NOTE: Sorry for the crappy pictures. It has rained about every day since I bought the car, and I haven’t been able to give it its first wash and wax to then take decent pictures.
As some of you may have already read, I bought a 2018 Subaru Outback 3.6R Touring, to replace my 2015 Dodge Dart GT. Let me tell you, I absolutely love the Outback and here are some of my initial thoughts after 500 miles of ownership. The ride is fantastic as it just floats over bumps in the road; its amazing how rough the ride in the Dart was looking back on it as you don’t really realize it until you drive something so cushy. The biggest thing I was concerned about with the Outback given its size, was the driving feel. The electric power steering is nicely weighted so it doesn’t feel like you are driving a wet noodle; it was much closer to the steering feel in my Dart than I was expecting. And to the transmission, I don’t know what Subaru did, but they have absolutely nailed it. They have it programmed to “shift” even though its a CVT and that really helps eliminate any groaning you get from it. I haven’t found the noise under acceleration any louder than a regular transmission.
This car also has the Eyesight technology with the forward collision avoidance, blind spot, lane keep and lane departure. Overall the technology is very interesting and I’m still getting used to it, but its all not as intrusive I was expecting it to be, and no I have not yet tested the forward collision avoidance yet.
Now for some things I don’t like, which isn’t much and more me just being nit picky. First is, there are just too many damn colors in this interior. You have the light tan for the headliner and pillars, black for the dash, doors and carpet, and the brown leather for the seats and door inserts. In addition, the radio controls and the numbers on the gauge cluster are in white, there are then blue rings around the tach and speedo, and all the other buttons are in red. There is just a lot going on. Yes the interior is very nice, but it just bothers me for some reason.
Second, there is no way to tag your favorite songs/artists on SiriusXM like the Uconnect in my Dart. It was nice to know when those were playing on other channels if you wanted to listen.
Third, no automatic wipers. I’m sure its because they couldn’t fit the sensor on the windshield with the eyesight, but that’s one feature I grew to love in the Dart.
Fourth, the blind spot monitoring doesn’t beep when the turn signal is activated and there is a car in your blind spot. HOWEVER, Subaru did move the blind spot light from the outside edge of the mirror glass, to the inside edge of the mirror housing (see below), and its a large light that you can easily see in your peripheral vision and it will at least flash if there is something there and the turn signal is activated.
Overall, I am very pleased with my purchase, and I love this car so much more than my Dart, and this will definitely be a better “investment” (as good as a car can be).
TL;DR: I love the Outback so much.