Bought a new Subaru.

[Eric Hahl]

Saw Steve's "I bought a new Honda" thread and thought I'd share my recent purchase.

This will be my daily driver. Wanted something I could pack the telescopes in or photo gear and just drive somewhere out of the way. Maybe the occasional nap in the back while the telescope is shooting photos. My old M235i just didn't quite cut it for this purpose, lol.

It's a 23 Outback Wilderness addition. Comes stock with a little lift over the standard Outback, AT tires on 17" wheels and the 2.4 turbo, lots of electronic wizardry like adaptive cruise, lane assist and what not. Even comes with a full size spare on a matching alloy wheel.

[Scott Douglas]

Very cool, Eric.
My buddy has a two year old Ascent that he likes a lot.
I'm sure you'll enjoy your Subby.

[stevej37]

Very nice looking car! I like how they fit the info screen into the dash...mine is a 'stand on the ledge' type and it blocks a small portion of my lower view.
Adaptive cruise is great.

[Scott Douglas]

Here's a shot of my buddy's new rig.



He had just traded in his other trailer for this one, which has an indoor head so his wife will be more comfortable when they go camping.

I think your new car has the same drive train in it.

[Eric Hahl]

That's a lot of trailer for that rig, wow.

This will be my 3rd Subbie. Had an 04 Outback Sport I drove to 228k miles before selling. Then had a Scion FRS (Subbie BRZ twin) I drove to 160k miles. Neither one ever had any issues. Hoping this one proves as reliable but it is turbo so who knows.

[Rusty Heap]

I test drove a 2022 subaru and DIDN"T LIKE all the electronic gizmos like adaptive steering and the general numbness of tactile feel of all the controls.

zero driver input needed.

"should be a Subaru slogan"

[Eric Hahl]

Originally Posted by Rusty Heap

I test drove a 2022 subaru and DIDN"T LIKE all the electronic gizmos like adaptive steering and the general numbness of tactile feel of all the controls.

zero driver input needed.

"should be a Subaru slogan"

I just turn off the nannies. Yep, steering is a tad numb. It's not a sports car though so I'm good with it.

[Baz]

Congrats, Eric...love the comment about the full sized spare!

[stevej37]

[QUOTE=Rusty Heap;11977565]I test drove a 2022 subaru and DIDN"T LIKE all the electronic gizmos like adaptive steering and the general numbness of tactile feel of all the controls.

What's 'adaptive steering'?

[Eric Hahl]

[QUOTE=stevej37;11977618]

Originally Posted by Rusty Heap

I test drove a 2022 subaru and DIDN"T LIKE all the electronic gizmos like adaptive steering and the general numbness of tactile feel of all the controls.

What's 'adaptive steering'?

Lane centering help. Tries to keep you between the lines while the cruise control is on.

[stevej37]

^^^ Ahh...got it, my Civic calls that 'lane centering'
It's a nice feature...but glad that it's switchable. (on or off)

[OK-944]

We've owned three Foresters over the years and they've been a perfect fit for us living on a (dirt road) hill in northern Vermont. All have been stick shift but we'll likely give this up with our next car - and we've been taking a serious look at the Wilderness editions of both Forester and Outback models. Will be curious to know how the transmission/drive system of these new models handle hilly dirt roads...particularly of the snowy/slushy/muddy variety.

[Eric Hahl]

Originally Posted by OK-944

We've owned three Foresters over the years and they've been a perfect fit for us living on a (dirt road) hill in northern Vermont. All have been stick shift but we'll likely give this up with our next car - and we've been taking a serious look at the Wilderness editions of both Forester and Outback models. Will be curious to know how the transmission/drive system of these new models handle hilly dirt roads...particularly of the snowy/slushy/muddy variety.

The Wilderness versions have a lower final drive ratio for just that reason. From the video reviews I've watched all seems to be good. No issues. The turbo is putting out 260hp and 277 ft lbs at 2000 some rpm. They also come equipped with 3 awd settings, normal, snow/dirt, and deep snow/mud.

[pwd72s]

When warranty expires, maybe look for a different mechanic than the one LWJ's wife uses...

[Eric Hahl]

Originally Posted by pwd72s

When warranty expires, maybe look for a different mechanic than the one LWJ's wife uses...

LOL, for sure.

[Tobra]

My son used to have a Suburu Forester. He took it to the dealership where he and his wife worked, I think he is the general manger now.

His wife talked to the guys in the body shop and had them swap out all the badges for Toyota, because that was the dealership where they worked. I thought it was way funnier than he did.

[aschen]

I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with subarus, Ive had 3 wrx variants and a forester.

I liked all of them but the one I kept the longest (06 wrx wagon) started to be a bit of a pita at around 140k miles. Nothing major but not pleasant to work on by pedestrian car standards and surprisingly high parts cost.

People like to ***** about cvts, but the one in our forester seemed fine to me. I wonder how the cvt in that outback will stand up to towing

[masraum]

Originally Posted by aschen

I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with subarus, Ive had 3 wrx variants and a forester.

I liked all of them but the one I kept the longest (06 wrx wagon) started to be a bit of a pita at around 140k miles. Nothing major but not pleasant to work on by pedestrian car standards and surprisingly high parts cost.

People like to ***** about cvts, but the one in our forester seemed fine to me. I wonder how the cvt in that outback will stand up to towing

We've had a 2018 Outback Touring for ~2.5 years. I think the missus has put ~50k miles on it. I've changed the oil and filters. I need to do that again.

I like all of the tech innovations like the adaptive cruise, lane centering, and other "Eye Sight" associated stuff. Under certain, limited situations the lane centering can get confused, but it's rare, and the lane centering can be manually overridden (firm grip on the wheel). I've had a couple of times where someone was turning out of a road into a parking lot in front of me, and the car decided we should slow down to not hit the car which wasn't going to happen, but like the lane centering, that's really rare.

When I was a kid, I thought that a CVT should be fantastic. I understood, but thought it was weird when they came out years ago, and I read that manufacturers made them "shift" like a normal auto because people were put off by a transmission that didn't shift. I think it's cool that occasionally, under certain cirmumstances, this car will act like a CVT. I can be moderately accelerating, have the rpms go to something, 4k, 6k, etc... and stay at that one RPM while the car accelerates without ever "shifting". I've had that happen once on an on-ramp where the rpms went to about 6k and then just stayed there while the car went from 40-80mph. Most of the time that it happens, it's usually more like 3500-4000 rpm and 30-60mph.

We've rented and towed little 4x8 and 5x8 U-haul trailers that were fairly lightly loaded a few times, and that's been uneventful. It's also pretty flat around here.

[john70t]

Originally Posted by Eric Hahl

That's a lot of trailer for that rig, wow.

Only one single axle!
A tire blow-out at 90mph will be disastrous.

And negative tongue weight from the looks of it.
But a Subaru can creep on the front tires. 4WD baby!
That might destroy the $5k transfer case though.

[Mike Andrew]

On my 4th Forester and the wife had one for years. Works well for me skiing, fishing, and hauling stuff. Pulls my 16' Lund with no issues. Overall, I really like the car and will buy another when it's time as long as it is ICE.

That said, the nanny stuff(Eye Sight) drives me nuts. Lane centering has been turned off forever. I disable the adaptive cruise when the cruise gets set. I find the accident reduction thing beyond annoying. After it starts, I click off the stoplight kill feature. How did we ever live without all of these things and survive?