Subaru Outback or Forester

[Anonymous]

I agree with PP to stretch for the premium. I had a premium Outback and now a Limited Forester. A power lift gate was a must have for me on both cars. My Forester now has leather seats which are great but not a must have. I did want all the safety options and at the end of the day I was able to buy (in 2019) a brand new Limited for a small incremental increase over the Premium.

[Anonymous]

We have a Forester (awesome visibility and wide open), but if we were to choose now, it’d be the Outback Wilderness edition.

[Anonymous]

Neither. Subaru quality isn't what is used to be (minus the head gasket issues w/older cars). Just google "subaru paint quality" and you'll see. We traded in our Subie and go a used Honda 3 years older than the Subie and the Honda paint quality (and many other things) were superior to the (newer) Subaru.

[Anonymous]

neither...own Toyotas and a 2013 Forester. Subaru is wayyyy behind in quality and durability. Will NEVER purchase another Subaru ever.....even if I move to Vermont.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:neither...own Toyotas and a 2013 Forester. Subaru is wayyyy behind in quality and durability. Will NEVER purchase another Subaru ever.....even if I move to Vermont.

I've never been to B-school, but I'd be surprised if Subaru isn't a case study in branding.

How they cultivated a diehard following while offering cars with below-average reliability, fuel economy, tech, and performance that lags behind competitors, all at an above-average price point is truly beyond me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I've never been to B-school, but I'd be surprised if Subaru isn't a case study in branding.

How they cultivated a diehard following while offering cars with below-average reliability, fuel economy, tech, and performance that lags behind competitors, all at an above-average price point is truly beyond me.

Fair points, but Subaru's pricing is quite reasonable. A new Outback starts at $27,000, so low to mid $30s out the door with taxes and fees. Not that high considering the average new car transaction price is $41,263.

The cult following is a combo of decent new pricing, outdoorsy and liberal community marketing (at a time when outdoor adventuring and sales of other outdoorsy brands is red hot), and the fact that if you live in a climate that gets winter weather, the Outback and Forester are two of the better cheap-ish choices for people who don't want a truck or SUV.

A lot of people care more about a fairly-priced car that does well in all weather conditions and don't care that much about fuel economy, tech, and even reliability.

[Anonymous]

I have 2 of the exact same Foresters and I love them equally. I recently took one in for servicing to my Subaru dealership and he almost begged me to trade it on. It’s 7 years old with only 18,000 miles and in high demand. I said no, I love my car.

[Anonymous]

Regret getting a Forester when we ended up having a third kid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have 2 of the exact same Foresters and I love them equally. I recently took one in for servicing to my Subaru dealership and he almost begged me to trade it on. It’s 7 years old with only 18,000 miles and in high demand. I said no, I love my car.

Huh. Do you drive the other one a lot?
I have a 2015 Forester (which I love), it's got 80k miles and I only commuted three times a week pre-covid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:neither...own Toyotas and a 2013 Forester. Subaru is wayyyy behind in quality and durability. Will NEVER purchase another Subaru ever.....even if I move to Vermont.

I've never been to B-school, but I'd be surprised if Subaru isn't a case study in branding.

How they cultivated a diehard following while offering cars with below-average reliability, fuel economy, tech, and performance that lags behind competitors, all at an above-average price point is truly beyond me.

I haven’t shopped in a while but at one the point their lane safety tech was probably the best available, at least at a reasonable price point. Also 2d the awd in a reasonable sized car at a reasonable price. Maybe other manufacturers should try to compete in that market.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've never been to B-school, but I'd be surprised if Subaru isn't a case study in branding.

How they cultivated a diehard following while offering cars with below-average reliability, fuel economy, tech, and performance that lags behind competitors, all at an above-average price point is truly beyond me.

Fair points, but Subaru's pricing is quite reasonable. A new Outback starts at $27,000, so low to mid $30s out the door with taxes and fees. Not that high considering the average new car transaction price is $41,263.

