2015 SUBARU Outback

A Great Vehicle!

Performance: 0 Comfort: 0 Fuel Economy: 0 Fun To Drive: 0 Interior Design: 0 Exterior Design: 0 Build Quality: 0 Reliability: 0 Comfort Rating: 5 Performance Rating: 5 Interior Rating: 5 Reliability Rating: 5 Safety Rating: 5 Technology Rating: 5 Value Rating: 5

After over 50 years of driving, I can say that my 2015 Outback Premium 2.5 is overall the best vehicle I've ever owned. I've owned Volvos, Mercedes, Lincolns, Cadillacs, and Suburbans. I was a used car dealer for 30 years. So I've driven them all. My wife and I purchased two 2015 Outbacks new in 2014. In almost two years of driving, we have not had one problem with either one. There have been a few recalls....all minor enough to where I waited until the next complementary dealer service to have them done. Both or our vehicles have the Eyesight system -- it works great. My wife's is a Limited. The thinner tires on the Limited give better handling, but a little rougher ride. Personally, I prefer my cloth seats too. I do wish that the Premium trim included rear A/C vents. Why pay more for a less dependable vehicle -- we'll stick with Subaru.

First Subaru and it will be my LAST

Performance: 0 Comfort: 0 Fuel Economy: 0 Fun To Drive: 0 Interior Design: 0 Exterior Design: 0 Build Quality: 0 Reliability: 0 Comfort Rating: 3 Performance Rating: 1 Interior Rating: 3 Reliability Rating: 1 Safety Rating: 3 Technology Rating: 2 Value Rating: 2

Only a little over a year old, 7720 miles and God knows if it will start when I want to go somewhere. The last two months I have had to jump start my car FOUR times. It sits in my driveway dead. Dealer ran diagnostic when I brought the car back for the third recall! They found nothing. Dead a few weeks later. Drove it on a Sunday, was dead on that Wednesday. Back at the dealer since Thursday (it is now Monday.) They still claim that they have found no drain on the battery. Was told by a tech that I should start the car every two days when I know I am not going to drive it. That is ridiculous. Then was asked if I keep the keys too close to the car when it is parked. What!? I purchased this car based on the claims that it is a reliable brand and that that has proven to be a fallacy. I guess if I have to go away and leave the car I should hire someone to start it every few days? Or I could just turn it in on the lemon law...? This has been a truly frustrating experience. Would not recommend this car, unfortunately, unless you are looking for a really expensive lawn ornament.

I like it...but

Performance: 0 Comfort: 0 Fuel Economy: 0 Fun To Drive: 0 Interior Design: 0 Exterior Design: 0 Build Quality: 0 Reliability: 0 Comfort Rating: 5 Performance Rating: 3 Interior Rating: 4 Reliability Rating: 5 Safety Rating: 5 Technology Rating: 4 Value Rating: 5

A fuddy duddy's complaints: lift struts, not prop rod for the hood. Electronic parking brake-- lose battery and you can't disengage the brakes. No way to open the rear hatch from the outside without electricity -- dead battery and you're going to have to crawl into the back and remove a panel on the inside of the hatch. This would be a major pain if the rear was filled with suitcases and gear and you needed to get to the jumper cables that were stored down with the spare tire. And it's not a full-size spare tire. And there's not much storage space for tools -- yes the tray above the spare tire and below the rear area's floor has some room to lay things flat, and that is working for me, but forget trying to store a decent-sized tool box anywhere. That's the ugly, now for the good. The car's handling is much better than I expected. I LOVE the AWD. My previous Saturn Vue (FWD) had problems getting up a nearby hill when the road was wet. The Outback charges up snow-covered hills like "What's the problem? Did you think there was going to be a problem? I don't see a problem. It's just a little ol' hill with a little bit of snow. What's the big deal?" The gas mileage is out of sight. On road trips I'm getting 33 MPG and more. Even driving though mountainous Colorado I got 33 MPG. I love the paddle shifters! There's always a "gear" available to maintain the speed I want when going downhill. Dropping down the 3000 or so feet from Wolf Creek Pass to Pagosa Springs was no sweat and didn't require ANY brake-riding. Coming down Pike's Peak, again, was easy as cake. (This is the main reason I bought the Outback instead of the Forester: nothing but LOW and DRIVE on the Forester. I wanted some more choices.) The engine is adequate. I'll admit that I would have liked to have tried the six-cylinder version, but the dealer didn't have any, and the salesman said (what a surprise -- he was a salesman), "You don't need a six-cylinder." And he was right. The four has definitely been adequate. I can take on snowy hills, but it would be pretty embarrassing if I were to try to take on a Camaro or Mustang...or, okay, almost any vehicle with a six- or more cylinder engine. I've made two many-thousand mile trips in the Outback. I'm planning on taking a 4000 mile trip soon.

Poor gas milage

Performance: 0 Comfort: 0 Fuel Economy: 0 Fun To Drive: 0 Interior Design: 0 Exterior Design: 0 Build Quality: 0 Reliability: 0 Comfort Rating: 5 Performance Rating: 3 Interior Rating: 5 Reliability Rating: 5 Safety Rating: 5 Technology Rating: 5 Value Rating: 4

Subaru advertised 25 city 33 highway mpg the outback will not do better than 26mpg combined,27mpg best I have seen on highway. Dealer said wait till 10 k miles now have 15k miles and it has not improved. I believe Subaru is misrepresenting the mpg

Think twice before you buy a Subaru!

Performance: 0 Comfort: 0 Fuel Economy: 0 Fun To Drive: 0 Interior Design: 0 Exterior Design: 0 Build Quality: 0 Reliability: 0 Comfort Rating: 1 Performance Rating: 1 Interior Rating: 1 Reliability Rating: Safety Rating: 1 Technology Rating: Value Rating:

https://youtu.be/9k3xDesFqWE Think twice before you buy a Subaru! I have continued to have ongoing issues with my 2015 Subaru Outback. Since day one the electronics system has not worked. The phone rings and my system seizes won’t answer the phone and won’t release the call back to the phone. Then I get 10 minutes of the phone “ringing” even though the call is long gone. My USB drives sometimes don’t show up, sometimes sound like a skipping CD, sometimes takes up to 30 minutes to load the list of songs. The navigation system is just about worthless, it is about five years behind Google maps, in fact one service member told me to “just use my phone.” The system spontaneously restarts all on its own rebooting to the Starlink screen and finally resetting after several minutes. I have brought my car in about six times between two different dealerships over the past two years. Every time they perform a firmware update that does nothing. In fact on two occasions I got the car back and my windows didn’t work or my center console menus didn’t work. The first time I took it to Napleton Subaru they kept the car for twice the quoted time only to tell me they don’t even have the cables to service the system. I contacted Subaru of America and things got worse. I was told to take it back to Napleton and they would keep my car for as long as it takes to diagnose the problem. They gave me the car back after six hours and when I asked what they found, I was told they only did a firmware update and didn’t run diagnostics. I checked the invoice and this is exactly what is on the invoice. I told them that Subaru of America said they would keep it for as long as it took, and they told me SOA instructed the to only perform the firmware update. I was also told the manager would be involved throughout the whole process, I never spoke with him once; only the same service member as before who was rude both times. Upon contacting SOA again I asked to speak to a manager and was contacted by Tony Huynh who has been rude, unprofessional, and condescending throughout the whole process. He explained to me that Napleton couldn’t find anything wrong. I explained that they told me they didn’t even look and the invoice reflected this. In fact, no one claimed to attempt to diagnose the issue until I complained. I provided Tony with videos and pictures of the problem and his response in email is exactly transcribed below. [If you are claiming all these things are happening frequently, but have yet to be able to duplicate the concern at the retailer then how are they to "fix" the issue?] I explained that these issues are clearly happening and that if they can’t fix the issue they should replace the unit since it is under warranty. Tony’s response: [There are no warranty repairs for something that cannot be duplicated] I asked to speak with his supervisor and his response: Tony: The bottom line is, we are all here to help you and if our factory trained technicians cannot duplicate your concern then there is nothing to fix... period. If you want me to continue to remain involved, let me know when the vehicle is going back in for further inspection. Me: Once again, please put me in contact with your supervisor. Tony: Your case has been reviewed for further assistance by our management team. I am part of that management team. Aside from these issues I have had three wheel bearings go bad almost all at the same time and all within the first year. I was told this was from “metal that gets in there at the factory.” I have also now received my SECOND RECALL IN TWO YEARS!!! In two years of owning this vehicle it has been nothing but trouble. Last week I was in the middle of nowhere Texas and the navigation system froze as you can see in the video below. I had to pull over and restart the car. This happened no less than six times. https://youtu.be/9k3xDesFqWE Tony Huynh has still not put me in contact with his supervisor claiming he is in charge and the buck stops with him; and here I thought Tomomi Nakamura and Tom Doll ran the company. This is especially troubling because I bought this car through USAA car buying in which the dealership reached out to me to make me an offer on the vehicle. It is troubling to think that Subaru is targeting veterans and then treating them this way, especially while ignoring a warranty. I will be contacting USAA and several veterans’ organizations and warning them to help keep Subaru from preying on veterans. So Mr. Nakamura, Mr. Doll, if this is not how you think your company should be run, please contact me my case number is SR #:1-16996822879. If anyone else out there working for Subaru knows Tony Huynh’s supervisor or someone else in management that respects their warranty and their business’ reputation, please contact me regarding case number SR #:1-16996822879. Please be sure to check my other videos on YouTube as well and please thi

