Outback Decision Time Coming -- 4 vs 6

Don't know about Outback but just talked to a lady this morning that replaced hers with a Forester. My brother had done the same thing and I talked to another woman that traded her Outback for a Forester. She said it almost had the same interior volume and was more peppy. I'm a Forester owner myself, 2016, as is my wife, 2008. She does not like mine as it feels too big to her. The lady this am had an old Outback and also said the Forester feels big to her but she loves it.

Forester would not work for me if I ever intend to tow even a tiny camper

-- it has roughly half the towing capacity of an Outback. 1500 vs 2700 and no higher-power engine option that I know of. I'm sure that for day-to-day usage running to the supermarket or bank or post office the smaller size would be a benefit but overall it wouldn't work out.

If you need towing, I guess you need the more power. I know both would tow. Found it very interesting that woman thought Forester was much peppier and thought I'd pass it on. I had traded my '03 for my '16 and am very pleased with smooth CVT and better mileage.

You're looking for feedback from Outback owners, I do not have one, but I can suggest you research the CVT. The 6 cylinder model I believe has a stronger CVT, heard it somewhere, I am not sure where.

If that is the case, and you plan on towing it could be a better fit.

I went for the 2013 Forester XT. Liked the Outback but the Forester felt more manuverable. Also was afraid of the oil consumption issues with the new, in 2014, 4 cylinder FB engines.

The 2013 was the last model year for the EJ engines, and only avilable in turbo version. I believe the Impreza STI 2.5 still equipped with the EJ engine.

Basia

Forgot to ask, why are you selling? I am sure a nice and sturdy car like the Outback could go a few more years. You say you take good care of your cars and seem to drive a bit longer anyway.

Understandable.

Basia

Funny. In Europe my 2011 Forester 2.0 non turbo manual is rated at 4400 lbs towing rate and so are the latest CVT versions.

Gerard

One of those things that we'll probably never understand. Safety standards? Different hitches? I know that while hiking around the UK and Ireland I've come across caravan parks in the countryside where some relatively heavy caravans, perhaps 6 or 7 meters long have apparently been towed in by rather ordinary passenger cars. I have been assuming that Subaru's 2700 pound rating was relatively conservative and was willing to go to maybe

Differences are interesting. I had a friend worked in the Netherlands for a few years and he said everyone had small cars because of the high cost of gas but all had trailers for when they needed to haul something.

Absolutely. When I got rid of my dodgy Dodge truck which slowly went from too unreliable to drive cross-country to too unreliable to drive cross-town I decided that a trailer was the way to go. Perhaps a bit less convenient and certainly far more tricky to park but it works fine behind the Subie. I've backed up a trailer with a 35-foot boat on it and it was easier than a

I have been doing some online research and find that there are several brands of hitch for the Outback which are rated up to 4000 pounds. These have a 2" bar rather than the 1-1/4" which the Subaru hitch has so maybe the hitch is a big part of it. These hitches are all cheaper than the ridiculous amount (almost $600) which Subaru wants for theirs so that will be one thing I'll be leaving off my accessory list no matter what.

Here it's illegal to tow more than the specified weight, however conservative it may be.

I drive around Europe with a 3300 lbs 7,5 meter caravan(or camper in USA). Very stable to abt. 65 mph, still some reserve to overtake. Of course you have to rev it up a steep slope! But a CVT will do that for you.. :-)

Gerard

Are you towing with a Subaru? If so, what sort? 4-cylinder or 6? I'm still uncertain about which I really want -- the thought of burning a lot of extra fuel when the extra power isn't needed is bothersome even though it is far far cheaper here than in most of the world -- that can't last at the rate we are burning up the reserves. I can't imagine what the US would look like if we were paying what they are in Ireland, for example (and they are not the worst by far!).

Op 15-10-2017 om 16:28 schreef John McGaw:

It's a 2011 Subaru Forester 2.0 4-cyl non turbo 150 HP high/low manual gearbox.

The link shows a picture of the set-up.

Nice setup! Your caravan is actually a bit longer than I was considering but I think that European manufacturers are able to build lightweight rigs better than those in the US. Whenever I find anything that fits within my weight and amenities standards they seem to be in the

I had an H4 in a 2000 OB, which had a 175 HP. My current one is an 2008 Tribeca with an H6, which is 250 HP. Quite a huge difference in power, passing is never an issue (unless I'm going up against a Hellcat or something, of course). But fuel economy will suffer, unless they've done something magical with the engine that makes it as fuel-efficient as the H4.

If mountain pulling is important, then I'd say the H6 will do better for you. But I've seen in some mountains that the transmission has downshifted, even without a trailer attached.

Yousuf Khan

The towing capacity has more to do with chassis strength and design, than engine choice.

Yousuf Khan

Op 15-10-2017 om 17:09 schreef John McGaw:

Tongue weight is legally considered to be part of the car, so there's room to play with the max weight of the caravan. :-)

New price abt $ 30,000.- back in 2002.

Gerard

H4. Unless you want to take even the steepest grade at 65 mph.

Gerard

I was considering the H6 based mostly on the extra stress on the H4 than any towing might cause. My 2008 H4 can get _very_ frantic when called on to put out its max. Even interstate driving across West Virginia can mean lots of downshifting on the upgrades when running under cruise control. This is with the 4-speed automatic. Maybe it was meant to be that way but it can be disconcerting. So the idea was that the six would be a more peaceful experience since it wouldn't need to work that hard. I really don't want to burn the extra fuel and I don't know that a 2018 will be that much better in that regard than the 2008 unless the CVT really does that much better than the old-school automatic. (in average mixed driving mostly around town I seldom see more than 22mpg overall, maybe 28 if all highway) I've never actually driven a CVT for more than a few miles and only in stress-free relatively-level highway conditions.

I'm watching this thread John, as I have had similar questions lately. I h ave taken my two sea kayaks on the roof of my 2010 Outback for long trips (

With kayaks, the issue is not weight, but rather wind resistance. My gas m ilage suffers greatly. I normally get around 9l / 100km, but with the kaya ks, that jumps up as high as 12 or 13. CVT does fine, just keeps the RPM a round 3000 on the highway (normally closer to 2000).

Moving to the H6 means my gas milage will be worse all the time, so the env ironmentalist in me has changed my plans. I'm going to test an impreza bec ause I want a car that is shorter, to make loading the kayaks easier. I'm figuring the engine can take the hard work, at least until I hit 200k kms!! Anyone have experience hauling kayaks on the current impreza?

I wish the WRX came in a hatchback style this year!! (that would not satis fy my internal environmentalist, but I would likely be grinning more!)