Subaru Outback

I can't even put that kind of tongue weight on the hitch of my F350 unless it was a 5th wheel/gooseneck. Maybe I should get a Subaru.
LOL!!!! Oops, meant to say towing capacity max. Tongue weight is pretty low. Something like a couple of hundred pounds?
 
Those things all appeal to me(especially the clearance. That's the one beef have with my Durango).
Yes, ground clearance is great. Both the Outback and Forester have about the same clearance, but the way the Forester front fits makes it slightly better for inclines.
 
I thought only hippies and lesbians drove Subarus? Are you a hippie or a lesbian?

Ha. I had never heard this until I got one. However, I live in CO and we all have them it seems. Hard to turn down the deal I got on an Impreza. Great MPG, fun to drive, and looks fairly sporty with the package I got. But I can see how it lacks compared to all those Cavaliers and Grand AM GTs back in Iowa...
 
Ha. I had never heard this until I got one. However, I live in CO and we all have them it seems. Hard to turn down the deal I got on an Impreza. Great MPG, fun to drive, and looks fairly sporty with the package I got. But I can see how it lacks compared to all those Cavaliers and Grand AM GTs back in Iowa...

You haven't been back to Iowa in a while! Not a lot of those left. Was just out in Colorado and didn't notice a big difference in vehicles driven other than we have a lot more elderly people driving Buicks.
 
Kind of off topic, but what the deal with SUV's going to AWD instead of 4WD? I just bought a new Explorer and they were all AWD. I had an older Explorer that you could push the bottom to make it 4WD. Only curious because I'm not a fan of AWD and only want 4WD in the winter when my gravel roads suck.
 
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All I know about Subaru's are you better not lock your keys in them. Its a ***** trying to break into those damn things.
 
I’ve only driven friends’ Outback’s and I love them. They are a little tight for a family of five so we have never bought one. Wife is ready to move past mini van stage now that we no longer have car seats. Currently we are leaning pretty heavy towards the new Subaru Ascent as her next vehicle.

IMO it is very tough to beat a Subaru if you need an all weather/road efficient vehicle.

I do hope they bring the diesel Ranger to the US. I’ve been in those in the U.K. and South Africa and loved them.
 
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Kind of off topic, but what the deal with SUV's going to AWD instead of 4WD? I just bought a new Explorer and they were all AWD. I had an older Explorer that you could push the bottom to make it 4WD. Only curious because I'm not a fan of AWD and only want 4WD in the winter when my gravel roads suck.

A switch to unibody instead of body on frame.
 
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Kind of off topic, but what the deal with SUV's going to AWD instead of 4WD? I just bought a new Explorer and they were all AWD. I had an older Explorer that you could push the bottom to make it 4WD. Only curious because I'm not a fan of AWD and only want 4WD in the winter when my gravel roads suck.

Subaru has symmetrical all wheel drive. Pretty awesome.
 
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Kind of off topic, but what the deal with SUV's going to AWD instead of 4WD? I just bought a new Explorer and they were all AWD. I had an older Explorer that you could push the bottom to make it 4WD. Only curious because I'm not a fan of AWD and only want 4WD in the winter when my gravel roads suck.

If it detects slip it switches automatically to AWD. Assuming you don't go off roading, what advantage do you get by pushing a button?
 
You get lots of this response. We bought a basic model years ago and live on a gravel road. It's never clean and suffered some damage but drives great. Everyone said we would need a truck to get around but that has been bunk. If you are driving some real bad roads / field the Forester has better clearance and probably a little more towing power.

Subaru is the brand that has the highest average Credit Score of buyers.
My wife has one as her around town car. She bought in 2010 and we continue to drive. Prior to that she had a nice mini-van but wanted something about more sporty. I drive it occasionally. It is a very solid car. We elected to keep it when she bought a QX60 in 17. We have a son that will be driving soon so we decided to keep it as buying a pre-owned one is not much cheaper than a new one(depeding upon year and mileage). We have had 4 mountain bikes on lop, we also have had kayaks etc. It handles those pretty well. We have enjoyed the reliability, durability, etc. She has leather in so it has been good for clean up after baseball and soccer practice etc.