Tough wagon

Performance: 0 Comfort: 0 Fuel Economy: 0 Fun To Drive: 0 Interior Design: 0 Exterior Design: 0 Build Quality: 0 Reliability: 0 Comfort Rating: 5 Performance Rating: 5 Interior Rating: 5 Reliability Rating: 5 Safety Rating: 5 Technology Rating: Value Rating: 5

Great gas mileage gives a great ride tough little wagon pulls my boat well fun car to drive

Battery issue

Performance: 0 Comfort: 0 Fuel Economy: 0 Fun To Drive: 0 Interior Design: 0 Exterior Design: 0 Build Quality: 0 Reliability: 0 Comfort Rating: 4 Performance Rating: 3 Interior Rating: 4 Reliability Rating: 3 Safety Rating: 4 Technology Rating: 4 Value Rating:

I start having problem stating the ignition. The battery is intermittently giving problems. I always check that there is no light left on. I had it jump couple of times from Subaru road assistance and AAA. I was told that don't leave the key to accessories, that it will drain the battery. I think the battery had issues. i will bring it to dealership. Its just only 2 years old.

Bought the car the day it was available

Performance: 0 Comfort: 0 Fuel Economy: 0 Fun To Drive: 0 Interior Design: 0 Exterior Design: 0 Build Quality: 0 Reliability: 0 Comfort Rating: 5 Performance Rating: 4 Interior Rating: 5 Reliability Rating: 5 Safety Rating: 5 Technology Rating: 5 Value Rating: 17

Was the first one to drive a 2015 Subaru Outback in Brooklyn. My impressions on owning the car since? It gets you from point A to point B comfortably, safely and unnoticed. If your speeding with a group of cars, the cop will want to stop the Infiniti or bmw! The car is actually spacious and perfect for grocery shopping, fishing, camping blah blah blah it's enough room ok.... The car is really good on the snow too..... You know that travel ban they issued on that huge snow storm? I didn't listen and took my car out to see if I COULD get stuck! Did I get stuck? At moments I thought I did until I pressed xmode. Car is unstoppable in the snow. Nothing beats seeing the guys face after you park your car in a parking spot AFTER he warned you not to otherwise you will get stuck. Gas mileage? I get about 15MPG city ( I know I know that's poor but NOT really if you live in nyc where you can get gridlocked for half an hour and travel 7 blocks), 36MPG highway!!! ( yeap! 3 more then suggested BUT you have to have a clear road and do 65mph and you have to be alone -- 28 mpg if you have the car packed with people and gear ). Have I had any issues? Yeah... The passenger side window would glitch and roll up all the way but mysteriously roll down half way and stop/ I would have to roll it up using the non auto roll up to complete the process/ subaru changed the motor and no more problem. Would I suggest you buy this car? Yea go for it man, what other options do you have? The thing gets good gas mileage, drives like a sedan ( thanks to the lower center of gravity the BOXER engine provides ), has good ground clearance ( 8.7 inches > better then jeep grand cherokee, Toyota Highlander ), has a good AWD system ( most SUVs and what not have open diffs and to compensate for that, they have TERRIBLE AWD systems that would be FWD bias or RWD bias or would have 1 front tire only spin and 1 rear tire spin while the other two tires don't do nothing resulting in you staying stuck in snow / BUT NOT the out back, once you press the XMODe all tires actually spin as if it has lockers in the front and rear ), is comfortable ( I can have the seats rolled all the way back and still sit comfortably in the back and I'm 6'2 ), has the BEST resale value ( you can buy a dodge or a chysler for brand new for $30,000 or buy one used only a couple years older for $6,000 lol, but not the outback! Just look at the resale value of the old outbacks and you would be shocked how expensive they are ) ok I'm tired typing. I hope I helped and contributed in your decision in buying this car. It's good don't worry, you won't be disappointed.

It's an average Japanese station Wagon.

Performance: 0 Comfort: 0 Fuel Economy: 0 Fun To Drive: 0 Interior Design: 0 Exterior Design: 0 Build Quality: 0 Reliability: 0 Comfort Rating: 4 Performance Rating: 3 Interior Rating: 4 Reliability Rating: Safety Rating: 4 Technology Rating: 3 Value Rating:

Don't let the the internet reports confuse you, it is a station wagon, not SUV. The sitting position of most of the seats are sedan/ wagon feel. The driver seat is a little more SUV-ish but is still not totally convincing. If you are looking for SUV, looks elsewhere. I got the limited with whatever features that came with the trim... no additional upgrades. There are a few things I don't like about: 1. Acceleration is slow and the engine is noisy. 2. Steering wheel is thin and small and doesn't feel very sophisticated. 3. Back camera is fish eye. Image is highly distorted and make it less reliable for park assistance. 4. Limited trim still doesn't come with the back up object alert or cross path detection which is pretty much the basic safety standard. With Subaru's advertising focus on safety features of their cars, the lack of such basic safety features in the limited trim is simply not acceptable. The entertainment/info center is easy to read but it's too simple and lack of features. In another words.. boring. 5. One of the worst lack-of-feature is that it doesn't provide push start and remote-less entry. This is something almost all American cars offers as standard feature at their mid trims. I am not sure why Subaru has the reserve it as an upgrade option. This is just cheap. 6. And make it even worst is that the key form is so dated. It's long and sharp and cannot fold or retreat. It's couple generation behind in term of key form and technology. This is a shame! 7. And another cheap design is that there is no height adjustment for the front passenger seat. It's also a standard feature for most of the current American cars. And my Subaru is not the lowest trim, its an limited and it still don't provide height adjustment for the passenger seat? This is a joke. And my passengers feels pretty not happy nor super comfortable with that low sitting position. Definitely not something anyone would expect to find in a "SUV" like car. Interior material is relatively okay but not great. Even it gives leather wheel, leather knob, leather seat... the leather quality just doesn't feel upscale. It's a Subaru... good thing is that it doesn't pretend it's an upscale car... because it's not.

Buy Carefully!!!

Performance: 0 Comfort: 0 Fuel Economy: 0 Fun To Drive: 0 Interior Design: 0 Exterior Design: 0 Build Quality: 0 Reliability: 0 Comfort Rating: 1 Performance Rating: 3 Interior Rating: 2 Reliability Rating: 1 Safety Rating: 2 Technology Rating: 3 Value Rating: 1

I bought my 2015 Subaru Outback new in 2014 and it was great at first. As time went on everything that could go wrong did. It kept stalling and every time I took it in to be repaired or it was towed in I kept getting the same response "we can't duplicate the problem." Not to mention they had to replace all my keys for it because when I would lock it the alarm would go off or it wouldn't unlock. I had to get rid of it because it became too much of a liability and safety hazard for my family and me. At the end I would hold my breath hoping it would start and I would fear that it would stall in the middle of traffic or something.

Decent but could be improved on

Performance: 0 Comfort: 0 Fuel Economy: 0 Fun To Drive: 0 Interior Design: 0 Exterior Design: 0 Build Quality: 0 Reliability: 0 Comfort Rating: 4 Performance Rating: 5 Interior Rating: 3 Reliability Rating: 4 Safety Rating: 5 Technology Rating: 3 Value Rating: 4

Very nice car just could have some better thought out design work inside. The biggest gripe we have is the Starlink system, it could be much improved. The screen is hard to see in strong sunlight and the response of the touch screen is clunky. I have also noticed that having an external GPS close to the Starlink can cause the microprocessor in the thing to lockup, pretty bad shielding. We also feel that clock, temp and compass are in the wrong place hard to see, very small, you end up taking your eyes off the road. We use the Outback to haul our kayaks, the roof carrier looks flimsy but works perfect and we had no issue getting a trailer hitch installed by U-Haul to carry our bikes. Would I buy another one? Not sure, our other vehicle is a CR-V and it seems to be much better designed and more rugged than the Outback.

Batman's Utility Belt...

