Edmunds dealer partner, Bayway Leasing, is now offering transparent lease deals via these forums. Click here to see the latest vehicles!
Options
Popular New Cars
Popular Used Sedans
Popular Used SUVs
Popular Used Pickup Trucks
Popular Used Hatchbacks
Popular Used Minivans
Popular Used Coupes
Popular Used Wagons
Comments
Yeah, I'm a big fan of subarus, and this was my fourth, but bought the 09 before the 10's came out because I was concerned about the roof racks on the new ones. I carried kayaks on my roof and the new '10 rack is a disappointment after using the better old standby. I also don't trust CVTs in general and really liked the sport mode of the old 4 speed AT for hills. The new Outback option packages don't make sense to me either - I was spoiled by my 09. The new 2011 Forester might be worth a look because of the new engine, but I guess at this point, I'm in mourning for the loss of my "perfect car" that I researched for years and bought when the outfitting and options made sense to me. The solution would seem to be to find a certified used 09 - but there are none that were maintained and treated so meticulously. I took a fair amount of abuse about the loving care I gave that Outback. Literally, it did not have a scratch or door ding on it (garaged at home and parked far away from others at work). When it was hit last night, it was cleaner than when I bought it new.
It says a lot about a car that can be hit at a standstill from behind by a heavier car at 60mph+ and I was able to open the driver's door and get out, just a little banged up and sore.
The route I drive is so dangerous that I'm leaning toward something safe that I won't care about when it gets clobbered. Maybe a POS Crown Vic. I see accidents every day and there are days it has taken me 4 hours to get home due to accident delays.
Forester is an IIHS Top Safety Pick. Front, side, rear, and even roof impacts - good protection from any angle.
That's about half an hour from where I live, I think the thing is those look and feel like highways but they're not - lights creep out of nowhere. The driver probably was inattentive and them came up on your red light...bam!
Perhaps the replacement vehicle should be whichever one has the brightest taillights.
Not sure an aux set of low beams will solve your issue/perspective...as you describe it..beleive you problem is when you reach the bottom of an incline and then begin to climb it...the abrupt cut off of lighting ahead is your issue..correct?
As was mentioned be prepared to drive a lot of new vehicles at night as most are coming with projector headlamps these days or be prepared for a higher end model with HID as an option....I do love the adaptive HIDs on my CTS!
The headlights in my 2010 Honda Odyssey (and my neighbor's 2007) are exactly the same as our new 2011 Outback. There may be a slight light-bleed on the Odyssey making it sometimes appear as if there's just a bit softer edge at the top, but the cutoff above that edge is the same. Side by side against a wall (which I've tested) the beam's top edge cut-off is just about identical on the two vehicles.
Jamie
">link title
I am trying to understand what is "Auto" about that mode if I can ..."then manually control the system as desired"... Quote taken from the owner's manual
If I redirect the flow, hit the AC button or change the fan speed, the system is on auto mode which means it controls just the temp.
I think it means that the TEMP setting stays the same but whatever you changed and (IIRC) the fan speed change. Hitting the AUTO again resets all.
I often change my heat distribution, particularly in the Colorado mountains as my feet sweat a lot (in any vehicle) so I like to move some hot air upward.
Hope this helps, not sure I explained it any better than the owner's manual.
easypar
I'm pretty sure that's not correct. If you take it off Full Auto by changing where the air goes, the fan is still on automatic to control the temp. I do the same thing, wanting air at my feet and on the windshield. The fan will eventually adjust slower when the cabin gets warm enough.
Having said that, I often manually lower the fan speed a notch or two until the cabin is warmed up. The little fellow in the HVAC system likes to kick the fan speed up to maximum, which is quite loud. I'd rather have it about 2/3 of the way up and not so loud. Eventually, when the cabin is plenty warm, I'll put it back on Full Auto or Auto with air going to the windshield and my feet and then the fan isn't so loud.
I do a lot of longer drives (2 hours minimum) and my toes feel like they are medium rare after a while. When I switch to get a more uniform air displacement (to the windshield to defrost an in the cabin) I always have to fidget with the controls.
