veritable swiss army pocketknife of a vehicle.

I fit in it perfectly....with the seat all the way back. Anyone who plays a linbacker position, or is a forward for a basketball team is not going to fit. They may call it a Baja, but it ain't no Baja racer, power is adequate to the task, but no more. The cladding looks best from the inside where I can't see it. Just what where the designers thinking? Were they out drunk one night and did a 57 Chevy Belaire go by? If there is a body de-cladding kit, I want it. It is a pick-up, leave your valuables in the house.

This is a Subaru Outback with a pickup box. The Sport is a more basic model. As far as I can tell, the difference between the Sport and the regular Baja, is that my seats are cloth, and there are no power seats. Both models have a surprisingly high level of standard features, leaving the dealerships nothing better to do then to sell us better floormats, cargo extenders, and et al. The only real option is the automatic transmission. I actually needed four doors with that size cargo bed, and with the small hatch behind the fold-down back seat, carried home some much needed PVC drain pipe for my new kitchen. Supposedly it could carry full sheets of plywood, but I have my doubts on that. It is average in power and get up and go. I like it for the fact I can carry stuff. If you want a fast Baja, wait for the turbo model. That aside, it is a comfortable, competant handling beast with the AWD being totally transparent to the driver. No mucking with hubs, no high centers of gravity, and no differential locks, just climb in and go. Being that it is an Outback with a pickup bed, it is extremely unwise and inadvisable to drive this over rocks, jump it off sand dunes, and go over logs. That will result in a Broken Baja. It has been a good commuter for the two weeks that I have owned it. Unlike regular SUV's and pickups, since it is based on a car, it fits in car-sized spaces, and has burns far less fuel. The cabin is comfortable with all controls at hand to the driver. The visibility to the rear is not great, so use caution when backing up. The back seats only two passengers and legroom is limited. Despite the fact an optional trailer hitch is available, pulling anything larger then a canoe is not a good idea and the maximum load for the pickup bed is a hundred and fifty pounds. Though it was entertaining to look at the brochure at the dealer, this is for more then those who jump out of airplanes, ride surfboards through whitewater and go camping out in the sticks, none of which I do. It is good for light duty hauling and that daily trip to and from work. It fills the bill for those who want to carry more then one passenger every now and then, and the weekly (not heavy) purchase from the hardware store.

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I had an 89 Aerostar and various unlamented pick-up trucks. Surprisingly, the 95 Taurus comes closest in carring capacity even though it was a sedan.

AWD Best value for your buck, compared to other AWD vehicles. Comfortable Handling

HP/torque could be better. Don't spend the extra money on the 6 cyl engine. It is not worth it plus you have to use premium gas. Beleive it or not this advice was given to me by the sales rep (gotta give him credit) Gas milege could be better

Second Subaru that I leased. The 1st was a 2000 Legacy Outback Ltd Wagon, Pearl White w/tan leather interior w/dark tinted windows.Hot looking car & would always get postive comments from strangers. The only problem that I had was that the CD's got stuck in the 1+6 CD changer. Went to another dealer who only corrected the 1 stuck CD (replaced the whole unit, did not get my CD back). Decided on another Outback Ltd Wagon in Cherry Black w/grey leather seats & dark tinted windows. Looks hot when cleaned, but yet to get any positive comments. Got the car August 02, in Nov the factory alarm would go off when driving for no reason. Did this a couple of times. Did not do it again till May 03. For 2 months it started to be come annoying. Brought the car in to dealer for 1st recall & told them about the alarm. Could not find anything wrong. Ironically since I've had it back from the dealer the alarm has worked fine? HAS ANYONE ELSE HAVE A SIMILAR PROBLEM WITH THEIR ALARM SYSTEM? Just got another notice for another recall. I'm starting to wonder about Subaru? Never had a car get 2 recalls in a 6 month period? Overall I really can't complain about the car. This past winter the car was fantastic in the snow, had no problems.

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1995 Chevy Astro AWD 1992 Chevy Blazer 4WD 1990 Chevy Blazer 4WD

all wheel drive

Lack of power and terrible seats!

This is one of the least appealing cars I have ever owned. If you are looking for a gutless box to drive with stiff seats and about enough legroom for a hobit than this car is for you.

Reliability, AWD, cold starting, low maintenance.

Can't really identify any.

This is my fourth Subaru, I just purchased my sixth. It has been an excellent car with very little trouble. It now has 106,000 miles on it and it runs and looks perfect. Subaru makes an outstanding automobile. My family owns, or has owned a total of 13. I will always own one.

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Owned at least one Subaru since 1982

Quiet, traction, On-Star, build quality, excellent climate control system, front seat comfort, power, and smoothness on the highway.

Sunroofs are about useless. Radio reception not great with window antenna. Difficult fold-down arrangement for back seat. Rattles from rear-seat headrests.

Overall, very happy with the 6-cylinder Outback. Surprisingly, it is as quiet on the highway as our Lexus RX300, and actually has more comfortable seats in front. The dealership sales and service people have been wonderful so far.

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Honda Accord wagon Lexus RX300 Cadillac Catera Mitsubishi Eclipse Spyder Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme Jaguar XJ6

Looks, AWD, mileage.

Engine, tailgate interior has fallen off, steering mechanism.

Bought a Subaru based on our perception of reliabiltiy...wrong. At 39,000 miles we have had steering problems and head gasket leaking, a problem I see is noted since 1996. Also, the seat heater controls are located in a poor location and easily turned on accidentally.

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Honda