Performance: 0 Comfort: 0 Fuel Economy: 0 Fun To Drive: 0 Interior Design: 0 Exterior Design: 0 Build Quality: 0 Reliability: 0 Comfort Rating: 5 Performance Rating: 3 Interior Rating: 5 Reliability Rating: Safety Rating: 5 Technology Rating: 4 Value Rating: 29

Ok it's not the Batmobile or even a James Bond "Q" special... No ejection seat, afterburner, cannon, or missiles... But other than that, it's pretty awesome! Visibility: Excellent, high seating position. Panoramic viewing. Love the backup camera. AWD: Excellent... Got me up a driveway w/ black ice (I feel down 4x times in 20 ft getting to car). Helps in cornering... If you drive in snow this + snow tires (Blizzaks) is *amazing*. The only thing better is something with tracks (like a tank). Handling: Good brakes, Good steering. So-so feedback compared to hydraulics, but you get used to it. Power (4 cyl): Decent low end torque, acceleration is somewhat weak at mid/high speeds. Get the 4 cyl for the fuel economy (I get 29 mpg in mixed high speed & stop & go commuting) or the 6 cyl if you want power. Comfort: Very comfortable seats for both short (~1 hour) commuting and long trips. Cargo: Very flexible, huge capacity. The fold-away roof rails are always there if/when you need them, but folded away for quiet & better fuel economy when you don't. And it's rated for towing (got the tow hitch). Safety: Top pick NHTSA, IIHS. Get the "Eyesight" Collision Avoidance System, it's amazing! Saved me from a couple fender benders and 1 serious accident. A blessing to both older people with slower reflexes and young people not paying as much attention as they should... Adaptive cruise control in action. Set to 55, follow car in front of you at set distance. Car in front starts to slow... 45... 35... 25... 15... STOP. Your car does it automatically without touching the brakes... Freaking amazing to see it work... Entertainment/Nav - Intuitive and works well. Sounds great. But no 6 CD changer... CD sound is much higher quality! Stuff I wish were different: Keys (not keyless), bigger time/temp, bigger volume knob, NON capacitive touch buttons (god I hate those), more airflow to the feet, NO 6 CD CHANGER (GRRR!), a handbrake I can grab in an emergency (emergency brake is a little button w/ electric brakes... yuck!), slightly bigger door storage pockets. Overall - Extremely satisfied & happy... I'll be looking at another one when this is 15 years old and has 300,000 miles on it...

one year in - impressions

Performance: 0 Comfort: 0 Fuel Economy: 0 Fun To Drive: 0 Interior Design: 0 Exterior Design: 0 Build Quality: 0 Reliability: 0 Comfort Rating: 4 Performance Rating: 4 Interior Rating: 4 Reliability Rating: 4 Safety Rating: 4 Technology Rating: 4 Value Rating: 31

Had the Outback for about a year now. First Subaru since I had one in high school, so I mostly purchased based off feedback from others and reputation as the go to vehicle in New England. I was Coming off a Nissan Murano that had its share of issues and was only getting more expensive to keep on the road so wanted reliable AWD with better gas mileage and winter driving ability. Very pleased overall with my purchase. Went with the premium trim level to keep costs down, but still got long standard list of features including heated seats/mirrors/windshield and back up cam. Pros: Interior layout and comfort - seats are great, most controls are well placed and where they should be Back up camera a big help Gas mileage (have averaged up to 33 mpg on some tanks, and usually over 30 mph with mixed situation driving) Cons: Acceleration is adequate at best, but with passengers/cargo it is outright sluggish - wish there was a turbo 4 or make the 6 cyl available on other models other than top of the line CVT is better than older generations thanks to mimicking shifts, but still would prefer regular automatic at a sacrifice of a few mpg's Stock tires are lousy and will get snow tires before next winter. Drove through relatively mild winter for Maine on stocks and was not happy if more than an inch of snow on roads. Snow gets packed in treads too easily and braking is not good in snow. Minor issue, but tend to kick door panel bottom when getting out of car, which leaves scuff marks all the time that you can't get out, poor design Electronic dimming rear view mirror should be standard on vehicle Overall opinion: Have not run into some of the problems others have had with windshield, battery or electronics - hopefully these are isolated issues that will not crop up everywhere. If driven fairly conservatively, you can see the advertised gas mileage, which is very good for an AWD wagon this size running on regular gas. Car is very comfortable on long trips and has plenty of cargo room and passenger room. Would recommend to others!

The great and the not so great

Performance: 0 Comfort: 0 Fuel Economy: 0 Fun To Drive: 0 Interior Design: 0 Exterior Design: 0 Build Quality: 0 Reliability: 0 Comfort Rating: 4 Performance Rating: 4 Interior Rating: 4 Reliability Rating: 4 Safety Rating: 4 Technology Rating: 4 Value Rating: 16.8

We have leased our Outback 3.6R for 16 months and are overall very satisfied with the car. Previous car was a Toyota Sienna minivan and a Dodge Grand Caravan before that. In regard to the Subaru, I should mention that we had an unfortunate encounter with a deer who tried to become our hood ornament, nine months into the process, but after $14K of repairs (thank you insurance company) the car seems like it was before the accident. The deer... not so much. Having our first experience with the airbag system was spooky when it happened but reassuring after the fact. It's nice to know the system works so quickly and really keeps you cushioned during a collision. On the plus side, the 3.6R is a joy to drive - super easy to get on the highway and able to accelerate quickly even at high speed to pass cars etc. It's a quiet engine, but you do get just enough of that nice throaty rumble when accelerating, a reminder of the VW GTI I had when I was in college. The automatic setting shifts at the right time to make accelerating smooth and easy unless you really jam the pedal down in which case the car can make you feel a little like you're getting shot out of a cannon - not something you often feel in a wagon. I love the handling and the seats and cockpit are pretty comfortable. The instrumentation is attractive, well thought out and placed and the car is very easy to see out of, with few blindspots. Even those are helped by the digital warning system and the rearview camera provides a nice hi def image. On the negative side, gas mileage is not good - much lower than what was promised by Subaru - but I've never owned a car that has matched the MPG number on the sticker price. We do A LOT of local driving in Brooklyn, NY traffic, so we don't expect much, but during a year and a half driving this car we have averaged just over 16 MPG for our entire usage. That's the average for both local and highway driving. On long highway trips we are in the low 20s. That is disappointing but not surprising for the size of the engine and weight of the car (not to mention my heavy foot on the gas pedal). One other design flaw, at least in our car, the safety belt does a poor job of retracting when you unbuckle it, so I've slammed the door on the belt more times than I can count. All things considered we really love this car and will probably re-up after the 36 month lease is up unless something comes along that suits our needs while offering better gas mileage. I like the convenience of a wagon and the 3.6R allows me to have the performance of a sportier sedan. I guess I'm willing to put up with the poor gas mileage trade off. I suppose I should feel guilty about that, but after twelve years of minivans (the mileage is about the same) I get to enjoy driving again for the last few years we have kids in the house, while still transporting them in a comfortable and convenient way.

1.5 years later

Performance: 0 Comfort: 0 Fuel Economy: 0 Fun To Drive: 0 Interior Design: 0 Exterior Design: 0 Build Quality: 0 Reliability: 0 Comfort Rating: 5 Performance Rating: 4 Interior Rating: 4 Reliability Rating: Safety Rating: Technology Rating: Value Rating:

First Subaru & Outback, have done multiple long trips and the car feels great. 2 car seats in the back and wife fits just fine in between. It has a car feeling, which makes driving pleasant. Been off road a few times and no problems there. I would say for the money this is the best family vehicle you can get! Now i hope it lasts a long time.

NO OOMPH IN THE BATTERY

Performance: 0 Comfort: 0 Fuel Economy: 0 Fun To Drive: 0 Interior Design: 0 Exterior Design: 0 Build Quality: 0 Reliability: 0 Comfort Rating: 5 Performance Rating: 5 Interior Rating: 5 Reliability Rating: 1 Safety Rating: 5 Technology Rating: 5 Value Rating: 28.1

I have had a problem with the battery going dead. So much so I have gone to carrying a booster with me. To day I drove about 120 on atrip One way . I stopped at a shoppng plaza started and stopped the vehicle 3 times the fourth the battery was down so I had to use my booster The battery has no life in it. The service writer where I had it serviced said they were putting in a cheap battery. My wife is getting paranoid about it. We are scheduled to take a trip of about 700 miles next week. She said she won't go unless I replace thhe battery. I am taking it for service nxt week if they don't do something about it I will replace the battery . I had a similar problem with a 2012 Honda after 18 mos. They replaced the battery even after they said it was good. Two months later there was a recall for a charging problem . Never had the problem again.

Rock Solid & well Engineered

Performance: 0 Comfort: 0 Fuel Economy: 0 Fun To Drive: 0 Interior Design: 0 Exterior Design: 0 Build Quality: 0 Reliability: 0 Comfort Rating: 5 Performance Rating: 5 Interior Rating: 5 Reliability Rating: 5 Safety Rating: 5 Technology Rating: 5 Value Rating: 30.1

15 Outback is an OUTSTANDING machine Engineering excellence examples: • X-Mode .. blasted up onto our step/long drive after a big snow and made it up half-way . Backed up, put it in X-Mode and drove up and into the garage. Simply amazing ( and yes, I did replace the OEM tires ). • Roof rack system: Securely mounts my 16’ kayak and folds away when not in use. Brilliant • Everything works as expected .. owned this relatively complex machine for +16 mths and all has performed 100% ( Nav took some practice but a good feature) • Ergo: wicked good seats front & back, controls are easy to use & feel solid • MPGs: 30.1. This includes winter, kayak, town/city with peeps, mostly easy driving etc. • Driving: Outback feels solid, handling & braking are 1st rate and you feel secure driving .. it just feels safe. ( yep another 100hp would be nice .. ) Overall my 15 Outback has exceeding my expectations.

