Great car. Handles great and is quick, but...
Pros:
Taut handling, power, well engineered car.
Cons:
Gets pricey in the LL Bean and VDC models and above tire problem.
The Bottom Line:
As good as any competitor, maybe as good as the Volvo XC. Quality construction and engineering, watch out for the tires!
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Overall Rating:
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Author's Review
First of all, I love this car! I've had it for seven months now, and put 11,000 miles on it. It handles nimbly, has an abundance of power (3.0 liter LL Bean edition), goes offroad on anything a stock SUV will, and is comfortable for long trips. It's been almost completely trouble-free, with the only problems being a piece of trim that won't stay on where the passenger's power seat control attaches and a rumble in the steering that was traced to low power steering fluid (right after the dealer, Emich Subaru in Tucson did the 7500 mile maintenance, hmmm). I highly recommend the Outback, especially with the 3.0l or 2.5 turbo.
However, here is one thing the dealer won't tell you probably. We had a blowout in our left front tire, rendering the tire unrepairable. Tread depth on Bridgestone RE92A's is 10/32". Our fronts were at 6/32" and the rear 8/32" (Again, supposedly the dealer had rotated the tires at 7500 miles). Due to the wear exceeding 3/32", Subaru required that all four tires be replaced, at a cost to us of $740. Ouch! It seems that the symmetrical all wheel drive can't tolerate that difference in the tires, so rotation is critical and if you do suffer a blowout like that you'll have to pony up. Oh, new Subaru's come with Road Hazard, so I'm fighting with them to honor the road hazard for all four tires, but I don't think I'll win for the other three tires. We'll see.
Overall, a great car, but the thing about the tires should be told to prospective buyers.
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