The minivan years were coming to an end. Both Bobbi and I liked the Odyssey, and it certainly served us well, but we wanted something that would be easier to back into the garage. We didn’t need a third row since we would still have the van as the spare car, so we weren’t really considering larger crossovers like the Ford Explorer or the Toyota Highlander. Instead, we had the option of looking at smaller vehicles that could serve as a family car and still be fun to drive. When we finally bought a 2017 Subaru Outback, the decision was made because of two things: the color and a stop in Bemus Point, New York, on our way back from Niagara Falls.
Bobbi really wanted a Lexus RX350. She liked the styling of the new generation but wasn’t sure she wanted to spend that much on a car. Knowing that, we started looking at smaller CUVs, including the Ford Escape, Honda CRV, Toyota RAV4, and the Chevrolet Equinox. Each one was pleasant enough but not perfect. The Escape had the 2.0-liter turbo, so it had the best performance. The CRV had the nicest interior. The Equinox had the nicest ride. The RAV4 had the surround camera that the Escape and CRV did not have. When the sales manager at the Toyota dealer asked us what we thought, we were quite candid and said none of the vehicles we drove were perfect. Also, there was a wild card in the mix. At the Ford dealer, there was a used bright yellow Mustang convertible that Bobbi loved. It was a nice car, and she took it for a test drive with the top down. It certainly reminded her of her mom’s Trans Am. As I recall, it was a turbo 4 and pretty fast. It would have been a fun car to own, but it was not practical. First, Bobbi never opened the sunroof on any of her cars, so she wasn’t going to lower the top. Second, we live in the DC metro area, and our summers are hot and humid. Third, we had one teenage driver, so insurance would be high on any car we selected, and the Mustang would have dramatically increased it.
Knowing that Bobbi really liked the Lexus, we took a day and went to test drive one. We drove both the NX and the RX350. We did not like the NX. The RX was nice, but we were both a little disappointed. We thought we’d like it better. It was certainly a good choice for a luxury car, but the one we drove was a base model and lacked some options. In the end, we said we’d think about it and left to test drive the Volvo XC60. I liked the XC60 but Bobbi did not. It was crossed off the list when we went to open the sunroof. It didn’t open. The salesman said it was just a glitch but since the car had 6 miles on it, glitches were not acceptable. We then found a used Acura MDX at CarMax and decided to test drive that. Which we did, and liked it but was bigger than what we wanted. However, it was on the way to CarMax that we stopped by the Subaru dealer.
We had not considered a Subaru. There was no particular reason; the brand just wasn’t one we thought of when we started shopping. We only stopped because we agreed that we saw Outbacks everywhere so we might as well test drive one. Our salesman was a young man; he had just turned 23 but was very knowledgeable about his product. When we said this would be Bobbi’s car, he spoke to her and asked what she wanted in a car (The Lexus salesman did not do that). He took the time to compare the Forester and the Outback so we could make an educated decision. We test-drove a gray Outback in the Limited trim. It was a 4-cylinder and seemed powerful enough. We liked it.
However, the Outback had tall luggage racks, and Bobbi didn’t like that. Our salesman said he had the Touring trim and that it had lower chrome roof rails, which were more attractive. It was also green with saddle brown leather interior. We had never selected a car just because of color but that was the color in our minds. On the test drive, the salesman mentioned that he, his parents, and two brothers all drove Subarus. They lived near Buffalo, New York, and we mentioned we had just been through that part of New York on our recent trip to Niagara Falls. We then mentioned we had stopped in Bemus Point, New York, and ate lunch at a brewery. He had spent a lot of time there and asked if we had been to the Ellicottville Brewery when we were there. We had spent the test drive comparing notes on the different beers. His personality, combined with our love of the car, sealed the deal. We started talking numbers and came to a deal. We paid just over $37,000 and took delivery on September 11, 2017.
