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Subaru Impreza Outback Sport & TS
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Comments
When I trim hedges, etc. around my house, I carry them away in my OBS. Also use it to carry bags of mulch and drive to SC with a family of four for 7-8 days(with a cargo carrier). I'm always amazed at how much the car can hold. I would recommend really comparing the OBS and Forester's cargo area at the dealer.
Dennis
The spark plugs last 60k miles, the timing belt lasts 105k miles, oil change intervals can be as long as 7500 miles. AWD is sealed and maintenance-free, so just stick to a regular schedule.
-juice
2 feet is a lot of snow, but odds are if it's packed down or plowed at all you'll be fine.
-juice
Can anyone tell me approximately how deep is the cargo area with the rear seats folded down? I'm trying to determine if it's deep enough to transport long items such as lumber, disassembled furniture like bookshelves, tables,etc. found at stores like Ikea.
Thanks for the feedback, this is really helping make my decision.
On another note, does anyone regret buying an OBS? My wife and I are planning on starting a family soon and want to make sure this car will be adequate until my wife replaces her civic in about four years with hopefully a bigger car.
27.9 cu feet seats up
I like my OBS, and I'll probably keep her at least 5 years, but I don't know if I'd buy another one. If I had to replace her immediately I'd test drive a WRX. When I bought my OBS I wanted an AWD hatch for $20K so that was the only choice.
My three main complaints in order of annoyance:
1)rear drums really bug me in a $19K car.
2)cheap interior materials
3)I'd like a little more power
I like it a lot, I enjoy driving it, but I don't "love" it. Maybe I'm not capable of "loving" a car.
I still recommend the OBS, with the above caveats.
-mike
Any chance you're near a dealer? Just take a tape measure. You can also use the roof racks to haul stuff.
Caroline - More power?!? When I got my OBS, it was the most powerful stock Impreza offered in the U.S., 137 h.p. hee hee.
Dennis
Even the lowliest VW comes equipped with 4 discs, and I know the OBS used to have them. I've heard other posters say on other forums that they wouldn't buy an Impreza wagon because of the rear drums.
You can upgrade from a Forester L to an S and get better brakes and an LSD (and whatever else) for a lot less than $4500. If I had that upgrade option with an Impreza I certainly would have done that, but $5K or so for a WRX was too much for me.
My next Sube will likely have rear discs though. :-D
Dennis
-mike
Bob
No hood scooped OBS' pre '02 had rear discs. :-D
Dennis
TWRX
Last time I looked, my Mom's OBS has disk brakes.
-Dave
Another funny little story: dropping my kid off at auto tech school last week some of his classmates were ogling my car. I leave the lot and when I get out on the street I notice them all looking still and talking. Long straight road, so I floor it because I know the Ganzflow makes the motor sound so nice.
Later after school, I found out they asked my kid, "Dang, whose car is that?" He told em' it was his mom's, and also mentioned the cold air intake. They're all like, "Man, I didn't know any moms that would want one of those on their cars!"
Well, they just didn't know me yet!
celeste: that's why you are the Subymamma!!
-mike
And just curious, does the WRX wagon nosedive?
-mike
-mike
-mike
I agree with Caroline about some interior materials, too, like the headliner, sun visor, and carpeting. The rest is fine.
Power is fine, though. Protoge5 has much less power, and Matrix/Vibe will have only 120hp with the AWD models. 165hp actually leads the class, I believe.
-juice
-juice
Bob
Ooh, I want to give that Anita Lienert such a pinch!
Dennis
I'd like to see a little more room in the next Forester, and a turbo, but keep the weight down and prices flat, Subaru.
-juice
Is the upgraded speaker option through the dealer worth it or am I better off going to a place like circuit city, Best Buy or Crutchfield?
Thanks for any feedback.
Thanks
Ed
Bob
I love her articles, but Jamie Kitman is the star of Automobile. His pieces for the UK's CAR are even better. Further, he's the manager of They Might Be Giants. A true Renaissance man.