Subaru needs a better operator's manual, between the Climate Control and the IPOD interface someone could spend hours trying to figure out what the heck they are trying to tell you.
Maybe I will write to Subaru and see if they can enlighten me on these.
I just did an internet lookup at my dealer, at used Outbacks (far west, snow country)...Wow....a bunch of very low mileage 2010 Outbacks (under 10,000 miles) for sale, and no 2008's or 2009's at all.
I am definitely keeping my 2008 Premium (H4) that I bought last year in May, used and mileage about 20K...So far, I love it, although in the cold weather the mileage has dropped to about 17 mpg in the city....which I expected, due to fuel mixture, cold, etc....Maybe low 20's on the Freeway.
The only time it's been to the dealer was for the "air bag connector" recall. Although a week ago I was heading down the interstate and heard/felt something come off the instrument panel. A screw popped out from underneath the cowling around the instruments. There are (supposed to be) two of them. The funny thing is that I felt it bounce off my trouser leg and I assumed it hit the floor. But yesterday when I rememered it happening I looked all around the floor on the driver's side and didn't see it (cue "Twilight Zone" theme music).
Either it landed under the seat or stuck on my shoe heel and got carried out. Either way I'm not going to make a special trip to the dealer for that. One day I'll go pick up some touch up paint and ask for an extra screw at that point.
Pretty happy with the car, exept I got run into by a bicycle within 20 hours of picking the car up, hit a tumbleweek driving between Amarillo and Lubbock and some J-hole slammed his pick up truck door into the right rear wheel well.
Mileage has been pretty good and I've carried several back seat passengers and no one complained.
easypar
What has your fuel mileage been? MPG is the only real disappointment I'm having with my 2011 Legacy. I drive at least half of my miles on the highway, and I've been getting between 23 and 25 MPG. This is calculated the real way by dividing the miles driven by the number of gallons used to fill up. I should be getting at least 3-4 MPG more, I think.
Mine has definitely been off the last few in town tanks as we've been getting snow every week or two.
easypar
Thanks,
Jeannine Fallon
Corporate Communications
Edmunds.com
MODERATOR /ADMINISTRATOR
Need help navigating? kirstie_h@edmunds.com - or send a private message by clicking on my name.
Share your vehicle reviews
In terms of protection, yes, synthetics are better. Will that translate to a difference for you, the owner of a given car for a given period of time? Not likely. If you tend to keep your cars a long time or run them hard, the internal health of the engine could be improved over that span by the oil. However, it is not likely something you will notice for a car that serves as basic, daily transportation.
The selling point for me is extended drain intervals. The quality of synthetic (a single oil change) over time is superior, safely allowing for extended drain intervals. I change my oil annually, with between 13,000 and 15,000 miles per vehicle during that time frame. So, not only does it save me significant amounts of time, I can also choose a time of year when I don't have to do it on ice in my driveway (July 4 weekend is my preferred time to do it). For that same distance traveled, depending on the car (newer cars have longer factory-recommended intervals), one might do three-to-five oil changes with conventional oil.
While the cost per oil change is higher for synthetic ($35-45 for the oil and a quality filter is a reasonable estimate versus $20 for conventional with same quality filter), the need to change the oil less frequently results in savings over time.
This is a Canadian 3.6R limited, the audio for the bluetooth does not go through the H-K radio, it goes through some low end speaker in the middle console (a pet peeve that of mine that only the Legacy and only the ones built in Canada seem to have this lousy set up). When I receive a call the H-K radio cuts out but does not take the audio.
Any help on this would be appreciated.
Aside from this problem I love every other aspect of the car. (Ride, Mileage, etc)
There doesn't seem to be an overwhelming feedback of problems with the drifting as much as the Vibration. I have not experienced any significant vibration at all.
Does anyone else know if they have corrected this on the newer models?? I have played with tire rotation, dealer alignment etc with no real solution.
I don't know if this has someting to do with the electric assist steering??