Our Subaru Outback is the 3.6 L six-cylinder Touring trim in hunter green. It has the saddle brown leather interior that is exclusive to that trim level. It is well-equipped with the Harmon Kardon stereo system, built-in navigation, sunroof, heated front and rear seats, power windows and doorlocks, adaptive cruise control, and a heated steering wheel. Interestingly, it is just over two inches longer than my parents’ 1975 Hornet Sportabout, 189.6 inches vs 187 inches, and the wheelbases are almost the same, 108.1 inches for the Outback vs 108 inches for the Hornet.
We owned it just over a week when I took it on a road trip to Pittsburgh to see my parents. My mom was declining, and I wanted to spend as much time as possible with her. My mom owned a Subaru, and so I wanted to show our new car to her. Katie came with me. We would return, in the Subaru, a couple of weeks later, when my mom went into hospice. She did hospice at home and wanted to plan her funeral. We met with the Pastor and selected the hymns and readings that she wanted.
October, 2017, was a stressful time for all of us. In addition to my mom, my uncle and my step-uncle went into hospice as well. I am close to my cousins, and we support each other. We were all grieving the imminent loss of all three. I will often respond to stress with sarcasm and humor, and so I asked my mom if the three of them had a bet as to who would go into hospice first. I got the glare, and then she started laughing. My uncle died first. I drove up for his funeral, and that was the last time I saw my mom. She died two weeks after Uncle Rudy. Her funeral was a week later. Uncle Dan would die six weeks later.
Owning an all-wheel-drive vehicle meant we were looking forward to trying it out in the snow. The first snowstorm of 2018 came, and we went out in the Outback. It wasn’t a big storm, but we didn’t care. It was fun just to try it in the snow. As for off-roading, the Outback does very well on the unpaved driveways at wineries, nurseries, and sports field parking lots. The cargo capacity is great, as I can fit my mountain bike in the back when I head over to a trail. I did buy the Thule crossbars, which are quite handy for bringing home the Christmas tree.
The Outback has taken us up and down the East Coast. Beyond the various trips to Pittsburgh, the Outback has taken us to the beach, Emily and her boyfriend to their prom, Kate to St. Vincent for a college tour, moved both girls to and from college, trips to the nursery, and trips to Disneyworld and St Simon’s Island, Georgia. The first trip to Disney World was in 2018. Logan was staying with us. Emily was participating in a competition for aspiring teachers, and she and Bobbi flew down to Orlando. Katie, Logan, and I drove down and met them at Disney World. It was on that trip that we stopped in Brunswick for the first time that year. I took Katie and Logan on a tour, and then we went on to Orlando.
The big family trip to St Simon’s was in 2022. Since Emily and Logan were coming with us, we decided to take two cars: the Accord and the Outback. Em and Logan drove the Accord while Bobbi, Katie, and I were in the Outback. Kate finally had her learner’s permit and needed some driving hours. We decided she could drive on 95 in South Carolina. If you’ve ever taught someone how to drive, you know that it can be one of the most terrifying experiences of your life. There were a lot of trucks on 95, and I said that she should pull out to pass them and would need to go a little faster. She did. We were passing a line of trucks at quite a rapid pace. From the backseat, Bobbi said, “Katie, are you comfortable at this speed?” and I said at the same time, “We don’t need to pass them all.” She was doing 90. She moved over to the right lane and slowed down. The rest of the drive was mostly uneventful.
Our Outback has been quite reliable, but it has had its trips to the body shop. The first major incident was when Katie was learning how to drive. For some reason, Bobbi let her pull the car out of the garage. Katie managed to sideswipe the garage door on the driver’s side from the front fender to the back door. We made the claim on our insurance, and the damage was over $5,000. It was repaired and looked great. One year later, almost to the day, Bobbi was driving to work when a deer ran out of the woods and hit the side of the car in the same area. This time, the hood, headlight, left front fender, and front and back doors needed to be repaired. That, too, was an insurance claim. The shop we used did great work, and you can’t even tell there was an accident.
