Tell me about Subaru Outbacks...Maybe Crossteks too

[jaxyaks]

If you don't like to keep up with maintenance schedules, you won't like a Subaru for long, they do drink oil, new or not, its just a thing, you can get lots of enjoyable miles out of them, we have owned 4, but staying on top of the maintenance schedule is a must.

If thats not something you are into, and you don't need the AWD...get the Toyota. We are looking at replacing one of our Subarus in at the next couple of years and seriously looking at Toyota, mainly because since they put the CVT in the Subaru, the driving experience is rather bland.

 

[sniper22]

As much as I hate to think about it, my wife will probably need a new car in the next 12 months. We are trying to get her 2014 Escape to limp on as long as possible since right now is the absolute worst time to buying a car, but I am trying to do some research on my next purchase in advance.

My parents had Subaru's all through the 80s and 90s and they were reliable cars then. I have several friends with WRX and STIs who had nothing but problems and keep telling me to look elsewhere, but none of them had outbacks, and I can't help but think their standard vehicle offerings will be vastly different than their high performance street legal "race cars."

My wife likes the RAV4 from Toyota, and I am strongly pushing for that, but she also really likes the Outback and Crosstrek.


Anyone have any real world experience with the 2017 and newer Outbacks or Crosstreks? Or maybe a horror story about a new generation Rav4 I should consider.

My little brother has a crosstrek for 3 years now. No problems at all. He drives an hour each way to work and 6 hours one way when he comes home.

 

[militaryrednek]

i sat in a crosstrek when i was car shopping a few years ago. im 6'3" 300lbs and i was able to get in it.......but it is cramped for me. would not want to ride in it for more than a few minutes lol. and in the drivers seat...my head was cocked to the side. imo i would go with an outback, much more comfortable for bigger people.

oh and i ended up with a 17 escape with the newer 2.0 turbo in it. more room for sure than the subiwo crosstrek. i felt the comparable year rav4s just felt like i was sitting in a 20 year old car lol. the interior felt very dated on them. i drove a 19 rav4 for about a month and was pleasant, but slow. the 2..0 on my escape would have blown it out the water lol. i would say it has enough room for me to be comfortable, but not stretch out lol. and that 2.0 aint no slouch, it will get up and go. surprised me.

i sold it for 2grand more than i paid for it a few months ago and am now back in a f150 though lol. i can stretch my legs again haha.

 

[Bagman]

My wife drives a 2017 Rav4 and it's been an outstanding vehicle. I'm biased toward Toyotas. We currently have 3 and I've owned others over the years. Currently a 2011 Tacoma and 2011 Avalon in addition to the Rav4. All great vehicles.

 

[Flip853]

Bought my youngest daughter an used 2018 outback with 23k miles on it after the tornadoes took out 3 of our cars last year. I borrowed it to take on road trip to Disney and really like it. I’m 6’ 1 200lbs and find that its really comfortable to sit in and drive, its good on gas and handles fairly well. Not sure how the longterm maintenance will be but I can tell you it’s one of the easiest cars to change oil on.

 

[letusbuyyourcar]

If you don't like to keep up with maintenance schedules, you won't like a Subaru for long, they do drink oil, new or not, its just a thing, you can get lots of enjoyable miles out of them, we have owned 4, but staying on top of the maintenance schedule is a must.

If thats not something you are into, and you don't need the AWD...get the Toyota. We are looking at replacing one of our Subarus in at the next couple of years and seriously looking at Toyota, mainly because since they put the CVT in the Subaru, the driving experience is rather bland.

Why do all the automakers keep trying the CVT? How many times does it have to fail to figure it out ?
When we were close to Brunswick a local Nissan dealer advertised new Versa bas models for around $12K . So I HAD to take a look. They were all automatics with the CVT. No thanks. I would rather shift my own gears from now on than gamble on a CVT.

 

[letusbuyyourcar]

My wife drives a 2017 Rav4 and it's been an outstanding vehicle. I'm biased toward Toyotas. We currently have 3 and I've owned others over the years. Currently a 2011 Tacoma and 2011 Avalon in addition to the Rav4. All great vehicles.

You can't go wrong with Toyota. My mom has had 5 Camrys and a Corolla. Just pay the price up front and ride for 300K miles or more.

 

[GFB]

Outback definitely gives you more room compared to Forester or Crosstrek. It’s a comfortable vehicle. I wouldn’t buy another Subaru because I want to drive the wheels off a car and I don’t trust their CVT. I’ll probably lean toward Toyota in general. If we could get 150k miles out of my wife’s Forester without replacing a diff or transmission I would be pleasantly surprised but it’s a 2015. Lifetime fluids seems like BS to me unless it’s a short life. For that style vehicle I would also look at Mazda.

 

[sniper22]

My little brother has a crosstrek for 3 years now. No problems at all. He drives an hour each way to work and 6 hours one way when he comes home.

His is a 2014 so that's not going benefit you

 

[DanKATL]

As much as I hate to think about it, my wife will probably need a new car in the next 12 months. We are trying to get her 2014 Escape to limp on as long as possible since right now is the absolute worst time to buying a car, but I am trying to do some research on my next purchase in advance.

My parents had Subaru's all through the 80s and 90s and they were reliable cars then. I have several friends with WRX and STIs who had nothing but problems and keep telling me to look elsewhere, but none of them had outbacks, and I can't help but think their standard vehicle offerings will be vastly different than their high performance street legal "race cars."

My wife likes the RAV4 from Toyota, and I am strongly pushing for that, but she also really likes the Outback and Crosstrek.


Anyone have any real world experience with the 2017 and newer Outbacks or Crosstreks? Or maybe a horror story about a new generation Rav4 I should consider.

My brother likes Subaru's and has had a few, he trades them in every couple of years when they start to have issues. The 4-wheel/all-wheel drive systems get very expensive to repair when they start acting up; and they will act up.

I've had a Rav4 gen4 for the last few years. Only thing I've had to do is regular maintenance, it just works. My dealer keeps offering to buy it back for more than I paid for it, and it's a 2015. I'd take them up on it, but I would not be able to replace it with anything comparable for that right now.

On the RAV4s, some early gen5s had teething issues with filling the tank up. Didn't follow the whole thing because I have a gen4 and I found the info I was looking for in the Rav4 forum and haven't been back much.