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Subaru Impreza Outback Sport & TS
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Comments
Bob
http://subaru.com.au/explore/Impreza/exterior.asp?body=Hatch&grade=RV
I checked the Subaru NZ site, and they don't sell an OBS equivalent there.
Bob
I drive primarily on paved roads, Interstates, small town roads and winding 2-lane roads through the hills. Any off-roading I might do would be in a grassy or muddy parking lot or on a dirt or gravel road in the National Forest. Nothing that would really be considered "off road", I'm sure. I wonder if I'm savvy enough to even notice a difference between the RS and the OBS on highway, city and back roads? There are plenty of back roads around here.
I want/need the fog lights and it looks like it might be cheaper to go with the OBS where they are part of the package with the stereo and other little extras, instead of getting the RS and adding fog lights. The options, few as they are, have me bouncing back and forth.
Unfortunately, I hate the look of the spoiler on the OBS. What is a spoiler for? Does it help air flow and increase mileage? Or is it a "sporty" look that I just don't appreciate? Maybe I could have my artist daughter paint pictures of my dogs on it, or maybe I could sell the space for advertising??
I wish I could make a decision here.
thanks for any input,
Desk
From the way you're describing how you'd drive, you might be happiest with the RS wagon. It's a bit sportier than the OBS on pavement. You can always add the fog lights. I bought an 05 RS wagon for my wife, and we're going to add fog lights to hers. Dealer wants the ridiculous price of about $400, so I'll do that one myself. Looks pretty easy.
I have the 04 OBS, which has no spoiler. I didn't know that they added it for 05. I don't see it in the specs at all. I don't think I've ever seen a spoiler on a wagon. How can you open the rear door? Have you seen one on the OBS wagon? Or does the one you've seen just have that little trim piece above the rear glass? I think it's designed for keeping dust, etc. off the rear glass, and really isn't a spoiler per se. That, and I thought that part was a dealer installed option.
I'm glad you've found the thread helpful.
-Dan-
I have the wing on my OBS (dealer-installed) and I think it looks good--with the two-tone paint it's not a particularly sporty-looking car to start with and I feel the wing helps--but tastes vary. If you like the OBS but don't care for the wing, look around for a base OBS without the Special Edition package. The wing is drilled into the top of the rear hatch so it isn't something they can remove easily.
Since my Forester is still in the shop and I was eyeballing a Legacy sedan and wagon, they gave me a used 2005 Legacy wagon to drive. Gosh it's big compared to the Forester and the RS. I thought it was okay, just another larger vehicle, drove fine, I could like it for my daily commute at 30 mpg, but my husband didn't care for it at all. He says he thinks of me as a smaller car person. The largest vehicle I've ever owned was an '86 Saab 900 S. I drove my husband's Toyota Tacoma king cab for a few months but traded it away for my Forester when he wasn't looking. It was a very good move.
So now I'm re-thinking the RS wagon and the Forester again. He wants to check other Makes and Models but I keep coming back to the Forester, and all the reasons I've loved it since the day I laid eyes on it. But let's give the RS another chance. I may also be just thinking old and stodgy, and that's kinda silly. I may as well have some fun on this commute. :shades:
Thanks again. And I think the spoilers were part of some kind of package. Can't remember now, and I've given up on the OBS, will reconsider the RS as I said!
Desk
Have you seen the 06 Forester? Since you enjoy the one you have, if you're willing to spend the buck for the thing you'll just love it. It's what I'll likely get next year when I part ways with my 04 OBS. What a car!
That said, you'll find that the RS wagon is quite a bit of fun when you get it up to speed. Enjoy the highway test.
Let us know what you end up deciding to get.
-Dan-
Thanks again for the input!
Desk
I took my DH to compare the vehicles and we agree that the Forester is the right size, and mileage and safety considered, there is little reason to go quite as small as the RS, especially since I know and love the Forester already.
I'll let you know how it turns out. Thanks again for your suggestions and your help!
Desk
Photo Bucket, Imagestation, places like that. I think even Yahoo gives you some space/bandwidth.
If it's just one photo and it's Subaru-related e-mail it to me and I'll host it for you.
-juice
from 1st to 2nd very hard, the rest of the shifts up and down are smooth. I have had the transmission fluid changed. Are there any vacuum lines or modulator valves that I should check or any suggestions
Just ease of the throttle when you sense it's about to shift.
-juice
-Dan-
That might help the Dealer try to replicate it so he can trouble shoot it properly.
-juice
If you find any for the 03 Foresters, perhaps you would like to import a few - just get an extra suitcase! Some of us on Forester board would pay a relatively handsome price for these.
Thanks for everyone's discussions here. I had driven an Acura TSX, Mazda 3, and finally chose the OBS. (never thought I'd own a subaru especially in NYC).
One question I have is there any aftermarket nav best suited to the OBS?
Thanks,
Here was my criteria for choosing it as my purchase:
ateixeira, "Navigation / GPS Systems" #259, 4 Aug 2005 4:08 pm
-juice
sheilds on the exhaust system.Turned me off on Subaru.
-Dan-
-juice
One question, should I change the oil at 1K or 3K. Since its a new car, I've been told to change at 1K to get rid of "break in oil".
Thanks
This is a persistant auto care legend - it is fine to go 3 - 5K.
Congrats.
-juice
I've sort of been 'lurking in the shadows' reading your posts for a while now but since I am now finally the proud owner of a beautiful new OBS SE I thought I might should join in the discussion. Incredible handling, fun to drive, everything i expected and more. But I do have a few questions.