Never owned a Subaru before

Performance: 0 Comfort: 0 Fuel Economy: 0 Fun To Drive: 0 Interior Design: 0 Exterior Design: 0 Build Quality: 0 Reliability: 0 Comfort Rating: 5 Performance Rating: 5 Interior Rating: 4 Reliability Rating: 5 Safety Rating: 5 Technology Rating: 4 Value Rating: 5

I'm finding the basic car a great value. I drive mountains a lot and the 3.6L motor just purrs along. OK mileage (23mpg for first 2K miles. Long trips about 28 mpg) but have to expect that with the typical driving I do and AWD. Entry and exit are superb. Seats are comfortable. The flat panel display is somewhat of a pain but at least there are steering wheel control for much of it. And, at least, there are a couple dials to use instead of the very stupid Honda approach. Blue tooth is excellent. The backup camera is very good...especially at night. There isn't a convenient place to hold a cell phone except for a rectangular hole which precludes attaching a charging cord. The remote key needs work (have to press the lock button three time to get a confirmation beep and can't unlock all doors at the same time with the option package that came with it). Great visibility from inside the car after I added a pair of $2.99 convex mirrors the exterior mirrors to improve close in visibility. Overall I'd say I've found the car quirky in the good sense of the word that will take some getting used to. Update after 6 months and 11000 miles. Still have a great impression of the car. Very comfortable on road trips and always a pleasure to drive. The 6 cylinder motor is wonderful. Two minor irksome things 1) Have to press the remote key three times to get a confirming chirp 2) Can't lock or unlock all doors with one click on the remote key. No rattles or squeaks in car. One potential safety thing...on cold starts in reverse, when coming to a stop the engine increases 300 RPM. When I visited with the dealer they said they would need the car overnight to verify the problem. And that they may need to adjust the bands in the CVT. With the computer technology available nowadays, this seems very primitive. Why not look at the on board log and/or use an "inflight" computer monitor which provides all the various readings at the same time. This was available in 1986 for a Pontiac I was having problems with...why not now? Finally, the gauge package, while attractive, is not well done ergonomically. One has to look down to check the time or outside temperature. And the backlighting is different on the time/temperature readouts than on the dash. In my humble opinion, time and temperature ought to be at eye level on the instrument panel. And the cylinders surrounding the clusters are non-functional and not needed. Would I buy the car again? In a heartbeat. These criticisms are minor, but irritating, in nature but would not impact my buying decision.

no voice commands in navigation

Performance: 0 Comfort: 0 Fuel Economy: 0 Fun To Drive: 0 Interior Design: 0 Exterior Design: 0 Build Quality: 0 Reliability: 0 Comfort Rating: 3 Performance Rating: 3 Interior Rating: 3 Reliability Rating: 3 Safety Rating: 3 Technology Rating: 1 Value Rating:

Navagation commands are not heard. One year old car the voice commands began to leave off mid word. For example, instead of turn left it says "eft" Now there is no sound at all for navigation. Also, the directions fade out while driving and light up only when the car is stopped. Not very helpful. The is a very poorly designed system. I had a horrible experience in trying to get home from Newark airport. The navigation routed me through side streets in Newark instead of taking the highway. Soo stupid. Never buy a Subaru for it's navigation. Honda's navigation is much better.

Solid Car with some quirks

Performance: 0 Comfort: 0 Fuel Economy: 0 Fun To Drive: 0 Interior Design: 0 Exterior Design: 0 Build Quality: 0 Reliability: 0 Comfort Rating: 4 Performance Rating: 3 Interior Rating: 4 Reliability Rating: 4 Safety Rating: 3 Technology Rating: 1 Value Rating: 20

We love driving this car. It is definitely one of the most solid buys out there - I can safely say as we painstakingly researched for months - for a reasonably priced and efficient SUV. The interior is nicely designed, and comfortable in the limited model. And the interior also seems to be durable - although we've only had it a few months. It has great pickup in the 3.6 engine - but the smaller 2.5 engine did not at all - so beware. That being said, the pickup is so great because it has dismal fuel economy - not close to the EPA rating you'll see on the window. We are getting about 20 mpg with all freeway driving - or so it says but even our quick trips are draining the tank faster than any car I've driven. That is one of the few quirks you might want to consider - but remember we found many more quirks in other options. Another oddity is the technology. It is not much of a concern for us but just like all the other car companies out there Subaru has put a ton of new features in the display, climate, and entertainment - and it is mostly worthless. In fact it is so hard to navigate, that I'd say it is unsafe to have in the car at all. Doing something simple like turning on the radio takes four or five clicks which is not something you should be doing while driving. And such a great percentage of the features in there are not valuable so they just make for a crowded screen that compounds the frustration and unsafe factors. Again, this is not different from any other car maker out there except maybe the Tesla or the newest Volvos. Somebody should tell them all to just have Apple design the stuff for them and have them work off our phones which are advancing way faster. Drive train - seems really great - excellent acceleration. The CVT does make for a lot of hesitating and then punching it though - not a smooth accelerating car. And the ride is overly bouncy. I like the higher clearance on this model - the 2015 3.6. It's a great balance between a compact SUV, wagon, and off roader.

SKIP THE HYPE and warm fuzzies

Performance: 0 Comfort: 0 Fuel Economy: 0 Fun To Drive: 0 Interior Design: 0 Exterior Design: 0 Build Quality: 0 Reliability: 0 Comfort Rating: 3 Performance Rating: 2 Interior Rating: 2 Reliability Rating: 1 Safety Rating: 2 Technology Rating: 1 Value Rating: 26

AS A Quality Engineer, I'm severely underwhelmed, and my last vehicle was an f250 work truck with bench seats. Fuel economy is much less than idealistic EPA. I literally drive all highway and see 26 ish MPG. PIckup is very poor with just me behind the wheel. Never had a car this far from EPA estimates. Two warranty issues. Defective front glass annealing, never saw safety glass crack that quickly from a minor pebble. Now it looks like my entire vehicle sensor wiring harness is going. Each day a new idiot light comes on. No oil loss yet, or transmission issues to speak of. Interior, starting to rattle at only 23k. All weather mats are flimsy and cheap. Infotainment is not impressive at all, blue tooth is always confused. Stock tires are downright dangerous in actual snow of over .25 inches. Zero plans to purchase again. Have been around multiple other Subarus, my first.

Best value in a new awd vehicle

Performance: 0 Comfort: 0 Fuel Economy: 0 Fun To Drive: 0 Interior Design: 0 Exterior Design: 0 Build Quality: 0 Reliability: 0 Comfort Rating: 5 Performance Rating: 4 Interior Rating: 5 Reliability Rating: 5 Safety Rating: 5 Technology Rating: 5 Value Rating: 30

Let me start by saying that no new vehicle is 100% perfect from the factory. With that said this is about as close as it gets. We live in southwestern Colorado and wanted an awd vehicle for snowy winters, light off-roading and longer road trips. Right off the bat we were more than happy with the interior comfort and refinement, ride and handling and utility for what we paid(25k). The things we were disappointed with were snow traction and gas mileage(28mpg). However, we made a few slight changes to the vehicle which have made it both the ultimate snow and highway cruiser. At the first oil change I switched to 0w-20 Mobil 1 extended performance oil. I can't express enough the difference this made. We now average over 30mpg and have seen 35-38mpg on a regular basis on longer trips. Even in the winter in the city we never see below 28 and it's usually over 30. The other game changer was the addition of Nokian R2 SUV tires. These tires made us realize just how awful the stock tires were. This thing is now a tank in the snow and has taken us safely over many mountain passes in pure blizzards. I truly believe even a different all season would be a huge upgrade over the stock tires. We get just a touch of wind noise from the small front windows but overall it's a very quiet car. I am extremely picky when it comes to vehicles and after these two changes I have almost no complaints about this car. For 25 grand I can't imagine being happier with a different vehicle in this class. It's no speed demon but it will get you and the family from point A to point B safely, comfortably and efficiently

Overall Satisfied but disapointed in OEM tires

Performance: 0 Comfort: 0 Fuel Economy: 0 Fun To Drive: 0 Interior Design: 0 Exterior Design: 0 Build Quality: 0 Reliability: 0 Comfort Rating: 5 Performance Rating: 4 Interior Rating: 5 Reliability Rating: 4 Safety Rating: 4 Technology Rating: 5 Value Rating: 24

Our Outback came with Bridgestone Dueler H/P Sport tires. One of the main reasons we purchased the vehicle was the reputation Subaru has for safety and traction on snow and ice. Imagine our surprise when the first snow came (in North Dakota) and we found it to have less traction than expected. In comparison to our previous front wheel drive vehicle I'd say that it has better traction but not so much with braking. When we started investigating we realized that issue was the OEM tires. Going to Tires.com website we found these are not tires anyone in a northern climate would ever buy again. Other owners I have spoken to around here (this is a popular vehicle where we live) have said the same thing and most replace the tires in the first year. This is simply unacceptable. Everything else about the car is as expected or better. If i'd known what tires it was coming with I would have held out with the dealer to change them before I bought the car.