The cult following is a combo of decent new pricing, outdoorsy and liberal community marketing (at a time when outdoor adventuring and sales of other outdoorsy brands is red hot), and the fact that if you live in a climate that gets winter weather, the Outback and Forester are two of the better cheap-ish choices for people who don't want a truck or SUV.

A lot of people care more about a fairly-priced car that does well in all weather conditions and don't care that much about fuel economy, tech, and even reliability.

It’s the safety tech of a Volvo at half the price. It’s a no-brainer. They are among the cheapest cars to insure.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've never been to B-school, but I'd be surprised if Subaru isn't a case study in branding.

How they cultivated a diehard following while offering cars with below-average reliability, fuel economy, tech, and performance that lags behind competitors, all at an above-average price point is truly beyond me.

Fair points, but Subaru's pricing is quite reasonable. A new Outback starts at $27,000, so low to mid $30s out the door with taxes and fees. Not that high considering the average new car transaction price is $41,263.

The cult following is a combo of decent new pricing, outdoorsy and liberal community marketing (at a time when outdoor adventuring and sales of other outdoorsy brands is red hot), and the fact that if you live in a climate that gets winter weather, the Outback and Forester are two of the better cheap-ish choices for people who don't want a truck or SUV.

A lot of people care more about a fairly-priced car that does well in all weather conditions and don't care that much about fuel economy, tech, and even reliability.

It’s the safety tech of a Volvo at half the price. It’s a no-brainer. They are among the cheapest cars to insure.

This probably says more about the type of person who would buy a subaru than anything else.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:neither...own Toyotas and a 2013 Forester. Subaru is wayyyy behind in quality and durability. Will NEVER purchase another Subaru ever.....even if I move to Vermont.

I've never been to B-school, but I'd be surprised if Subaru isn't a case study in branding.

How they cultivated a diehard following while offering cars with below-average reliability, fuel economy, tech, and performance that lags behind competitors, all at an above-average price point is truly beyond me.

I haven’t shopped in a while but at one the point their lane safety tech was probably the best available, at least at a reasonable price point. Also 2d the awd in a reasonable sized car at a reasonable price. Maybe other manufacturers should try to compete in that market.

NP here, but this is marketing too. Every Subaru owner I know immediately brings up that Subaru is the only way to get AWD in a non-luxury/non-giant car. Every Subaru owner I know insists my RAV4 doesn't have AWD even though it does. And then insists it must be because it's a top trim level (it's not), and much more expensive (also no). It's just . . . a thing they believe, and they don't even know where they heard it, and they didn't test drive other similar cars when deciding. They went for a Subaru because they knew that's the way to get AWD (for their twice-yearly drives to Deep Creek, but that's a tangent). It's not true, but it's well marketed.

[Anonymous]

I have no dog in this fight…I drive a sedan. But subaru has really figured out the AWD and safety tech, while Toyota has cornered the market on reliability. It’s not just Subaru’s marketing. I’ve called around for insurance rates, and Subarus are cheaper to insure for that reason.

And PP, not everyone wants a RAV4. I just test drove the new hybrid RAV and it still felt like driving a Corolla to me. Otoh, I found the Outback to be smooth and quiet and comfortable. I’d buy one over an AWD RAV for those reasons. (In spite of feeling like it would make me an poser hipster and worrying about reliability.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have no dog in this fight…I drive a sedan. But subaru has really figured out the AWD and safety tech, while Toyota has cornered the market on reliability. It’s not just Subaru’s marketing. I’ve called around for insurance rates, and Subarus are cheaper to insure for that reason.

And PP, not everyone wants a RAV4. I just test drove the new hybrid RAV and it still felt like driving a Corolla to me. Otoh, I found the Outback to be smooth and quiet and comfortable. I’d buy one over an AWD RAV for those reasons. (In spite of feeling like it would make me an poser hipster and worrying about reliability.)

I don't care if people don't want a RAV4 or CRV. I care that they all believe, unanimously and incorrectly, that those cars don't have AWD and only Subaru does. That's effective marketing, which is what my comment was about.