Opinions on '05 Outback?

After owning only Subarus since '78 I sold my trusty '89 GL wagon and I bought a Mazda3 in April. Nippy litle car but the more I drove it the more I disliked it. So I bit the financial bullet, traded it in on an '05 Outback 2.5i automatic.

Last month did a 5000km trip in the mountain states and I Iove the car

- best touring vehicle I've ever had. Good gas mileage, adequate power, and quiet. I've now got my winter tires and steel rims on all ready for winter and am looking forward to snow - almost :-)

My mother (age 71) loves hers and says it drives very well. She prefers the appearance of her now-sold 1998 Legacy Outback LTD, but enjoys the amenities and the driving comfort of her 2005 Legacy Outback. All the car reviews are very positive about this car in a way they are not about the Forester model.

Er, the new Outback is not a "Legacy Outback".

Ron

Doesn't surprise me. I've considered getting a new car, but it's hard to even look at anything else. Not much personality out there in other vehicles.

-Matt

I have an Australian version '05 Outback 2.5i Automatic. It's a very comfortable drive. The suspension is very nice, road holding is brilliant. Fuel economy is great for an AWD. Fully loaded, it can be a bit sluggish. My preference is economy rather than performance, so this may not bother you either.

Han.

When you use "brilliant" do you mean it in the British sense or the American sense? The American sense is quite a superlative- fantastic, incredible, unbelievable, a genius designed it... while the British sense just means "really well", or "very nicely" in an excited way.

I know this is not a Mazda group, but since I'm looking into the Impreza and the Mazda3, I'd just like to know what about the 3 did you dislike ?

thanks!

I rented an 05 Outback last for three days last week on a trip to Arizona and was impressed by it. We currently own an 03 OBW (our second OBW), and the 05 seemed to be a much better thought-out vehicle, with higher grade materials inside. It felt more powerful than my 03, but I think they kept the engine power the same on the standard 2.5l (I may be wrong). The auto trans with the sport shift up/down feature was kind of neat, and was helpful when driving over the hills between Phoenix and Flagstaff. The car kept up the 75-80 mph pace even when going over pretty good sized hills.

I had it off road a bit, too, around Sedona and it did very well. I actually passed one of the famous "Pink Jeeps" when heading uphill on a dirt road.

I really liked the interior; it was laid-out much better than the previous models. They got rid of the stupid cruise-control on/off button on the dash and incorporated it all into the stalk-mounted controls. Also moved the fog light switch to the light stalk.

All in all, it just felt like a higher-quality vehicle. If we hadn't just bought our 03 last year, I'd seriously think about trading it in on an 05.

Tinny body, hard ride with lots of road noise, low ground clearance, highly uncomfortable seats, limited range due to small gas tank with high consumption, poor visibility to right rear, no side air bags, wimpy little low profile tires, faddy looks - too much like a Focus or Echo, steering too sensitive at freeway speeds, interior showed every touch and scuff so it always looked dirty, exterior finish soft and scached very easily, inadequate rear storage space....and more...

Sorry you asked? :-)

Or the Canadian sense meaning pretty shiny.

Ron

Traded an 00' Outback for an 05. Totally different car, more nimble in the corners, quieter, more refined looking interior, better gas mileage, better headlights, richer standard sound system, easier closing tailgate to name just a few. Miss weatherband though!

Ron

Had my Outback just about a week.

I'm about 6'2" and I find the turn signal indicates on the instrument panel to be too high to see clearly, either that or the slope of the instrument panel is not enough.

I also find the 6" of tint on the windshield to be just in my line of sight and a distraction.

I disagree. The interior is too generic like nissan etc. The integrated audio means youre stuck with the crap they give you (if youve ever replaced the stock speakers youd know what I mean). To me the 04 is what the outback should be. A reasonablly priced , economical suv alternative. The lack of big foglights also shows subaru is trying to produce another "me too" car. I'll keep my 04 as long as possible and hope that subaru rediscovers what the outback is all about before I need a new one. Otherwise I'll buy another make.