Gas mileage does not come close

Performance: 0 Comfort: 0 Fuel Economy: 0 Fun To Drive: 0 Interior Design: 0 Exterior Design: 0 Build Quality: 0 Reliability: 0 Comfort Rating: 3 Performance Rating: 4 Interior Rating: 3 Reliability Rating: 3 Safety Rating: 4 Technology Rating: 3 Value Rating: 23.5

The purchase of a new car is a huge deal to us, since we are not wealthy by any means. After two years of research before buying our 2015 Outback, one of the main selling points was the advertised gas mileage. We drive the car carefully, so it is not an issue of how we drive. It gets 20 mpg city and, if we are lucky, 26-27 highway. A huge disappointment. How can they get away with lying like this?

Good and bad

Performance: 0 Comfort: 0 Fuel Economy: 0 Fun To Drive: 0 Interior Design: 0 Exterior Design: 0 Build Quality: 0 Reliability: 0 Comfort Rating: 3 Performance Rating: 3 Interior Rating: 3 Reliability Rating: 5 Safety Rating: Technology Rating: 1 Value Rating: 23

So there are many nice things about the vehicle. A couple of long road trips with and without the luggage carrier on top. (We got about 28pg highway) The road noise is louder than I'd expect. The acceleration is SLOW, but is steady and isn't that big of a problem once you get used to it. Just don't jump out in heavy traffic, give yourself some room. The active safety "eyesight" is a live hate relationship. If you're following somone faster on the freeway you can set your cruise to 90 and it'll just maintain the speed and appropriate distance from the vehicle in front of you, which is nice. The lane sensors on tge side view mirrors seem to work well, although they take a little getting used to. It is comfortable enough, although nothing I'd shout about. We did drive for several hours on the highway with up to 6" of snow before the plows came and had no problems, although we were only going about 35mph. It handled snowy driveways with some elevation change just fine as well, nothing crazy. The car is roomy enough and it's easy to get a carseat in and out of the back. There's also enough room in the cargo area to put the dog (we keep her on a doggy car harness tethered to the rear cargo hook) and a large stroller with no difficulties. The comfort level of the seats is adequate with nothing to complain about or rave about. Now for my complaints. The entire electronics package sucks. I hate it. Nothing is intuitive. I'm comparing this to a BMW where I can control everything with one little knob in the center console. Changing anything requires a lot of taking your eyes off the road. The clock is tiny and requires looking at the console a couple of times to find where it is (it's my wifes daily driver, not mine). I had to pull over and screw with the radio for several minutes to figure out how to manually change a station, it only wanted to work on pre-sets. The voice commands are horrible. If you want to input something in the navigation, forget it. It requires pulling over. My wife driving and me enteting an address.... not a safety issue. Maybe subaru should change the sensor snd let you put in the address on the go if there is someone in the passenger seat. There's already a sensor there as the car yells at you for not being buckled up. I'm glad this is my wifes car, I would not own it myself simply because of how much I despise the electronics package.

We love our Subbie!!!

Performance: 0 Comfort: 0 Fuel Economy: 0 Fun To Drive: 0 Interior Design: 0 Exterior Design: 0 Build Quality: 0 Reliability: 0 Comfort Rating: 4 Performance Rating: 5 Interior Rating: 5 Reliability Rating: Safety Rating: 5 Technology Rating: 4 Value Rating:

When we bought our Subaru Outback Premium and are thrilled with our purchase. It is great in snow, trails, and many other challenging tasks. When we take trips and have very little fatigue compared to some other cars we've had. It get good gas mileage for the size of the wagon. I am very impressed being that this is our first Subaru. Only improvements that I have made is to put in a new stereo system because the one that was in was not to iPhone friendly.

Love it but grossly disappointed in windshields.

Performance: 0 Comfort: 0 Fuel Economy: 0 Fun To Drive: 0 Interior Design: 0 Exterior Design: 0 Build Quality: 0 Reliability: 0 Comfort Rating: 5 Performance Rating: 5 Interior Rating: 5 Reliability Rating: 1 Safety Rating: 4 Technology Rating: 5 Value Rating: 25

We are preparing to install what will be the third windshield. As my wife said she has driven for 33 years and she never had to replace a windshield until this 2015 Outback. One cracked in the heat of night driving across Nevada/California with no recollection of anything hitting the windshield. Same problem driving to Idaho last Month. Now a new crack. Our dear ski friend also has a 2015 Outback. He is preparing for his third windshield as well. When we went to replace the first windshield the wait time was six weeks. Independent windshield installers did not have any in stock. The dealership was verbally kind and made a concession and only charged about $160 labor. Not likely after it is out of warranty. At this rate we will spend about $1,280 on windshield labor assuming they do not charge for the glass if we keep the vehicle for 80,000 miles. Without the consideration from the dealership, each windshield alone is over $600 each. Our other concern is if it spider cracks when we are traveling we do not want to wait weeks for a replacement. We were preparing to purchase a second Outback. That is on hold as we consider trading our existing vehicle in. We are not confident this problem is remedied.

2015 Outback after an 87 Loyale Wagon & 01 Legacy

Performance: 0 Comfort: 0 Fuel Economy: 0 Fun To Drive: 0 Interior Design: 0 Exterior Design: 0 Build Quality: 0 Reliability: 0 Comfort Rating: 5 Performance Rating: 4 Interior Rating: 4 Reliability Rating: 5 Safety Rating: 5 Technology Rating: 4 Value Rating: 29

Excellent overall vehicle at a very competitive price. My other current vehicles are a 2007 Infiniti M35 and a 2007 Honda Ridgeline, both purchased new, so I'm used to driving decent vehicles. Outside of carrying loads like a pickup truck or hybrid truck does, the Outback does almost anything one would want from a vehicle. Great utility and economy at a low entry price. Even the flat 4 cylinder does a better job than expected. Update at 15,000 miles: Outback is still performing well and gets better gas mileage than I expected. I have not had to return to the dealer to fix any problems, but it does have a pending recall for a faulty brake pedal switch. The car provides the versatility I wanted and is easy to maintain. My vehicle leased in Florida came with free oil changes at 6,000 mile intervals. But I do my own oil changes, and doing the Outback is a breeze.

Disappointed compared to my other 8 subarus

Performance: 0 Comfort: 0 Fuel Economy: 0 Fun To Drive: 0 Interior Design: 0 Exterior Design: 0 Build Quality: 0 Reliability: 0 Comfort Rating: 4 Performance Rating: 4 Interior Rating: 4 Reliability Rating: 4 Safety Rating: 4 Technology Rating: 4 Value Rating:

We have owned Subarus for years and currently have 4 of them in our driveway. I always thought we would own one because we live in the mountains of Va. We have had the car for 16 months and have 16k miles. Several things work sparatically(back up monitor and opening of rear hatch with key,) also has never gotten gas mileage they claim. BUT my biggest disappointment by far is it's lack of ability to get traction in the snow. Last winter, we had a fairly significant snow. We were able to drive our other 3 Subaru's out of the snow with no digging. We had to dig and dig to get the 2015 Subaru out. Yesterday we had a 12" snow. I had cleaned my driveway. When I backed my 2015 Subaru back into the driveway, I got one rear wheel over in the snow bank. The other 3 were on plowed ground. I thought I was going to have to have it plowed out. My other Subaru's have 210 k miles, 190k miles, and 65k miles. I would trust any of them in snow more than this one. After more than 25 yrs. of being a loyal Subaru owner, my next new car probably won't be a Subaru.

2015 Subaru Outback Parking Brake Problem

Performance: 0 Comfort: 0 Fuel Economy: 0 Fun To Drive: 0 Interior Design: 0 Exterior Design: 0 Build Quality: 0 Reliability: 0 Comfort Rating: 3 Performance Rating: Interior Rating: 2 Reliability Rating: 3 Safety Rating: 3 Technology Rating: 3 Value Rating: 30

I've had this car for over a year. Be aware that this car has electronics everywhere, for everything, and is very Consumer UNfriendly.The manual is not helpful ....What idiot would make a car with 100's of commands and a display screen right in front of you, and then in order to change the time, you need to use the heated seat button.. That's just one of several annoying things about this car.That took me a drive to the dealership, which they didn't know how to change it..I finally figured it out after 2 days.. Here's another goody. On the drivers side of the seat, that plastic piece.. Constantly is coming off. It's to big for the seat.. You turn to get out of the car and your leg hits it and it comes out...I've been to the dealer 3 times for that one.. They can't do anything about it because that's the way it was manufactured...This is a BIGGY The parking brake goes on if the car is on something slippery. Ice,snow ..after the wheels spin, the brake comes on and won't go off. The wheels then lock and you can't move the dam thing. Right now it's in my driveway and I need to call a tow truck.. Here's another fabulous thing, sometimes the electronics that take care of the gas gauge,speedometer,oil temp,H/C gauge, doesn't work.. I had to shut off the car and restart it for them to work.. How about those lights....couldn't get them on one night..they're on "auto" they didn't go on..again shut the car off and restart.. That's what I do when the electronics mess up.. Shut it off, restart.. I'm very afraid of those same dam electronics going off when I'm doing 65 mph.. I'm not a happy person with this car.. The best thing I can say are, great gas mileage, about 30 mpg. The heated seats are fabulous. The Bluetooth is cool, but I would get that on any new car.. I could go on and on what is wrong with this car, but I won't.. This is my first and last Subaru..

