Consumer Reviews

Second Outback 3.6R Owned

by Outback Driver from Ohio on Sat May 12 2018

We purchased a 3.6R Limited in April (with April build date). Here are our observations. Where appropriate we compare to our 2012 Outback which our daughter now drives. Acceleration (8 out of 10): Smooth acceleration with the six cylinder and CVT. Smoother than five speed auto in 2012. Passing power is excellent with no hesitation. Transmission (7 out of 10): The CVT is well muted with only a bit of a hum up to twenty-five miles an hour when first accelerating, otherwise is very livable. Front seat comfort (9 out of 10): Tall people (even those 6'5") will fit in the vehicle despite the standard moonroof on the 3.6R. Back support is very good and lumbar is also appreciated for those with back issues. Rear seat comfort (8 out of 10): There is plenty of rear seat room even when a tall person is seated in front. Seats are well padded and in the 3.6R standard there are seat heaters, even on two outboard rear seats. In the upper trim levels rear ducts are also provided; an improvement over our 2012 model. Fuel Economy (8 out of 10): The CVT helps here and we have been averaging 23.5 miles per gallon in mixed driving. We averaged over the EPA estimate of 27 MPG on the highway. Ride Quality (6 out of 10): the 2018 3.6R rides on 18 inch wheels. This coupled with the suspension provides a great highway and smooth surface ride. Living in Ohio with local roads that are sometimes bumpy, this Outback allows more bumps to be felt. It's not uncomfortable, but not nearly as smooth as our 2012 model with 17 inch wheels. Unfortunately if you want a 2018 Outback with the six cylinder engine, you will have to live with the 18 inch wheels. Handling (7 out of 10): Despite its tall stance, the 2018 Outback handles well in the corners with modest body lean, comparable to our 2012 3.6R. For what it is the Outback handles better than most mid-size SUVs and crossovers. Build Quality (8 out of 10): Overall, everything fits together pretty well so far with no rattles/air leaks. There are visible gaps in the hood from the drivers seat when looking towards the left side under the windshield wiper housing. Subaru contends this is normal. This is not the result of poor build quality as gaps are even throughout. The leather seats in black smudge easily and don't clean up as well as those in our 2012, but overall things inside and out are fairly well done. Technology (6 out of 10): We opted not to get Eyesight, but the Limited 3.6R does come with standard blind spot protection, rear cross traffic alert and lane change assist. These work well. The blind spot monitor in particular has been moved to the inside of the side view mirror, which is a great location. The stereo head unit has some issues. First the sound quality for the Harmon Kardon sound system is pretty good although the front speaker in the center of the dash dominates the sound and takes away from the experience. We've tried adjusting this by shifting more of the sound to the rear, which helped a bit. The CD player is flimsy, although I'm grateful Subaru still provides one unlike upper trim levels of the Rav4, Tucson, Mazda CX-5 or CRV. Two times the CD player has not worked and I have had to reinsert the disc to get it to play. Subaru tells me there is a fix for this and it came out mid-2017. Why would this not already be incorporated into a vehicle built in April 2018? The unit has dropped pairing with my Android phone once so far, unlike my 2012 which never dropped in six years. On the plus side the audible text message feature works well and allows for canned responses. Visibility (10 out of 10): Excellent visibility throughout, aided by vehicle shape. Competitors have more blind spots. The 3.6R Limited Outback comes with LED headlights which makes a huge difference when driving at night. Cargo Room (9 out of 10): There is plenty of space with the rear seats folded up for a family of four on a road trip. I hauled over 15 bags of mulch with the rear seats folded down (and could have fit four or five more bags). The Outback Limited still comes with the handy folding roof cross bars. Overall we are happy with our purchase given six cylinder will likely no longer be offered past 2019. We tested many vehicles (RAV4 - noisy/cheap interior, CRV - did not want turbo engine, CX5 - nice but lacked rear seat room). Also, unlike some American nameplates (Equinox, Buick Envision), Outback is built in USA not Canada, Mexico or China.

Purchased a New car

Uses car for Transporting family

Does recommend this car!!

26 out of 26 people found this review helpful. Did you?

Best of all I drove

by 3tees from Milwaukee, Wi on Sun Mar 25 2018

I chose this car after test driving Ford, Lexus, Mazda, Toyota, and Honda crossover equivalents. Hands down best drive, visibility, power, quiet, comfort. I got one with the 3.6 6-cylinder engine. A lot quieter than any turbo 4 cylinder and far better low end torque and power.

Purchased a New car

Uses car for Transporting family

Does recommend this car!!