Subaru has one fatal flaw(as I see it) in their line of cars. If one looks that the Outback compared to the Forester they really are conceptually similar cars. If they would reintroduce a mid-size SUV I think they would capture more of the market than they might expect. She bought the Infiniti QX60 for the extra space and third row. Subaru is not really equipped to deliver in the space. There are a lot of folks like us that would like to have the option to scale up as our needs morph.

I am not a "green" fanatic but Subaru is made in Indiana, at a sustainable manufacturing plant that really sets the bar high for being a good corporate citizen.

I googled after this post...look what Subaru is releasing in 2019:
http://www.latimes.com/business/autos/la-fi-hy-auto-show-subaru-ascent-20171128-htmlstory.html
 
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Kind of off topic, but what the deal with SUV's going to AWD instead of 4WD? I just bought a new Explorer and they were all AWD. I had an older Explorer that you could push the bottom to make it 4WD. Only curious because I'm not a fan of AWD and only want 4WD in the winter when my gravel roads suck.

I havent looked into in a while so fill me in if I'm off. But for a while there a lot of "AWD" cars were only AWD when the wheels started to slip. Their systems were setup primarily for 2WD to get better fuel economy. Are the newer explorers and such full-time AWD like Subys?
 
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Kind of off topic, but what the deal with SUV's going to AWD instead of 4WD? I just bought a new Explorer and they were all AWD. I had an older Explorer that you could push the bottom to make it 4WD. Only curious because I'm not a fan of AWD and only want 4WD in the winter when my gravel roads suck.


Unless you are on slick roads from rain or very loose gravel, you are only in 4 WD during some winter driving basically.
 
You haven't been back to Iowa in a while! Not a lot of those left. Was just out in Colorado and didn't notice a big difference in vehicles driven other than we have a lot more elderly people driving Buicks.

Haha...where I'm from you still see em. But yes, they aren't as prevalent as they once were. Oh, don't let me forget about the Lumina GTs and the older 90s Camaro RSs either ;-)
 
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If it detects slip it switches automatically to AWD. Assuming you don't go off roading, what advantage do you get by pushing a button?


If you have taller drifts to go through full time does allow you to hit it more square so to speak. The other benefit is with towing. If you pull a boat, its better to be in 4WD when you are docking it.
 
Ha. I had never heard this until I got one. However, I live in CO and we all have them it seems. Hard to turn down the deal I got on an Impreza. Great MPG, fun to drive, and looks fairly sporty with the package I got. But I can see how it lacks compared to all those Cavaliers and Grand AM GTs back in Iowa...

I love going back to Iowa and still seeing the old Luminas, Bonnevilles, and Grand Prixs on the road. It's encouraging to see people take care of their stuff enough to keep those old cars running.
 
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My wife has one as her around town car. She bought in 2010 and we continue to drive. Prior to that she had a nice mini-van but wanted something about more sporty. I drive it occasionally. It is a very solid car. We elected to keep it when she bought a QX60 in 17. We have a son that will be driving soon so we decided to keep it as buying a pre-owned one is not much cheaper than a new one(depeding upon year and mileage). We have had 4 mountain bikes on lop, we also have had kayaks etc. It handles those pretty well. We have enjoyed the reliability, durability, etc. She has leather in so it has been good for clean up after baseball and soccer practice etc.

Subaru has one fatal flaw(as I see it) in their line of cars. If one looks that the Outback compared to the Forester they really are conceptually similar cars. If they would reintroduce a mid-size SUV I think they would capture more of the market than they might expect. She bought the Infiniti QX60 for the extra space and third row. Subaru is not really equipped to deliver in the space. There are a lot of folks like us that would like to have the option to scale up as our needs morph.

I am not a "green" fanatic but Subaru is made in Indiana, at a sustainable manufacturing plant that really sets the bar high for being a good corporate citizen.

I googled after this post...look what Subaru is releasing in 2019:
http://www.latimes.com/business/autos/la-fi-hy-auto-show-subaru-ascent-20171128-htmlstory.html

The Outback had been based on the car frame while the Forester was a different SUV type frame. Speaking of which, has anyone seen or driven the new large 3 row Subaru Ascent?
 
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