Our Outback is now nine years old and still going strong. It has just about 120,000 miles on it, and we look forward to it lasting another 100,000 miles. Certainly, the new Outback would be at the top of the list when we replace it. It has done everything we have asked of it. The only complaint has been the quality of the leather. We replaced the driver’s seat cushion cover as the leather split. We now have to replace the seatback, again on the driver’s side, as the leather is splitting there. I find that a bit annoying as I use leather cleaner and moisturizer on our seats. My Accord, with 221,000 miles, has not shown the same wear on the seats that the Outback has. It seems to be a topic of discussion on the Outback forum.
When we chose the Subaru, we loved how it drove. It has great power, and it drives like a car. Many of the CUVs that we test drove felt ungainly. To me, the center of gravity was off. Certainly, we liked the height, and the Outback offered the best of both worlds. Our salesman said it best: the Forester is the crossover, and the Outback is the station wagon. That makes perfect sense.
In high school, I ran with the preppy crowd, and one of the station wagons of choice for preppy families was the Volvo 240. To me, Subaru occupies the market position that Volvo had in the 1970s and 1980s, but with All-Wheel-Drive. If Bobbi and I had been adults at that time, we would have been the target market for a Volvo 240 or 740 wagon. I consider the Outback to be the spiritual successor to those wagons. When we brought our Outback home, I said I finally got my preppy car. As many proud parents did with their Volvo wagons, we put the stickers for the girls’ colleges on the rear window. Perhaps our Outback will attain the iconic status of the Volvo 240. In the meantime, we’ll continue the off-road trips to the wineries in our Outback.
Note: opening photo, our 2017 Subaru Outback-taken at Assateague Island–Courtesy of Bobbi.
Just like us, your family “adopts” cars, not just buys them. My brother-in-law and his wife recently leased the previous generation Outback and they love it.
My favorite Outback story involves my father-in-law. About 20 years ago, he – a dyed-in-the-wool Toyota man – decided he wanted an Outback for my mother-in-law when the lease on her Avalon was up. She hated station wagons and always had. He tried his best to wear her down to no avail. In the end, they bought a Forester, which neither one particularly cared for. It was basically, “So, you don’t want an Outback? Fine. We’ll get a car neither one of us likes. That’ll show you!”
I’ve loved your series and envy that you were able to stay in Metro D.C. I would have loved to, but with the family in Connecticut, that drive up the Northeast corridor is brutal. The few times I drove to Pittsburgh were actually relatively painless so I can see how staying in the area works for you.
Thank you! I can respect that level of spite!
I’ve made the drive to New York City and can imagine what that’s like for the holidays. We have lived in the metro area for 30 years because of my career. Once I moved into advocacy advertising, leaving didn’t make sense pre-COVID. We don’t see ourselves retiring here. It’s unlikely we’ll move back to Pittsburgh, though we can’t rule it out. Both girls are still at a point in their lives where they have not settled down.
I have the 2018 3.6 outback great auto love it
I love the color! My first car was a hand-me-down green Chevy, and I’ve had an affinity for green cars ever since. I’ve owned 2 more green cars since. Unfortunately, green is a very rare color for cars these days.
This helps explain why Subaru grew so rapidly in the past couple of decades. The Outback really hits the sweet spot for so many buyers.
The current Outback is so tall; it has lost track of its mission.
Very nice in perhaps the nicest combination. We had a new 2014 Outback with the 6 as I didn’t want the newer CVT version just debuting the time – it got wrecked and then I wanted something different for some reason. Then for a few years recently I had a 2008 Outback and am now piling miles on a 2015 Forester. I FAR prefer the Outback product to the Forester, although I can’t say the Forester is objectively “bad”, it’s very much subjective (and I’ve come to like and somewhat respect the CVT, it simply works and is VERY good in the mountains, far better than the older conventional automatics.).
Subaru to me is a bit like Taco Bell. There’s about seven ingredients in total to choose from but they way they put them together makes for different products. All do fundamentally the same thing but get there in a slightly different yet familiar way. And, generally (relatively) inexpensive.