24 out of 24 people found this review helpful. Did you?

New owner

by Subaru 25 from Columbia, Maryland on Tue Mar 13 2018

So far so good. I haven't had the car long so I can't speak to reliability but neither can most others since it's a 2018. I think the base model is really a great deal. Coming from a base Forester, I feel like I'm drive luxury car. But I buy Subaru mainly for it's utility and functionality. Growing up on snowy roads, I know the disadvantages one faces with fwd or low ground clearance. I also fly fish and have to occasionally drive fire roads so the awd comes in handy there as well. The car is also quiet to drive which is nice. Outside of it's functionality, I really like the technology of the touch screen and android auto. The instrument panel is really cool as well. Directly in front of the steering wheel you can toggle between different digital screens ranging from tire psi readings, to what music you're listening too and more.

Purchased a New car

Uses car for Having fun

Does recommend this car!!

19 out of 19 people found this review helpful. Did you?

Comfortable and roomy

by TybeeDog from Atlanta, GA 30328 on Mon Oct 30 2017

The car is roomy enough to carry a large wheelchair for my special needs sister. It is sporty enough to carry my 16ft kayaks on top.

Purchased a New car

Uses car for Transporting family

Does recommend this car!!

19 out of 19 people found this review helpful. Did you?

Awsome great car...except

by ride4god from Arvada, Colorado on Tue Aug 28 2018

Love it except the navigation system and screen have issues. The radio stays on until you open the car door. The auto dimmer on the navigation screen does not dim the screen at night, I have had to manually dim it every time. The navigation is not near as good as Google maps.

Purchased a New car

Uses car for Having fun

Does recommend this car!!

14 out of 14 people found this review helpful. Did you?

Excellent Car for the money

by autigr91 from Alexandria, VA on Mon Aug 13 2018

When I retired from the military and decided to live on a fixed income for a while, I needed a reliable car to replace my worn BMW X1, the survivor of several accidents courtesy of living in the DC metro area. I looked at another BMW, Acura RDX and a Subaru Outback. Of course, the BMW and the Acura had more powerful engines and great name recognition but when I looked at the price to get all the additional safety features found in my Outback, the choice was obvious. The Subura has proven to be an outstanding choice especially since I am living on half the budget, I had before retiring and it has a little more power and zip than I was expecting. I would recommend this car to anyone and that’s saying plenty considering my last four vehicles were two BMWs, Jeep Wrangler and an Acura.

Purchased a New car

Uses car for Having fun

Does recommend this car!!

12 out of 12 people found this review helpful. Did you?

Very Good Car ! - Some Issues

by Mr.Atoz from Tampa Bay on Thu Jan 17 2019

Very happy with this car mainly because I have 6 cyl. version. Therefore no issues with acceleration. 10 way power driver seat, V6 power when I need it, Lots of safety features such as lane departure warning, low speed front and reverse crash warning. Blind spot detection warning. AWD system does have some jerky shifting at low speeds. Nav/Info/Entertaintment screen sometimes goes blank. But overall, very happy with this car. It is the top trim, so Im not sure I would feel the same with the lower trims.

Purchased a New car

Uses car for Having fun

Does recommend this car!!

12 out of 12 people found this review helpful. Did you?

Awesome Automobile

by RetiredTrojan from Troy, Alabama on Mon Nov 13 2017

More comfortable with better performance than any automobile previously owned. The gas mileage is also much better than anticipated. The Outback has more than adequate power and maneuverability for big city traffic, and it has proven to be a most comfortable automobile for long distance travels as well.

Purchased a New car

Uses car for Transporting family

Does recommend this car!!

8 out of 8 people found this review helpful. Did you?

First Subra I love it.

by Barb from Wilmington OH on Tue Jan 30 2018

I like the way it handles has plenty of leg room. Heated seats are wonderful. Will definetly meet all our needs.

Purchased a New car

Uses car for Transporting family

Does recommend this car!!

7 out of 7 people found this review helpful. Did you?

problems

by NOT LUVIN IT from winona mn 55987 on Fri Dec 14 2018

28000 miles new computer ,radio nav, second one acting up. 2 leaking gaskets,makes wierd shake occasionally tranny,sputters in cold weather bad sensor,windshield was making strange crackling noise cracked a month later. warranty of 32000 now i know why. Dont get this car!!!!! !!!!!!! 3.6 R touring TOP OF THE LINE??

Purchased a New car

Uses car for Commuting

Does not recommend this car!!

6 out of 6 people found this review helpful. Did you?