2009 Outback Sport Mode
Can someone explain "Sport" mode in the 2009 Outbacks? My 2000 Outback gears were "drive-3-2-1" and that made sense to me. "Sport" does not seem to correspond to 3, and I can't figure out how to use it. The dealer explanation did not help me - I don't think they got it either. Thanks for your help.
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-mike
Subaru Guru and Track Instructor
"a more agressive shifting pattern (higher shift points)." . . . I am a complete newbie with these things and kind of slow just in general . . . what does it mean for it to be "more aggressive" and what is a higher shift point? I apologize.
For example, when going up a steep hill, will the car be happier in drive, sport, or 2nd? In my 2000 Outback I would put it in 3rd and it always seemed happy with that.
Thanks for your reply, sorry to be asking such basic questions
Of course, these numbers are completely made up, but you can see that in the second scenario, the engine speed is higher when the car makes the shift between gears. This equates to faster acceleration in the second scenario, all else being equal. Ergo, it makes the car feel "sportier."
As for going up a steep hill, the car should do fine in drive or sport. The final gear will be selected based on throttle input and sensor feedback. If you choose "manumatic" and have it in second, that's fine as long as it is appropriate for the hill. I tested my '08 Outback's manual mode and it held gears up to redline before automatically shifting, and down to a near stop, before resetting in first. So, you do need to be paying some amount of attention to shifting. However, the car will not let you shift into a gear if it is not safe to do so (you cannot shift into first at 50 mph nor fourth at 15 mph).