The Outback is pretty much the ofiicial car of Colorado, with the other models coming in close behind. The resale values stay very high here, and the game to play is to see if you can be stopped at a red light without seeing another Subaru stopped at the same intersection before the light turns green. So far, in 16 years out here, it may have happend half a dozen times in total…
The formula really doesn’t seem that hard. Midsize wagon, slightly but not obnoxiously raised visually (but still more ground clearance than lots of “real” 4x4s), big enough to fit average or slightly above average Americans, good visibility out, decent fuel economy, and keep the pricing well below the average for all vehicles. Yet nobody else has been able (or willing) to do it and here we are 30+years later with the Outback juggernaut continuing even with a slightly larger CUV (Ascent) in the lineup as well as a slightly smaller one (Forester). Why won’t Toyota make a Camry wagon variant, lift it slightly, keep it hybrid and add the AWD, and sell it for $35k base, $3 or so K over the AWD sedan? It would fit neatly between the CorollaCross / RAV4 and the Highlander and be much more reasonably priced than the Crown Signia (which nails the look but is needlessly premium). Since Camry sales are down a bit (but still very respectable) one would think there is enough extra capacity on the line to slot that in these days when compared to the volume from a decade ago…
Your COAL on your Subaru Outback certainly influenced our decision to buy an Outback. I was impressed by how it held up in the accident.
Wow, really? I had no idea. Yeah, the car did great, and thankfully we were okay, in large part due to the car. That F150 though…jeez. Not something I want to re-experience.
I bought.a 2020 Outback Touring w 55k mi on it drove it 30kmi. At 85k mi the ac went caput and a $1500 fix. So to the Subaru of Ocala I went, gr8 people, but they told me “the only vehicle we can get you into is this 2026 Crosstrek..from $611/Mo to $1500 down and $788 per month for a vehicle 1/2 the size I needed and not equipped the same as the Outback. Not real happy with the outcome. I sold cars/trucks in Nashville and Laguna Niguel, Ca and have learned that Florida dealers, especially Ford of Ocala are in biz to screw you as much as possible, case in point, these bozos put me in a $22k Kia, 3cyl/turbo, (my bicycle had more power) for $895/mo for 84 months and a lunatic at Vystar Bank approved this loan !!! Steve at Ocala Ford slapped the desk hard and said ” you won’t make the 1st payment and you have a grace period so you won’t make the 2nd, then you trade in this car for the Truck you wanted and your credit will show you paid for a car then traded it in”…El wrongo ! Beeg lie ! Do not purchase any vehicle on your 1st visit ! Do not sign anything for any reason.!
Sounds like those “bozos” saw a mark and decided to see what they could get away with. No gun to your head presumably, only a complete nut would agree to that/sign on the dotted line.
“The only complaint has been the quality of the leather. We replaced the driver’s seat cushion cover as the leather split. We now have to replace the seatback, again on the driver’s side, as the leather is splitting there. I find that a bit annoying as I use leather cleaner and moisturizer on our seats. ”
Is it real full grain leather, as in “once the actual outside of a cow?”
Or top grain leather, which is lower-grade cowhide with imperfections sanded over and refinished with synthetic materials?
Or a split hide, a subgrade hide with vinyl coated on top of an inner layer, to simulate top quality leather? It is thin and lacks durability.
Or even worse, Pleather? That’s grained vinyl on a cloth substrate, all-synthetic. Never met a cow in its life.
Those substitutes do not have the durability of real, full grain leather.
If any of the three inferior products, your leather cleaner and moisturizer were treating impervious vinyl.
My wife’s sister drives an Outback but it has cloth seats. Holding up well at fourteen years.
The brochure said leather. The splitting is at the seam where it was stitched together. I really miss the high-quality cloth interior like my 2004 Accord. Now cloth seats seem to be some sort of water-repellent neoprene type of material.
Maybe you would also try out the BMW x3, an excellent vehicle and better than RX. RX is symbol of reliable luxury and low depreciation investment. The price can go through the roof if options are added up. The real problem is interior doesn’t have the real luxury feel, I once asked the salesman why there was not wood trim inside, his answer was it was a Lexus, a top luxury car. —Mazda CX9 had a very nice wood trim produced by actop Japanese piano maker. Its driving dynamic also fell short. In 2017, I would go for a Highlander with Limited trim, that vintage of Highlander was a smaller size than other, Toyota actually put a 300 horsepower engine on the top model.