POOR FUEL MILEAGE

Performance: 0 Comfort: 0 Fuel Economy: 0 Fun To Drive: 0 Interior Design: 0 Exterior Design: 0 Build Quality: 0 Reliability: 0 Comfort Rating: 4 Performance Rating: 3 Interior Rating: 4 Reliability Rating: 4 Safety Rating: 4 Technology Rating: 2 Value Rating: 23.7

There are a few reasons that sold me on my 2015 Subaru out back with 2.5L one of them was the posted 25 city 33 Hyw fuel mileage (its a farce) my average mileage is 23.7 according to the data from the car its self, if I do the math its even worse by a few tenths. I wanted to give the car a chance to break in a little before I wrote about it. I have had the car for one year now and have 10,000 miles on it, just did a 500 mile round trip and got 25 mpg SAD!!!! The other disappointment is the poor sound quality from the speaker phone/bluetooth very difficult to hear the person that is talking in the car. The voice command NAV system also is less than desirable very frustrating to use and most the time can't recognize the command. Just for the record I have a 2014 Chevrolet Silverado that has these features and they work flawlessly. Ok now for the pros... my outback it is very conferrable to drive my wife and I took it on a 2500 mile road trip and did some 8 - 10 hour day's with no problem very roomy, also love the AWD handles great in all conditions, I have the eye sight option love/hate relationship but over all works great with cruise control and on long trips is very nice.

Love it, but here are the nuisances I've noticed

Performance: 0 Comfort: 0 Fuel Economy: 0 Fun To Drive: 0 Interior Design: 0 Exterior Design: 0 Build Quality: 0 Reliability: 0 Comfort Rating: 5 Performance Rating: 4 Interior Rating: 4 Reliability Rating: 5 Safety Rating: 5 Technology Rating: 5 Value Rating: 32

There are a lot of things I love about this car and overall I give this car a 4 out of 5 stars. I love the styling, the safety features, the feel of the road on both rough and smooth pavement, and that there is plenty of room in the rear seats. There are a lot of pros about this car that other reviewers have posted and I agree with, but there are some cons that I have noticed but have not read in other posts. Hopefully Subaru will eventually get the message. The first noticeable thing is that the accelerator seems a bit too touchy and starts off abruptly from a standing start. This is OK when you’re accelerating from zero and going in a straight line. But when you’re at a stop sign and proceed to make a left or right into traffic, a few passengers will usually say “whoa”. I wonder if this is something that some fine-tuning on the CV transmission can correct. It may very well be the physical differences between a front wheel drive and 4-wheel drive when accelerating through a turn. It may also be that the car has a little bit of a tendency to oversteer than I’m used to. Hopefully I can get better at it with some practice. I opted to get the sun roof and have enjoyed it quite a bit. But I’ve noticed a vibrating or rattling noise when I hit some bumps at moderate speed. To me it sounds like a tight cable vibrating against nearby metal. It’s probably OK but it makes you worry something was not assembled securely. The clock display is pretty small and kind of hiding behind my right forearm (when my hands are on the wheel) and among other temperature control information. I use this car mainly for commuting, and from a safety point of view, checking the time should only be a mere glance. I hope Subaru realizes this and changes its size and location this in a future model. Also, the climate controls take some getting used to. I’ve read somethings about the open tail gate continuing to draw power from the battery regardless of whether the light is off and then draining the battery dead. I haven’t experienced it myself but I worry about it every time the tailgate is up longer than a brief moment.

Want to love this car, but...

Performance: 0 Comfort: 0 Fuel Economy: 0 Fun To Drive: 0 Interior Design: 0 Exterior Design: 0 Build Quality: 0 Reliability: 0 Comfort Rating: 3 Performance Rating: 2 Interior Rating: 3 Reliability Rating: 3 Safety Rating: 3 Technology Rating: 3 Value Rating: 23

First off, I commute 65 miles each way to work, best mpg average on a tank was 27 with 90% + freeway. i normally range in the 25mpg avg. - Strike one. I love the interior and Harmon Kardon Sound system except for the random blown speaker like sounds that occur from time to time. The Car has a lot of wind noise and annoying rattles. Saying the car is underpowered in the 2.5i motor is an understatement. Somthing I was willing to sacrifice for the sake of fuel economy(that I never really got). Be careful on cold mornings qhen the vehicle is still warming up, the sluggish motor runs in limp mode and could put you in a dangerous situation if expectations aren't realistic while pulling into oncoming traffic. What really drove me to write this poor review was from today's near death experince(s). I slid off the road in plowed,wet, snowy conditions. I did not have snow tires, just the factory set. I can't completely fault the vehicle, I know the tires come into play, but it was the realization of what the AWD is not. There isn't enough power generated to turn the tires in a situation where you need to pull out of a mess. Likewise, the awd senses tire slip and shuts down. There is no way to shut off the system and let me spin my tires until I get down into some dirt. My near death experience with a guard rail and once again avoiding a head on are enough to make me not want to take the outback out anywhere in the snow.

Love it! ...but just a couple of things

Performance: 0 Comfort: 0 Fuel Economy: 0 Fun To Drive: 0 Interior Design: 0 Exterior Design: 0 Build Quality: 0 Reliability: 0 Comfort Rating: 4 Performance Rating: 4 Interior Rating: 5 Reliability Rating: 5 Safety Rating: 5 Technology Rating: 5 Value Rating:

I bought this mainly for my teen daughter to drive. As far as safety features I absolutely love this car! I love driving this car. Sitting height is good, handling is good, acceleration is good, seat comfort is good, stereo is good. There are a couple of minor things that wouldn't change my mind about buying this for myself and only one thing that might make me look elsewhere. First the two minor things: The turn signal is a little annoying. Not bad just a little to loud in my mind. The other minor thing is the button on the rearview mirror to open my garage door is impossible to see at night. A small thing but it would be great if Subaru illuminated the buttons in the future. The one thing that to me is major (even though I think this is still a great car!) is the wind noise. I was surprised after driving my old suv for over 14 years I expected the new outback to be much quieter than it is. This is the only thing that could make me look elsewhere for my next car. For the kind of money I paid I would have expected a much quieter car. There are many cars that are quieter for a lot less. It's not terrible and when the stereo sound is turned up it's not an issue but it's certainly enough to annoy me when I'm driving without the sound turned up. I hope they fix it before next years model otherwise I might have to look elsewhere. Otherwise great job Subaru!

Subaru has Lost the Plot!

Performance: 0 Comfort: 0 Fuel Economy: 0 Fun To Drive: 0 Interior Design: 0 Exterior Design: 0 Build Quality: 0 Reliability: 0 Comfort Rating: 4 Performance Rating: 3 Interior Rating: 4 Reliability Rating: 1 Safety Rating: 3 Technology Rating: 2 Value Rating: 19

I bought this Outback Wagon thinking it will be as good as my 2002 Subaru WRX but I was wrong. Yes, it's a very comfortable car to drive. I like the room and the space it has and the seats are really quite good. Where Subaru has lost the plot is with reliability. My old Subaru never needed much in the way of repairs and the dealership was always good to me. That dealership has closed and the one I bought from uses every excuse in the book to not fix anything. The first thing that Really chaps my hide is that when you go from Park to Reverse or to Drive or Reverse to Drive the transmission will take almost 2 seconds to go into gear! If you live in snow country you can forget rocking your way out of a snowy problem. Both the Dealer and Subaru say that the car is within spec and that its just a CVT transmission issue. Well I own a Prius which has a CVT and it has zero lag. Subaru refuses to acknowledge there is a problem. Basically you have to live with it, because they say so. The dealership does NOT put anything into their system to avoid the lemon law. Also the Check Engine light keeps coming on no matter what they do. They say it needs to be looked at so they do that and then they say it's the gas cap. They tighten it and then the next day the check engine light is back on again. This will really bite when the snow falls because when the Check engine light is on it shuts off your traction control, cruise control X-Mode and some other stuff. I mean if there was a problem and they genuinely wanted to make it right that would be different. But they don't! It takes 10-14 days to get an appointment for anything including an oil change. Subaru of America is useless and hopeless for getting any help. This is the last Subaru that I will ever buy and I am trading it in at a huge loss to get out of this piece of garbage, unreliable car. Subaru used to be a decent company but they aren't that way any longer. The fuel economy is much lower than expected as well. The only Love you will get from Subaru is when they take your money. I used to be a Subie fan but no longer!

