2011 Subaru Outback consumer reviews

The Outback is a solidly built automobile. When you close a door it doesn't sound like you've just put the tin lid on a garbage can. We were looking for an All Wheel Drive to give us a safety edge when our upstate New York Winter weather puts out a driving challenge. Our Outback meets that and more. It is comfortable and has loads of interior room. Three adults can be seated in the rear seat with plenty of legroom. Hatchback area can hold plenty of gear and even more if you can flip down the back seats. Our model has the heated front seats, heated side mirrors and the interior rearview mirror with compass and auto dimming. Driver seat is adjustable about a dozen ways. You can even manually downshift/upshift the automatic transmission with shift levers mounted in finger reach behind the steering wheel. It gets acceptable gas milage for its' size. So far we are averaging 27.3 MPG for combined Hwy/secondary/city. Only complaint is that the alloy spoke wheels sometimes get snow and ice sitting in them if the car has sat in a snow storm outdoors. When that happens you can feel in the balance when at highway speed. I carry a wood paint stir stick that I use to clean them out just in case. Other than that we love this car!

First time owner of a suburu but must say have been very satisfied.Love the ride,comfort and security of awd live in the midwest and spend most of year in fairly bad weather.Tested and researched other vehicles and always came back to the outback because the value and quality of the product.You must drive one yourself and you will realize it stands alone as a clear winner in the smaller suv market.Bought the car over the internet and they were willing to deal, paid about $1,200 under invoice

I purchased a 2010 pre owned 2.5 premuim. Really happy with it. Gives me a very good gas mileage for an AWD. I drove it alot in the rain the first week on our local Canyon roads and it handled really well. Two days ago we drove to the central coast and it was a fun to drive. I did have some minor issue with the handling when the wind was really strong. Considering I have a 4 cylnder and was loaded, I had a problem passing. Looking forward to test it in the snow soon.

I purchased the 6cyl AWD Outback in December, just in time for winter. It's gotten me wherever I've needed to go in this lousy snow and ice we've had this year. The leather heated seats keep me comfy and cozy. Our back seat guests have complimented the space and comfort provided in the rear as well. All of the controls are intuitive and well placed. I wish the door pockets and center console storage were a little larger - wah..a minor issue. I love my new car!

I have only owned this 3 months, but so far its been great. Got a v6 after comparing test drives, and that certainly makes this more responsive although its never going to be a sporty drive. Still it looks like this will work out well as a family car.

I had owned a 2003 Toyota 4Runner 4x4 for the past 8 years and hated to part with it as it had been such a great vehicle. I test drove a Honda Crosstour, Toyota Venza, Toyota Highlander, Audi Q5, Kia Sorento and the Outback. I actually drove the Outback on the first day out and wasn't sure. But after driving all the others and coming back for a second drive of the Outback right after driving the Highlander, we decided on the Outback. We have a yellow lab who rides with us all the time in the cargo area and even though I liked the interior of the Crosstour, it was very nice, the cargo area would have been too cramped for our dog. The one item I would like to see Subaru Outbacks change is the rear window. In my 4Runner it had a power up and down rear window. That was so nice for our dog- I could put it down a few inches if he was in the vehicle waiting for me- that was such a nice feature- please Subaru- make that change and I'll probably trade for a newer version! I bought the Outback a week ago and must say I'm liking it more every day. I bought the 2011 2.5i Limited. It seems kind of sporty to me, the leather seats are very supportive and the heated seats feel so good on a cold Midwest day! Everything seems to be made of good quality and planned out well. I will post again after I have driven for a while and let you know. I do kind of miss the 4Runner but think this vehicle is much more practical for me. I agree with some of the other comments, check prices with several dealers and "wheel and deal" a little. I got mine for around $3000 under MSRP and about $1000 under invoice. The only reason I'm giving 4 stars for performance is that at times it may seem a little loud when accelerating up a hill compared to the 6 cylinders I'm used to but with the better gas mileage it is to be expected. A note to the interior designers of the car- one of the reasons I bought the car is I LOVE the color of the ivory interior. I know that sounds crazy, but it is just the perfect color and looks rich. I could do without the fake plastic burled oak accents on the dash, would have preferred just something silver, but there isn't much of it so I can live with it.

Starting a new family, I had to give up my compact and this was the best choice for us. Great power, spacious interior (key for car seats), cargo room, AWD, and reasonable fuel economy. Primarily looked at a Murano which was more luxurious, but a bit smaller cargo-wise and you need to run it on premium so went with the Subaru. After about 3k miles I'm glad we did. It's extremely comfortable on the roads and was a lifesaver in the recent snowstorms. It doesn't handle as well as the cars I'm used to, but I didn't expect super crisp handling going into a larger vehicle. I wish some of the tech was more up to date, but it's good enough for our needs and should serve us well. Favorite Features VTD AWD, Boxer 6, reclining rear seatback, tonneau cover storage, ride height, rearview camera in the rearview mirror Suggested Improvements Head unit needs to be better, the HK system is ok, but could be improved, and a power liftgate would be a nice convenience. Can't think of anything else!

Everybody loves their new car, and I am no different. With only a 1,000 miles on the car, I still have to be happy. My suggestion to everyone out there looking to buy a new car, do your research. I spent a great deal of time researching Subaru Outbacks and perhaps knew more than many salespeople. When I walked onto a lot I knew the MSRP, the invoice and the cost of the options I wanted. As a result I bought a new car for less than many were advertising for a used car. My final cost was $1,000 less than dealer invoice. Do your research and you will get a good buy.

We reviewed the reviews of the various AWD vehicles and learned that the Subaru was one of the few vehicles that was designed to be AWD. Most of the other manufactures take a FWD and convert it to AWD. Most of these vehicles run in FWD until one of the wheels looses traction and then the AWD kicks in. The Subaru on the other hand is full time AWD. We also felt that the Subaru was more reasonably priced than it competetors. By using the internet we were able to research the dealer invoice and we were able to purchase our car for $1,000 less than the invoice price. Obviously, the dealer pays less than invoice.

We purchased our 2011 Outback limited expecting to be satisfied. Our expectations were exceeded. We were surprised at how great it is. We got the 4 cyl. engine, and it performs quite well. The transmission takes some getting used to, but it really saves on gas. all and all we are very happy with the purchase.