Ed
I like when she said she hated the bulgy rear end and he said, "You know what they say--well, if the shoe fits..." LMAO!!!!
What my son said he'd actually like to do with her is drag her out of her BMW X5, and beat the livin' crap out of her.
Should we let him?
Mudd4: Go listen to the system first. I'm very happy with mine and think it sounds better than the 2000 OBS.
Lincoln Nav or Caddy Enchilda.
Same argument as Durango, I'm big American and wasteful plus like X5 they are bought as luxury status vehicles. But wait there is more... Lincoln Blackwood (no AWD available to start off with!) and Caddy Enchilada clone of (almost as ugly an Aztek) Avalanche. Don't you figure GM and Ford invest a couple of thousand dollars worth of luxury content to an F 150 or a Silverado and then jack the price by $30,000. These fools will buy anything. Thank you Subaru for Imprezas.
TWRX
There was a guy in an F-150 just the other day who
was merging onto the interstate from a ramp that enters on the left, into the left lane. I'm driving merrily along in the left lane. He speeds up to try to butt in between me and the driver in front of me when the way behind me was all clear. Well, I pinch up and don't let him in and he's mad. About 5 minutes later after weaving furiously around in traffic to no avail, he finally gets in front of me just as I'm exiting the interstate (again on the left!), and I'm thinking, well, darn, he's getting off where I am--then he suddenly swerves back onto the interstate at the last minute because he wasn't exiting, he was just getting in front of me!! And he swerves in front of a car who locks em up and lays on the horn, almost broad siding him. Guess he showed me!
Brekke--we're going to St. Pete probably Dec. 15. Is that where you said you're headed? I love that area.
twrx: yeah, those dumb looking Caddies are pretty pathetic. Haven't seen too many of the Blackwoods, THANKfully.
-mike
Revka
Host
Hatchbacks / Station Wagons / Women's Auto Center Boards
Like the Outback Sport.
-juice
By the way my husband drives an F-150. Company vehicle, but it's the cause of a good joke or two around here.
-mike
I have a 5-speed 2002 Outback Sport. For the most part I am very happy with it - love the cornering and the convenience. Just disappointed that my part of Michigan has had no snow at all this year - I can hardly wait to put the AWD to work!
However, I do have the following trouble with my manual transmission:
(1) Sometimes the shift lever can't seem to 'find' the reverse position and I have trouble putting the car in reverse. I need to put it into 1st gear before putting it into reverse. Sometimes I just put into neutral, depress the clutch, and try again. This seems to work. But it's getting to be an annoying inconvenience. When I called the dealer, I was told that it was one of the idiosyncrasies of the Subaru gearbox and that it would get better with time. I have about 5000 miles on my car now, so that should be plenty of time.
(2) If I hit the brakes when I am in 3rd gear (like when I'm driving around the mall looking for a parking spot and need to stop suddenly), it's hard to put the car into a lower gear or into neutral (yes, I did press the clutch and the engine is still running ). I have to start moving in 3rd before I can shift down to a lower gear.
(3) On days when the temperature is around freezing, the stick gets really tough and it takes some effort to put the car from 1st into 2nd.
Have any of you seen similar problems with your OBS cars (2002 or other years)? This is my first Subaru and I am still familiarizing myself with it. So I would really appreciate any help from some of the more knowledgeable folks out there. Please help me out with advice or suggestions.
Thanks a lot!
#2) Not sure??
#3) This sometimes happens when it's cold. The oil is thick, and needs to warm up to thin down a bit.
Bob
Do you ever hear an occasional "snap" sound when upshifting, sounds like it's coming from the rear? That's also something I didn't have with my previous car.
You can really tell a difference when it's cold.
Doesn't help with the reverse issue though. I've gotten used to putting it in 3rd before reverse.
-Dennis