Subaru Automobiles

[jyoutz]

If I missed it, apologies. We have a Honda Pilot that averages about 18 MPG local driving, and can get up to about 23MPG with the vehicle loaded for long (plus 2 hour highway trips on way), but with it being just my wife and I this December, we feel that the pilot is getting to big for us for the fuel economy.

Couple of questions...

1 - Everyone who owns a subraru, what is your average gas mileage and what model is the vehicle?

2 - What's the towing capacity and do you tow anything yourself?

3 - What are the models you want to look for particuarly in the outback model? Been looking on Auto Trader for some time now on the outbacks, and it seems they have a lot of different models and it gets confusing for me. Do like the way the trekker (sp?) looks in the outback model.

4 - Would you buy another subaru again (we would buy another pilot, bought it used for 15K years ago with 75K on it, and other a heavey maintence bill when it got to over 200k, it's been holding well for another 25K miles.

5 - Genearlly we buy used, cash, paid in full and look for the best deal to limit the variables of new car pricing. That's why I'm wondering about all the different models over the last couple of years. Any particular model of the outback you would stay away from?

Always fond of my buddies subaru in the 80-90's, but back then it always seemed to be an oil problem over 100k on the odometer, but I believe from reading here that issue seems to have been resolved.

Genearlly we will ride the vehicle for at least 300k on the odometer, and since it's going to be just me and the wife, may contemplate actually buying something new and not used. That said, our nature is something used with under 100k on it and find the best deal.

Ours is a Forester, averages 32 mpg, and it has been trouble free for 100K miles, just doing scheduled maintenance. We would buy one again.

 

[ultrarunner]

Yup, that was the culprit both times. Head gaskets. The mechanic said, if you turn it off as soon as it gets hot, you save the engine. If it actually “overheats” it destroys the valve-train followed then by the pistons.

Co Worker bought a new Justy when the CVT came out.

Bought it for his daughter in snow country and at 8,900 miles of heavy back country snow driving the trans was shot.

I imagine it has to be better now but seeing that car put me off from CVT

 

[brutus54]

Sigarms
We had 2 previous Subaru Foresters. A '14, an '18 and now a '23. The 14 had 168,000 mi. The 18 had 144,000 mi. We got the 23 last day of Feb this year and have 18,000 miles so far. The 23 Forester Wilderness has a 3000 lb towing capacity as it has a transmission cooler and the factory designed hitch. This is the most refined Forester of all 3 and for milage on the 23 my average mpg is 32 mpg. I'm retired so not in a hurry, usually drive back roads and enjoy the sites.

 

[MossRoad]

If I missed it, apologies. We have a Honda Pilot that averages about 18 MPG local driving, and can get up to about 23MPG with the vehicle loaded for long (plus 2 hour highway trips on way), but with it being just my wife and I this December, we feel that the pilot is getting to big for us for the fuel economy.

Couple of questions...

1 - Everyone who owns a subraru, what is your average gas mileage and what model is the vehicle?

2 - What's the towing capacity and do you tow anything yourself?

3 - What are the models you want to look for particuarly in the outback model? Been looking on Auto Trader for some time now on the outbacks, and it seems they have a lot of different models and it gets confusing for me. Do like the way the trekker (sp?) looks in the outback model.

4 - Would you buy another subaru again (we would buy another pilot, bought it used for 15K years ago with 75K on it, and other a heavey maintence bill when it got to over 200k, it's been holding well for another 25K miles.

5 - Genearlly we buy used, cash, paid in full and look for the best deal to limit the variables of new car pricing. That's why I'm wondering about all the different models over the last couple of years. Any particular model of the outback you would stay away from?

Always fond of my buddies subaru in the 80-90's, but back then it always seemed to be an oil problem over 100k on the odometer, but I believe from reading here that issue seems to have been resolved.

Genearlly we will ride the vehicle for at least 300k on the odometer, and since it's going to be just me and the wife, may contemplate actually buying something new and not used. That said, our nature is something used with under 100k on it and find the best deal.

Our Outback is a 2020 Limited. Only had it about 6 months. It averages over 30 since we've had it, 95% highway use. So far I like it a lot!

Our towing capacity is 2700# with the 2.5L engine. I believe the 2.4L turbo engine has a 3500# rating.

Can't answer model preference.