A Lot of Bang for the Buck

Performance: 0 Comfort: 0 Fuel Economy: 0 Fun To Drive: 0 Interior Design: 0 Exterior Design: 0 Build Quality: 0 Reliability: 0 Comfort Rating: 4 Performance Rating: 4 Interior Rating: 5 Reliability Rating: 5 Safety Rating: 5 Technology Rating: 5 Value Rating: 25

We now have 12,000 miles on our car and it has been operating flawlessly. Other than a couple of oil changes there has been no reason the take it back to the dealer. The car is very comfortable to drive with great visibility, great tracking and very little road or wind noise. The drivers seat has plenty of adjustment and fits both my wife, who is petit and me at 6'2" just fine. The CVT transmission is a little noisy when accelerating before things have warmed up, but is fine after that. I really like how the CVT performs in cruise control when you are in hilly terrain as there is no downshifting, the engine speed just keeps changing as necessary to keep the car speed up. We live in a rural area and don't need a lot of power or acceleration to merge and keep up with traffic and find the engines power level is just fine. Fuel economy on summer gas is great. If we cruise at 65-70 we get 32 mpg and if we boost the speed up to 75-80 is drops to 29 mpg. My wife uses the power lift gate several times a day getting the dog in and out of the car and it working great. This feature was one of the reasons we traded our 2014 Subaru in as the manual gate unlatched and latched too hard. Other reasons for trading were the style of the new front grill is much more appealing and it is noticeably quieter with better visibility. Although the drivers seat is quite comfortable, you can feel the lumbar support as a lump centered on your back at times. The passenger seat has limited adjustments and is positioned in the car too low for our liking. The car handles great and has a sporty feel, especially as compared to our old Volvo XC70. Bluetooth and the phone interface are excellent with great call quality. The navigation system is not worth the investment, especially as compared to Google Maps. The voice interface is frustrating and the interface, although improved over the 2014 Subaru is still difficult, especially if you don't use it often. I wish Subaru would update the software to implement Google Auto. Owners today need to expect software updates on vehicles, especially with the premium paid for some of the features and the speed at which they become obsolete. We continue to be pleasantly surprised with the engineering of this vehicle and are always finding little features we didn't know we had that make the car easier to use. For example it pauses the radio station when you get a call and picks it back up after.

Great vehicle , better value than Toyota 4 Runner

Performance: 0 Comfort: 0 Fuel Economy: 0 Fun To Drive: 0 Interior Design: 0 Exterior Design: 0 Build Quality: 0 Reliability: 0 Comfort Rating: 5 Performance Rating: 5 Interior Rating: 5 Reliability Rating: 5 Safety Rating: 5 Technology Rating: 5 Value Rating: 5

The only issue so far with 6600 miles is the , SRVD " system (blind spot ) , has disabled intermittently since new in April 2015 ( over a dozen times) , as others have complained , illuminates on dash SRVD disabled on occasion , it does reset when engine is turned off,after over 40 times I returned to selling dealership in Denver on 12/29/15 , also I have been in contact with Subaru customer service, I had found TSB #Sb 07-90-15 released 04/22/15 just weeks after we picked up our Outback 3.6 liter Limited ; the sensors were replaced along with a module , took a week, it appears to be operating correctly , 01/11/16 , now has 7900 miles; update 07/11/16 14,000 miles, blind spot is working correctly after repair , eye sight camera feature has braked several times due to our crazy reckless drives in our area, saved vehicle from being wrecked.

DEAD Batteries - Subaru finally replaced battery

Performance: 0 Comfort: 0 Fuel Economy: 0 Fun To Drive: 0 Interior Design: 0 Exterior Design: 0 Build Quality: 0 Reliability: 0 Comfort Rating: 4 Performance Rating: 3 Interior Rating: 4 Reliability Rating: 1 Safety Rating: 4 Technology Rating: 4 Value Rating: 26

New Battery solved problem - Battery has died 11 times in 9 months I have owned 2015 Outback Wagon. Three visits (7 days without car) to Dealerships have not detected any electrical problem (other than replacing alternator on second visit ). Still the car dies. Several instances seem to result from short trips to do errands. Also extended period of open power lift gate will deplete battery even with dome light off. Would love to remove power lift gate, but dealer says it will cost several 1,000's of dollars. Best feature is Eye Sight. Blind spot warnings work well and makes one feel much safer. Have had several occasions when Eye Sight failure light up, but restarting car several times has caused problem to go away. Battery failures are so pervasive that I have no confidence that car will start and constantly have to plan where I park so I can get jump start. I do appreciate the kindness of strangers who have helped. Suspect there is a design problem with undersized battery. Attempting to return car under Calif Lemon Law. This car is not anything like previous Subaru I have owned

Can I get my Odyssey Back

Performance: 0 Comfort: 0 Fuel Economy: 0 Fun To Drive: 0 Interior Design: 0 Exterior Design: 0 Build Quality: 0 Reliability: 0 Comfort Rating: Performance Rating: 2 Interior Rating: Reliability Rating: Safety Rating: Technology Rating: Value Rating: 22

I purchased the Outback Limited 2015 three days ago and if I could return it I would. This car was to replace my 2005 Honda Odyssey. I am accustomed to road noise because my van was loud. However, the engine noise combined with wind noise in the Outback is mind numbing. I also have a weird vibration when you get up to highway speeds and every bump in the road can be felt. My van may have been noisy but the ride was like that of a car. I was told the Outback is built on the Legacy chasse. We own a 2015 Legacy and it drives like a dream. The Outback comes no where near the ride of the Legacy. I will getting rid of this car before the end of the month. My recommendation is to look at the Lexus RX350 or the Honda Pilot.

Great car..except for the loud exhaust noise

Performance: 0 Comfort: 0 Fuel Economy: 0 Fun To Drive: 0 Interior Design: 0 Exterior Design: 0 Build Quality: 0 Reliability: 0 Comfort Rating: 4 Performance Rating: 4 Interior Rating: 5 Reliability Rating: 2 Safety Rating: 5 Technology Rating: 4 Value Rating: 26.9

8 months and 14,000 miles and I really like the car except I get a loud rattling noise coming from the exhaust at idle which lasts a few minutes then goes away. The dealer had it 8 days and couldn't find anything. It's back at the dealer again now and I'm driving a 2015 Legacy loaner. I will say even though the Outback and the Legacy are essentially the same vehicle except for the hatch vs trunk and higher ground clearance I find the Legacy has a better ride and is more comfortable. Don't regret the Outback purchase though, that is if they ever get the noise fixed. Knowing what I do now after putting miles on both I would choose the Legacy over the Outback purely for the better ride and handling.

WoW, Wow, Wow!!

Performance: 0 Comfort: 0 Fuel Economy: 0 Fun To Drive: 0 Interior Design: 0 Exterior Design: 0 Build Quality: 0 Reliability: 0 Comfort Rating: 5 Performance Rating: 5 Interior Rating: 5 Reliability Rating: 5 Safety Rating: 5 Technology Rating: 5 Value Rating:

I usually don't write reviews but I felt I had to write a review about this car. It is awesome. I recently purchased the 3.6 R (6 cylinder). I am so glad I did. The car drives smooth and acceleration is wonderful. The engine is super quiet and you can hardly hear the engine when you drive the car. The ride is very comfortable and the leather seats make you feel like you are sitting in a leather recliner (firm yet comfortable). The interior layout is nice and easy to read. Cargo space is more than adequate. This car feels solid and "sure footed" in all types of conditions. I drove my outback in very muddy conditions and it rolled through the mud without one tire slipping. Others vehicles got stuck in the mud but not the outback. Acceleration onto the the interstate while merging into traffic was a breeze. The outback 3.6R performed extremely well. Others talk out the lower MPG for the 3.6 compared to the 2.5. My mileage was 23 city and 29 Highway. I don't think it was bad especially for a 6 cylinder. Overall I am extremely happy with my purchase. If you can afford to get the 3.6R, I would urge you to get it. You will not be disappointed.

Alignment Please!

Performance: 0 Comfort: 0 Fuel Economy: 0 Fun To Drive: 0 Interior Design: 0 Exterior Design: 0 Build Quality: 0 Reliability: 0 Comfort Rating: 4 Performance Rating: 4 Interior Rating: 4 Reliability Rating: 4 Safety Rating: Technology Rating: 4 Value Rating: 25

Bought new 2015 Outback Premium 2.5i and took it to trusted alignment shop to have better tires installed. Mechanic said car was way out of alignment and adjusted it for me. I really wish Subaru would not have transferred this expense from their factory to me.

