My Dad has a Nissan 4x4 PU with the 4 doors. Not great for carrying full size people in the back, and the abbreviated bed makes it less useful as a PU. Quite the compromise. These make me think of the Subaru Brat and before that, the El Camino, etc the 'cowboy cadillacs'
Off for an actual BIKE RIDE...holy crap, the first of the New Year...
Or even better dollars/ mile, and mileage gallons/100 miles. The Euros do it that way, makes comparisons much more meaningful among other advantages.
A side note that gas is under $3.00 a gallon in Montana right now. Been a long time since we've seen that.
You will tell by my stream of consciousness presentation here that this has bottled up in side me for awhile just waiting for someone willing to listen.
When I have bike on top of the car, mileage drops about 5-10 mpg. Not too unusual but maybe useful to this audience.
My first car was a 1977 Subaru wagon and I'v owned an 80's wagon as well. I bought the 2010 Subaru Outback and am NOT happy with it. They took ALL the ruggedness out of it to increase gas mileage. I had six, yes six flats from driving Montana fire-roads in the Summer before replacing the stock tires. The coolant is a cool $50 a gallon or container. While in Utah it all evaporated and the dealership said it had been a problem in high heat. The solution was to run regular cheap coolant (doesn't void warranty) and no problems since. It cost $60 to replace a headlight because you must remove the skirt in the wheel well. Youtube stories abound about home efforts breaking clips and such causing money to be spent to fix that. The interior is awful unless you get black. I've had it detailed three times. My detailer said Cadillac now uses the material Subaru used to use and he had had many folks complain about watermarks, dirt on seats. Can't find good seat covers as the side airbag liability scares most traditional seat cover manufacturers away. Subaru cannot recommend using one for liability. The transmission is "maintenance free" until 100k, or when you warranty ends. My local independent Subaru mechanic has worked on them since the early 80's and has seen the trannys fail within 50k. He recommend replacing the fluid the second your drivetrain warranty ends.
Ok, more rant..The paint is not good. Also confirmed by my detailer. Several chips and flakes after 2 years. My 1995 Toyota's paint looks waaaaay better. The fit of interior pieces is suspect ( especially the fuse door which has never fit right and looks bad sorta hanging there and the armrest is showing a dimple where I rest my elbow where as again my 1995 Toyota shows no sign of where my elbow rests in relatively the same location
I so badly want to love this car. It is great in snow (once stock tires are gone). Gets good gas mileage (but the speedometer shows a slightly higher speed than the car is going so I wonder about he calculations. My dealer said he notices this too and it is set by the factory that way.
If you your a pavement driver in a town without Winter potholes and do not EVER take it on even a dirt road, it is the most rugged of suburban vehicles. If you expect the burly. capable Subaru of old, forget it.
The round fog looking lights below the headlights are useless and I noticed Subaru has made the larger for this years model.
Oh and lastly the tire pressure sensors are so brittle, any oil change place will refuse to check your tire pressure for fear of braking them. They cost over $100 to replace. If you choose to live with a broken sensor you get a light on the dashboard for the rest of the cars life. Many folks use black electric tape to hide it but who wants to do that?
Got that off my chest thanks, I've needed to rant.
It is a safe car, a roomy car but a shadow of it's former self.
In short way too many issues, distractions and outright dissatisfaction in the first 50k. My last Subaru ever.
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