2009 Subaru Outback User Reviews

Pros

Fuel economy--way better than expected.

Cons

For the category and price---non

Purchased As New

I drive about abour 40,000 miles in the snow belt and need something that can get me "there and Back" everyday. I ve had the car a little over 6 months and 20,000 mi. on the clock so far with no hick ups at all.

The seats are firm but this suits me well as I have a bad lower back. Many note that the seats are uncomfortable. Well, they definitely are firm but they work well for me.

The reputation of the all wheel drive system speaks for itself and is why I bought this car. There are many, many videos on youtube that compare the system to others and it wins hands down. Some are real world offroading and some are controlled tests on ramps with rollers...the Subey outshines them all.

I do most of my own basic maintanance and love that everything in the engine bay is accessible. Oil changes are a snap, starter and alternator are in reach, and plugs/wires are easy to get to. I feel this is important for those that plan on keeping the vehicle long term. I plan on giving this to my son for his first car in 3 years. By that time it will have 130,000 miles on it. If this care lives up to Subey's reliable reputation, this thing could get him through college! But, when things do wear out, you can get to them to fix them.

The flat four engine really does a nice job. Even my base model with only 170 hp gets onto the highway fine. I definitely notice the lack of vibration compared to inline 4's and V engines. It's a nice smooth ride.

Fuel economy...Depends on your driving habits. I am rarely drive 5 miles over the speed limit, don't do late braking, and accelerate easy. Highway is 31 mpg and after 20,000 miles, I m averaging 28.1 city and Highway. That is really unbelievable considering it's an Automatic and All wheel Drive. Accelerate hard, brake late, and do over 67 and you' ll see those numbers decrease.

Ok, what don't I like...the manual running light switch on top of the steering colomn is retarded. A hazard light switch already exists. When wiping down the dash, I ve hit the running light switch a couple times and left my running lights on all day ( the switch allows running lights to stay on with out keys in the ignition!).

I don't know if it's a good thing or bad but the tire pressure sensor is really sensitive. The dummy light comes on after a small drop in pressure...When the weather changes, the tire pressure changes. Good for a reminder but, the light continues to come on. The dealer said "They're that sensitive". So , I put 33 pounds in each tire instead of the recommended 32....seams to have helped. No a Con, but certainly annoying. I can't imagine the extra pound will add any additional heat/wear on the tires. We ll see.

Maybe it's becuase I have a base model, but I was dissappointed to find no 12 volt outlet in the cargo area out back. A rear outlet comes in real handy for so many things.

I guess that's it. I have been very impressed with the car's overall performance and can't wait for the snow to come to try out the AWD system ( when's the last time you heard someone say they can't wait for the roads to get bad!).

Hope this helps potential buyers.