Ok, my husband is my first love, but I must confess. Give me any reason to hop in my Subie and I will be off. I can't believe this small car has so much going for it.
Let me preface by saying that we researched cars on the web, in many dealer showrooms and test drives. We had two Buick Le Sabres and wanted to replace one with a smaller car. But we were not willing to sacrifice much in the way of amenities.
We checked out the Taurus, Honda, Toyota, VW, Prius, and others. (We are retired, so what can I say--we have time.)
We had never owned cars other than those made by American companies, but now even their cars are made with parts made outside of our country.
We wanted a good ride, a zippy engine, quality details such as a good sound system, appealing upholstery, and a car that did not look like all the others on the road. We got all this and more.
The dealership was in a town nearby. It is an outstanding facility as we saw on our "tour" of the place as part of our sales pitch. I should not say "pitch" as the salesman was very professional and not pushy at all. He really knew everything about the car. We took two test drives. The first one was taken on the dealers "track" behind the facility. The track was two-lanes going through a humpy, very muddy field with curves and hills.
This track was to show us how the car handled in adverse conditions such as snow. Without real snow, this was just as good a test. It was awesome. It climbed out of muddy holes and took curves well.
The two days I drove in snow this winter (unusually mild year for Illinois) I felt very secure and in control. The all wheel drive pulled me out of our garage through 7" of heavy, wet snow on a long curved driveway, through the mound left by the city plow, all going in reverse.
The next test was on city streets and a highway. It has great pickup I found out as I tend to have a heavy foot taking off from stops. You do not hear a grinding roar either as with so many other cars.
My husband appreciates taking out the grocery bags from the rear cargo space as there is no more lifting out of a trunk.
It has saved his back from aches he used to get. The cargo space is surprisingly roomy. You can put the rear seats down easily to get even more. The spare tire is under the space which leaves more room on the interior. We have a fitted plastic liner that covers the carpet and can be removed to clean if soiled by garden supplies or other messy cargo. A roll-across shade covers the cargo if desired so articles may not be visible from the outside. It is a wonderful feature.
It took me a little while to get used to the shift between the two front seats. I turned on the windshield wipers a few times by mistake as the lever is where my former shift was. We like the luggage rack on the roof, too. We may never use it but it sure makes this car look better than our old foagie look of the Buick.
One very good feature of the Outback is the Roadside Assistance you have free for three years or 36,000 miles. You can get towing, gasoline (two gal.) if you run out, emergency lockout service, and jump starts.
You will be amazed at what you get for the money. Our car was bought from the lot so we negotiated to get the price down even with all the added features such as the compass in the mirror, an automatic dimming feature also protects you from bright headlights in cars following you. The regular mirror without the compass has a manual lever for this purpose.
The Outback comes in a sedan and station wagon version, ours being the latter. There are multiple storage bins besides the obvious ones in the armrest, glove compartment, and ash trays. There is one overhead to store garage openers, sunglasses, etc. There are coin containers for quick access for tolls plus a rubber lined section to minimize noise from rattling objects. Another is above the CD player that has a door. Below the cargo area is a partitioned tray for small things. This sits above the spare tire and is hidden from view.
There are so many little conveniences that make driving such a pleasure. Besides the remote keyless entry, I like having the key longer than the others on my keychain. It is easier to find and can be inserted up or down. The ring around the keyhole area lights up for a short time when you enter the car allowing you to find the keyhole easily.
Our mileage has been about 22 mpg with combined city-highway driving. It has not been quite what we hoped for but have been told the motor can be adjusted if needed. One small point we do not like is that the hooks for hanging a hanger from are not large enough to keep it from falling easily. That is not a biggie to dislike.
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