First of all, my gas mileage wasn't quite what I was hoping for when I drove to the beach this past weekend. I got around 350 miles to the tank (well, the gas light wasn't actually on when I got gas, so not quite a tank) on 95% highway driving. The average speed was about 75 mph (seems like everyone goes 80 on hwy 40 heading towards the beach in NC). I have sort of chalked up the poor gas mileage to the fact that I was going 75 (slightly above 3000 rpms) and that it's a brand new car (<500 miles on it now after the trip). I only had 20 bucks on me at the gas station so I didn't fill up the tank which, I now realize, would have been helpful in finding out the exact mileage that I got. But still, any thoughts you guys have that would make me feel better would be great. I've read that gas mileage gets better as the engine is broken in, but does anyone know how much?
Secondly, there is a rattle that comes from my drivers window on rougher road conditions above 55 mph. I have found that I can push against the window sticker (to keep my fingerprints from the glass of course!) in the bottom left corner of the window and it stops the rattle completely. I can also lower the window just a TINY bit and that seems to help as well. My question is: can I go to the dealer and have them fix the rattle under warranty? Or are they going to make me pay?
And finally, my clutch pedal has started giving a little squeak every time i push it down. Same question as above...will the dealer fix it under warranty since it's nothing mechanical but just aggravating to me...especially since i just got the car?
I would appreciate any and all help you folks can give me. Thanks!
My wife has the light blue OBS SE and gets about 25 in town. Just watch your RPMs. There will be a speed range where they will not move much but you will get a good speed band and that is most likely your best mix of speed and RPMs. Enjoy, they are nice cars.
-juice
I start work at 5:30am so the freeway is deserted so I won't slow anyone down.
Use cruse control set at 60mph.
On the way home with more traffic, I stay in the right lane and find a semi that is going slower and follow (no I dont draft them, just follow at a safe distance so I won't slow anyone else down). If everyone is going 70 then I will too (I don't want to impede the flow)
Use 5th gear anytime above 45mph.
Look ahead...if you see the light is red then lift off the gas and coast to the intersection.
If traffic permits, accelerate at a slower pace from stoplights. (I won't do this if I seem to be holding people up)
Absolute minimum of short trips. I do all of my shopping stops on the way home from work.
Generally, leave for where you are going early and just take it easy. You will get there on time and be relaxed when you get there and save gas.
Last tank was 31.3mpg. 70% highway / 30% city
-juice
350 miles on a tank sounds decent. If the light wasn't on, and since you only had a $20 on you, I'd bet you had at least a couple of gallons or more still in it. Sounds like 26-28 mpg or so. Pretty good for an AWD car running at 75mph+.
Get any rattles and noises looked at early. Dealer should fix with no hassle.
Have fun, and feel free to ask away.
-Dan-
I use cruise on the highway when possible (helps to keep the speed from creeping up as well) and keep my tires inflated slightly higher than Subaru recommends. I also minimize idling, e.g. if I'm parking somewhere and I've got the window down and sunroof open I turn off the car first, then close the window and roof. Even saving 30 seconds a day of idling is 15 minutes less per month that I'm getting 0 mpg. At today's prices (US$3.11/gallon down the street here) you may as well save what you can.
My only fear is the people on the road will look at me and say " look at that old fart only going 55 when the freeway is wide open". Little do they know that I am an autocross racer and save my speed grins for Sundays where I drive as fast as the course allows.
This summer I purchased a 1998 outback sport used from a private seller. I have been very happy so far with the car but there are definitely some quirks! My dad actually liked it so much that he went and bought himself a 2003.
I have read over the old posts about hubcaps and have the same question. My car came with all 4 missing. Is Target really the cheapest way to go? Is there anything I can do try and make them stay on? The car has about 50K miles, and we just took it for it's 30K checkup that never happened. They also fixed a rattle in the back. Some complaints that I still have have been discussed before it seems- my radio/clock programs, but once you turn off the car and restart it there is no memory and your choices have been lost. My passenger side window seal is not tight for about 4 inches and on the highway air hissing comes through- is this easily fixed? Finally, I too was less than pleased about the gas mileage....but the recent tips are very helpful!
thanks!
L
-juice
Well it's been a few weeks now and I've been extremely happy with my OBS. I had a few minor hiccups...the rattle and then later the driver window-stop was off and the door wasn't shutting properly. But luckily, there's a mechanic at Bob Dunn Subaru in Greensboro, NC that's really top-notch and he had me fixed up in a jiffy.
On my way down to Atlanta I was careful to go 70 tops and low and behold, after i whipped out my calculator (which is on my cell phone, i'm not a total geek) at the gas station...31.7 mpg! Needless to say I was happy...that was even with a healthy bit of city driving, probably around 10 percent city and 85 percent highway. I agree with sliding her into 5th gear as much as possible, certainly helps.
One minor catastrophe though...I found a little dent in my baby's hood...probably from a damn walnut or something falling from the trees that I had to park my car under for a night. Hopefully a call to the Dent Wizard will fix it.
Still pumped about my Sube even though I still haven't mastered all of the intricacies of a manual transmission yet...it's my first one. I get aggravated with myself when I don't hit the shift just right and I feel like i'm putting my brand new car's clutch in a world of pain, I think i just need to chill out.
I'm so happy with the space of this little trooper when the seats are folded down. I swear it's at least as much as I had in my 1995 pathfinder. I also really dig the seat covers. Very unique.
Keep on keeping on, ladies and gents.
At least it wasn't worse.
06s have aluminum hoods, but I think 05s were still steel. Let them know so they can use appropriate force to fix it.
-juice
Thanks!
How many miles to you have? I'd give it at least 3 tanks of gas or so to break-in and set the timing.
-juice
-juice
(I asked myself the same question a few days ago and having heard that CO is a Subie-heavy state, used Denver as a starting point for my inventory search).
The OBS does have some nice equipment, like the roof rack and fogs.
-juice
Does the Tribute feel like it's not going to last as long? Why?
Just curious.
-juice