So far, we'd buy another one, but at 6 months and no problems yet, that's really not enough to go on.

Can't answer which models to stay away from.

Ours had 30K on it when we bought it, and has a dealer provided lifetime powertrain warranty. We (and the dealer) expect the electronics to fail well before the power train.

 

[Torvy]

We have a 2018 Outback we bought new. I think it is a Touring, but is at least the Limited version and has the package with Nav, Eyesight, braking assist, etc. 4 cylinder engine.

1) I know the worst we ever showed was 26 mpg. It gets well into the 30+ mpg on trips. The Outback and Forester have the same epa ratings for mpg. The 6 cylinder will cost you about 4 mpg.

2) Towing on this model is 2700 lbs, the '6' gets you up to 3000. We don't have a hitch on it, so cannot speak to how it tows.

3) Rather than try to explain it, I will recommend Edmunds.com. They do a great job detailing model info for various YMM.

4) Would buy, yes. Will buy, no. When we bought it, it was our 'truck'. We had a Prius Prime for trips and daily driving. Now that we have an actual truck, I would replace it with a Rav4 Prime. Toyota has better fit and finish and the Prime gets fantastic mileage and is a short range EV (40 ish miles) but has the hybrid gas engine to get about 600 miles of real range. We feel we need the clearance and 4wd/AWD based on our location.

5) We bought new because it was 0% and the used was 5% or so at the time. Ultimately, the new was cheaper. There were also some features on the 2018 that weren't on the 2017. Cash, would be more about warranty and price-feature ratios. I will reiterate on this point, Edmunds is your friend when comparing various years and trim/package options.

 

[California]

...Always fond of my buddies Subaru in the 80-90's, but back then it always seemed to be an oil problem over 100k on the odometer, but I believe from reading here that issue seems to have been resolved.

Still over 4k miles or more before oil is down a quart on my '99, at 150k miles. I don't know if this is typical. Gas mileage isn't as good a recent models. About 24 mpg ever since new.

This sort of WRC-inspired offroad rally driving shows why I love the Subaru! It covers the 20 miles of unmaintained forest service haul roads into our mining claim, even better than the 400ci Wagoneer did.

 

[Sigarms]

Thanks for the feedback guys.

I forgot the biggest question of them all that could be a deal breaker for my wife...

Does the hatch back open up remotely?

Got to admit, sometimes not a fan of technology, and god fobid finding out the price to replace those motorized arms on the back of the vehicle, but will admit when we rented that CX-50 out in California, when you're carrying stuff to the vehhicle, it sure beats opening and closing our large hatch back on the Pilot manually (both my wife and I agreed that Mazda was not in our future though driving it for 10 days though).

Really do like the looks of the of the Outback Wilderness, but also like the fact that it gives you the most ground clearance.

However, the time to buy a car is when you don't need one, and since we have multiple vehicles, may be some time before we go down the that road, added, as I get older my days of getting lost on backroads may dwindle and ground clearance may not be as important. That said, unless the brand completely falls apart, Subaru is the brand we're both leaning to.

Looking online quickly used, under 45K on the odometer (generally what we do is pay cash for the best price we can find)...

2019 Outback 2.5i
2021 Outback Premium
2021 Outback touring
2021 Outback limited XT
2021 Outback limited
2019 Outback 2.5i touring
2023 Outback Onyx Edition XT
2023 Outback Wilderness
2017 Outback 3.6R Touring
2019 Outback 2.5i Limited
2014 Outback 2.5i Premium
2019 Outback 3.6R Limited

Out of the above, anything to stay away from? Someone I thought mentioned a 6 banger. I thought Subraru only made 4? Assuming (prehaps wrong) the 2.5 abd 3.6 is a turbo? I think Moss mentioned a 2.4 is turbo? Anything turbo good or bad with Subaru? (to some extent, I see it as adding to a potential issue). As I get older, the more I sound like my dad LOL

Also assume a lot of the models have to do with trim and electronics? Leather would be nice, but not mandatory. Other than a decent radio that you can plug your phone into for music, the more gadgets the worse for us. Will admit, I do like the automatic high light beam function though when driving at night on my company truck and my dads car though.

And I will check out Edmunds. Use to use them a lot long time ago, I saw where they're selling cars, scares me a little though about their perspective on "quality".