Anyway Subaru Outback makes lot of sense, and the price was good.
Bobbi did not want anything German after the maintenance costs on the Jetta. I was surprised I was able to talk her into looking at the Volvo XC60.
Highlander and RX350 use the same engine, Toyota’s 2GR-FKS, basically a slightly more evolved 2GR-FE. It produced 295hp in every Highlander trim level (it’s an option on the LE) from LE to Limited. The Limited Hybrid version though bumped it up to 306hp due to the hybrid system.
Having owned this generation of Highlander (2016 XLE with this engine) and having spent time in an RX350 (we reviewed the 2020 L version here) and CX9, while I’d probably buy the Highlander again, both of the others are a LOT nicer, although the RX didn’t yet offer a 3rd row in 2017.
The BMW will bleed your wallet dry once its out of warranty. There are regularly visually perfect 2017 X3s in the Denver area junkyards, i.e. major mechanical failures in excess of market value. Highlanders and RX350s and CX9s of the same age (and Outbacks) are never seen there unless major accident victims. I’d perhaps entertain an X3 lease and hand it back before the warranty expired but for long term ownership, not a chance, it (and most other modern BMW and MINI products) seem to be completely disposable.
P.S. The regular 2017 Lexus RX350 did indeed have wood inside as standard. See pic attached. Fit and finish are impeccable, multiple varieties are offered. You must have looked at an F-Sport model where it’s swapped out for aluminum or carbon fiber instead.
Oops, forgot to add the pic
This is timely – I had my first Suby, a 92 Loyale, the little square sedan, back in the late 90s and loved that car. A metallic cranberry, it was like new. Recently I bought a 2010 Tribeca in black pearl, a 1-owner, and am IN LOVE with that 3.6L flat-6. Porshahhh on a budget baby 🙂
I also have the EXACT same Accord as that in V6 guise, the last of the V6 Accords.
My inlaws are big Subaru folks, getting a new Outback every couple years, once in awhile a Forester, ALWAYS in whatever green is on offer. Now they have a Turbo Wilderness and pops is impressed with the speed, hehe. I told em put my name on that one.
For the last seven years I have had a part-time job making deliveries to farms in rural Wisconsin, Illinois, and Iowa. We run Outbacks up to 250,000 or 300,000 miles and they are perfectly serviceable when we turn them in. Even with all season radials they were exceptional in snow. With Michelin Cross Climates they are unstoppable.
Routine maintenance can be pricey. I was told that the motor mounts have to be loosened to change spark plugs.
Base models are a little slow.
US built.
Even though it’s semi-retired (relegated to 4-weeks-a-year vacation home duty), I love my ’13 Outback with 240k miles. I only have the 2.5 but that is fine for me and never presented a problem with traffic slog duty. I certainly would have considered another one when I replaced it as my daily driver if Subaru had been making an Outback hybrid. Allegedly there’s one coming in 2027, but I’d have to get over the (IMO) hideous new design that made it more SUV-like and less like a lifted wagon. I’ll be curious to see Outback sales numbers over the next year; generally I’d say Outback buyers aren’t the types to “settle” on an Outback but that it’s more of a destination purchase based on ability and style. The new one certainly still has the ability but the style remains to be seen.
BTW I understand what your wife meant by the built-in roof rails being chunky, but I have to tell you in practice it was a brilliant idea that they dropped for the new model. When you need cross rails you just swing them out…
Here’s to many more miles for you!
My first experience with Subaru was a ’82 Brat, with 223,000+ miles, Alaska plates and a moose bar, purchased for a godson just out of college. “Here,” I sez, “this will get you to where you’re going and will do you until you can get a job and get something better.” 120,000+ miles later, when the engine seized because I’d forgotten to tell him about oil changes, he left it sitting on a street in San Diego.