Windshield problems

Performance: 0 Comfort: 0 Fuel Economy: 0 Fun To Drive: 0 Interior Design: 0 Exterior Design: 0 Build Quality: 0 Reliability: 0 Comfort Rating: 3 Performance Rating: 5 Interior Rating: 5 Reliability Rating: 4 Safety Rating: 5 Technology Rating: 3 Value Rating: 24

This is my first Subaru purchase in my 61 years of life. Being self employed driving an average of 25,000 miles per year, I have never had to replace a windshield. Six weeks ago while driving my windshield developed a crack coming up from the passenger side just under the wiper blade for now reason. I must say Subaru replaced it for free, but a huge inconvenience. Last week a rock kicked up on windshield and immediately got started cracking where it was hit. My insurance covered this one, had it done at my house, but with the eyesight technology I had to go to dealer today to get it recalibrated. Drove the 40 minute ride home and now the car says eyesight not working. I love the eyesight technology, but it had a recall in August and now this. It seems like I am spending way too much time at the dealer.

Great SUV!

Performance: 0 Comfort: 0 Fuel Economy: 0 Fun To Drive: 0 Interior Design: 0 Exterior Design: 0 Build Quality: 0 Reliability: 0 Comfort Rating: 5 Performance Rating: 5 Interior Rating: 5 Reliability Rating: 5 Safety Rating: 5 Technology Rating: 5 Value Rating:

This is such a great functional car, and am very pleased with its safety, driving system, and overall functionality. It is an outstanding SUV, particularly during inclement weather conditions in our area; you will feel confident driving on the road. What a fine world it would be if every car in the world were a Subaru! The traffic on road would run so smooth..

4wd Swiss Army Knife

Performance: 0 Comfort: 0 Fuel Economy: 0 Fun To Drive: 0 Interior Design: 0 Exterior Design: 0 Build Quality: 0 Reliability: 0 Comfort Rating: 4 Performance Rating: 4 Interior Rating: 4 Reliability Rating: 4 Safety Rating: 5 Technology Rating: 4 Value Rating: 24

Note: I rarely give something 5 stars. For me, 4 is high praise and I quibble about the three choices of poor, OK and great. If I didn't rate something 'great', it's because it was less but certainly more than just OK. That said, I've owned this car for 7 months. I've had to adjust to it rather than the vehicle adjusting to me. But taking the Outback on its own terms, this is what I'd say to prospective buyers: It's been a very competent car. Road handling in all weather, except wind, has been excellent. Because of it's 8.5" ground clearance which is great for loading and unloading, entering and exiting, it can be a handful on windy highways. And while it's notable, it's minor. Electric steering is responsive, making navigating city streets and parking lots easy. Turning radius is excellent. Braking is good. Acceleration is modest in the 4 cyl. Beware. It's fine around town. On the highway, and with people and luggage, it's another story. But once you learn it and adapt, it is fine. Gas mileage started soft but has gotten better and averages around 26, city and town. Highway averages 31 which I think is outstanding for a 'station wagon-y' vehicle with roof rack and 4wd. It's a joy to buy regular gas. Cabin is comfortable, attractive and uncluttered. We like it. Leather seats are quite comfortable on short or long trips. Rear seats have plenty of room. The seat backs adjust, a big comfort plus. And folding the seats down, a 60/40 split, is a breeze - from inside the car or from the tailgate. The tailgate on our car can auto open. It is a bit fussy, a love/hate feature on the car. Visibility is good. Backup camera is essential and works very well in handling tight spaces. I give it a solid A. Cross traffic warning is a good option. Blind spot detection is OK but the side mirror warning light, no sound signal, is weak, especially in daylight. That's a big negative. Gauges are OK. Lighting is bright and distinct. Time and temp are tiny. Bizarre. Lots of radio and music options. We have iPhones. They work beautifully and are very easy to connect. The technology is definitely better than ever. That said, not all tech is the same. While the interface works, the voice prompt is clumsy with rigid prompts and responses. I find that disappointing but I can easily get over it. The sound/phone system works seamlessly and the sound quality of phone calls to and from the car is quite good. That's basic to the tech and important that it works as well as it does. The touch screen is large, easy to navigate and easy to read, even in bright sunlight. Remote start is really handy in winter but it takes some practice making it work from the key fob. The suspension was VERY stiff when we first got it. It was on the verge of being a deal breaker. I've seen that comment from others, too. But it has softened. It is firm and comfortable and not at all rigid. Road noise is quite modest. Heating and cooling work well, front and rear. Front and back wipers are solid. Best option: dimming side mirrors. I did not get adaptive cruise control and emergency stop. I'm sorry I didn't. I rode in an Outback with that option and thought it was outstanding. Oddity: no heated steering wheel which I miss a lot! Another oddity and major mistake: doors do not self lock above a certain speed. If you don't remember to do it yourself, your doors remain unlocked while you drive. Even our 2003 Passat had self-locking doors. It never occurred to me that Suburu would sell a car without them. Lastly, the most important aspect of any car is its safety - all the things about a car you don't see or care about until you absolutely need them. We were recently rear-ended on a highway while going 50 MPH. The pickup was doing 65. My young son was in the back seat. That could have been a very bad accident. The car performed flawlessly, stayed on center and steered to a perfect stop. Another car could have lost control, hit other cars to the side and caused a deadly pile up. The back is badly bashed in, of course. But despite the damage, all rear lights on the car still worked. Even the back up camera still worked! My appreciation and trust of this car took a big leap. All the sentimental Subaru ads aside, we need cars to be safe, to work in any element and any season, and to be comfortable and accommodating. This is not an exciting vehicle to drive. It drives you. If you can adjust to that, this is, as my son says, a "beast" of a car. And that's "beast" in the best sense of the word. 10,000 is not much to base a review on. But it is enough to know this is a solid choice I don't regret making. If "Ranger" continues to perform the next ten years as he has the first seven months, this rolling Swiss army knife will have fulfilled its promise. It is off to a good, perhaps great, start.

Utterly Unsafe

Performance: 0 Comfort: 0 Fuel Economy: 0 Fun To Drive: 0 Interior Design: 0 Exterior Design: 0 Build Quality: 0 Reliability: 0 Comfort Rating: 4 Performance Rating: 4 Interior Rating: 4 Reliability Rating: 4 Safety Rating: Technology Rating: 3 Value Rating: 23

The doors cannot be unlocked from inside the vehicle without pushing a 1/2" square poorly illuminated button. In the case of an accident, pulling the door release lever will not unlock the door from inside. If you find yourself upside down in a pond - good luck! Maybe this is why Subaru seems to be the only brand that does not give the driver the ability to automatically lock the doors. If you decide to buy, I suggest placing a tool that will shatter the side windows at each outboard seating location. It's 2015 Subaru, door locks are not that complicated. While I am at it, how can a 3.6 liter engine require 7 quarts of oil. A Chevy 454 cubic inch big block only takes 7 quarts. Want eyesight? Well I hope you like random beeps. Beeps all the time for known reasons which is annoying but it also beeps frequently for no discernible reason which is infuriating. The digital clock would be great if it did not display the time with 10 font. You must take your eyes off the road for far to long to see the tiny clock display yet another unique Subaru driving hazard. I wish I had waited for the new Ford Edge to come out.

Good all around suv

Performance: 0 Comfort: 0 Fuel Economy: 0 Fun To Drive: 0 Interior Design: 0 Exterior Design: 0 Build Quality: 0 Reliability: 0 Comfort Rating: 5 Performance Rating: 5 Interior Rating: 5 Reliability Rating: 5 Safety Rating: 5 Technology Rating: 5 Value Rating: 5

Our Subaru 2015 Outback Limited is great for the price. The Outback is great for what you get. Safety is great comfort is good. No problems in the last year of ownership. We plan on staying with Subaru. The 2017 that I read about will have more upgrades So go and try one out.

Gone downhill !! Wish I never bought it!

Performance: 0 Comfort: 0 Fuel Economy: 0 Fun To Drive: 0 Interior Design: 0 Exterior Design: 0 Build Quality: 0 Reliability: 0 Comfort Rating: 4 Performance Rating: 2 Interior Rating: 4 Reliability Rating: 3 Safety Rating: 4 Technology Rating: 3 Value Rating:

This is my 3rd Outback and it's poor to say the least. The transmission hesitates, studders, and is "jerky". My old ones didn't do this and they were the CVT as well. The Forester is a little better. The dealership and Subaru USA said; "it's just a different feel". Yeah right, this is why there are so many complaints on this issue. Also, they made it sound as if they made the car bigger? Not much so. This is a very poor job done by Subaru and if they spent more time figuring it out versus defending their cars, they could have taken care of it. Worst purchase I've made.

2015 Outback - Easy to Own and Drive

Performance: 0 Comfort: 0 Fuel Economy: 0 Fun To Drive: 0 Interior Design: 0 Exterior Design: 0 Build Quality: 0 Reliability: 0 Comfort Rating: 5 Performance Rating: 3 Interior Rating: 5 Reliability Rating: 4 Safety Rating: 5 Technology Rating: 4 Value Rating: 5

After having some issues with the electronics - Subaru came through and fixed it after a couple of tries - the car has been performing great. Dealership is always polite and ready to assist. They do the service on time and in the amount of time they say it will take. The car is a great value for the money and an all around great wagon. We get nearly 30 mpg and are thrilled with that - we do not need one of those oversized SUVs.