 

[Hay Dude]

Thanks for the feedback guys.

I forgot the biggest question of them all that could be a deal breaker for my wife...

Does the hatch back open up remotely?

Got to admit, sometimes not a fan of technology, and god fobid finding out the price to replace those motorized arms on the back of the vehicle, but will admit when we rented that CX-50 out in California, when you're carrying stuff to the vehhicle, it sure beats opening and closing our large hatch back on the Pilot (both my wife and I agreed that Mazda was not in our future though driving it for 10 days).

Really do like the looks of the of the Outback Wilderness, but also like the fact that it gives you the most ground clearance.

However, the time to buy a car is when you don't need one, and since we have multiple vehicles, may be some time before we go down the that road, added, as I get older my days of getting lost on backroads may dwindle and ground clearance may not be as important.

Looking online quickly used, under 45K on the odometer (generally what we do is pay cash for the best price we can find)...

2019 Outback 2.5i
2021 Outback Premium
2021 Outback touring
2021 Outback limited XT
2021 Outback limited
2019 Outback 2.5i touring
2023 Outback Onyx Edition XT
2023 Outback Wilderness
2017 Outback 3.6R Touring
2019 Outback 2.5i Limited
2014 Outback 2.5i Premium
2019 Outback 3.6R Limited

Out of the above, anything to stay away from? Someone I thought mentioned a 6 banger. I thought Subraru only made 4? Assuming (prehaps wrong) the 2.5 abd 3.6 is a turbo? Anything Turbo good or bad with Subaru?

Also assume a lot of the models have to do with trim and electronics? Leather would be nice, but not mandatory. Other than a decent radio that you can plug your phone into for music, the more gadgets the worse for us. Will admit, I do like the automatic high light beam function though when driving at night on my company truck and my dads car though.

Gotta ask…You said you had a Honda Pilot?
I heard those were excellent. You aren’t buying another? Too big/thirsty?
Thought they look like an excellent suv

 

[Sigarms]

Gotta ask…You said you had a Honda Pilot?
I heard those were excellent. You aren’t buying another? Too big/thirsty?
Thought they look like an excellent suv

Our pilot is a 2008. LOVE the vehicle.

You ever notice that it seems car manufacturers are going "sleek looking" which reduces the amount of window footage? I drove in a buddies 2018 Pilot, and looking around inside the car, it actually seemed much smaller than ours. Also seemed to have a lot more blind spots. Seems like car manufacturers are using cameras and warning signals on the side view mirrors (which I do like though) and are increasing blind spots in the vehicle when driving. I could be wrong, just what it seems like to me. I'd also like to meet the guys who think by enlarging your rear tail lights and protruding out past the vehicle body is a good thing (not on the pilot, but like some other models/brands).

Another friend had a 2007 Pilot, then bought a newer 2015 Pilot. He told me the same thing, consider myself lucky I got the "bigger" older vehicle because he didn't like his 2014 pilot as near he did his 2007 Pilot.

Because in the near future it will only be my wife and I, if anything, the pilot will become to big. That vehicle has served us well for at least 10 years, 2 young boys, multiple dogs and multiple trips.

Only downside is 18-19 MPG for local driving and perhaps 23 MPG tops on long trips (which isn't that bad).

We bought the Honda for like 15K with 75K on it. Now have 230K on it. We just put some serious bucks into it around 210K on the odeometer because it needed it (still less than a annual car payment and it's done and paid for). We got our money out of that service bill, but the next one that comes around we may seriously think about it being time to let it go, if that makes sense.

Up in Somerset Pa for family reunion last month. Did see a Pilot that both my wife and I agree looked liked they increased the windwo space. Thing is, it had "PILOT" labled in large black letters across the hatchback. Looks to be a newer 2024 I'd guess. Honestly, that look is growing on me, but most likely talking about at least 10K more and for my wife and I, most likely to large for what we actually need.

 

[buckeyefarmer]

Ours is a Forester, averages 32 mpg, and it has been trouble free for 100K miles, just doing scheduled maintenance. We would buy one again.

My forester at 160k is starting to use a little oil. I just keep watch.
My 2013 pilot (2nd gen) is over 200k now, love it also. I really liked my first pilot (1st gen), put over 350k on it.
I don’t tow with either, use the truck to tow.