Subaru Outback or Forester

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

What a bizarre and ridiculous post. All Subaru owners don’t believe this.

[Anonymous]

OP here....thanks to all on thread with their advice.

We ended up getting the Outback. We got the Outback Premium, which is one-step above the base. Premium gets you tinted windows, power driver seat, heated seats, bigger infotainment touchscreen....etc.

Think we would have been happy with either a Forster or Outback, but the Outback's a little bigger, rides smoother and I think it looks a little nicer.

This is our second Outback. Why we love the car, and Subarus, is the Symetrical AWD. It performs great in the snow. We have driven our current Outback through snow many times. You have to use the paddle shifters to get best performance, but while we don't get a lot of snow locally, having peace of mind that I can drive in it is nice. Additionally, we do take frequent road trips to Deep Creek and Canaan Valley in the winter.

Shopping for the Outback was interesting. Our local Subaru dealers have no inventory. One dealer had four cars and two dealers had no new cars. We ended up ordering our car.

Also looked at CRVs. They looked nice enough, but were more expensive.

[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 have Toyotas and Subarus. I wouldn't say Subaru is "wayyyyy" behind Toyota. I do think Toyota is probably tops...have had two Toyotas, which both got to 200k with only routine maintenance. Our Subaru needed a new transmission at 150k miles, but other than that A-OK.

[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.

I just looked at their site and am surprised to see they're still using Eyesight driver assist technology. I thought by now they would have moved on to a system that can't be blinded by fog or glare.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here....thanks to all on thread with their advice.

We ended up getting the Outback. We got the Outback Premium, which is one-step above the base. Premium gets you tinted windows, power driver seat, heated seats, bigger infotainment touchscreen....etc.

Think we would have been happy with either a Forster or Outback, but the Outback's a little bigger, rides smoother and I think it looks a little nicer.

This is our second Outback. Why we love the car, and Subarus, is the Symetrical AWD. It performs great in the snow. We have driven our current Outback through snow many times. You have to use the paddle shifters to get best performance, but while we don't get a lot of snow locally, having peace of mind that I can drive in it is nice. Additionally, we do take frequent road trips to Deep Creek and Canaan Valley in the winter.

Shopping for the Outback was interesting. Our local Subaru dealers have no inventory. One dealer had four cars and two dealers had no new cars. We ended up ordering our car.

Also looked at CRVs. They looked nice enough, but were more expensive.

Can I ask if you had to pay over MSRP? Assuming you ordered a 2022?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

What a bizarre and ridiculous post. All Subaru owners don’t believe this.

Every one I know IRL does, and like it did on this thread before I ever posted - it comes up in every thread about Subarus. "Subaru has AWD!" They all do, Sharon.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

What a bizarre and ridiculous post. All Subaru owners don’t believe this.

Every one I know IRL does, and like it did on this thread before I ever posted - it comes up in every thread about Subarus. "Subaru has AWD!" They all do, Sharon.

I mean your friends are correct that you have to pay extra to add all wheel drive to a RAV4 or CRV. This isn't a standard feature like with Subaru.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here....thanks to all on thread with their advice.

We ended up getting the Outback. We got the Outback Premium, which is one-step above the base. Premium gets you tinted windows, power driver seat, heated seats, bigger infotainment touchscreen....etc.

Think we would have been happy with either a Forster or Outback, but the Outback's a little bigger, rides smoother and I think it looks a little nicer.

This is our second Outback. Why we love the car, and Subarus, is the Symetrical AWD. It performs great in the snow. We have driven our current Outback through snow many times. You have to use the paddle shifters to get best performance, but while we don't get a lot of snow locally, having peace of mind that I can drive in it is nice. Additionally, we do take frequent road trips to Deep Creek and Canaan Valley in the winter.

Shopping for the Outback was interesting. Our local Subaru dealers have no inventory. One dealer had four cars and two dealers had no new cars. We ended up ordering our car.

Also looked at CRVs. They looked nice enough, but were more expensive.

Can I ask if you had to pay over MSRP? Assuming you ordered a 2022?

It's a 2022 and we paid a little under MSRP. Didn't haggle at all, they actually threw in a $300 discount, which isn't much, but $300 more than I was expecting. We need the car and after hearing the news about Toyota production cuts, going to Honda dealers and seeing "market adjustment" prices, which are $3000 more that sticker, it made the decision to get the Subaru easy. It's what we really wanted. Couldn't buy one off the lot. Inventory is LOW. We ordered one. Should be here in 8 6 weeks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here....thanks to all on thread with their advice.

We ended up getting the Outback. We got the Outback Premium, which is one-step above the base. Premium gets you tinted windows, power driver seat, heated seats, bigger infotainment touchscreen....etc.

Think we would have been happy with either a Forster or Outback, but the Outback's a little bigger, rides smoother and I think it looks a little nicer.

This is our second Outback. Why we love the car, and Subarus, is the Symetrical AWD. It performs great in the snow. We have driven our current Outback through snow many times. You have to use the paddle shifters to get best performance, but while we don't get a lot of snow locally, having peace of mind that I can drive in it is nice. Additionally, we do take frequent road trips to Deep Creek and Canaan Valley in the winter.

Shopping for the Outback was interesting. Our local Subaru dealers have no inventory. One dealer had four cars and two dealers had no new cars. We ended up ordering our car.

Also looked at CRVs. They looked nice enough, but were more expensive.

Can I ask if you had to pay over MSRP? Assuming you ordered a 2022?

It's a 2022 and we paid a little under MSRP. Didn't haggle at all, they actually threw in a $300 discount, which isn't much, but $300 more than I was expecting. We need the car and after hearing the news about Toyota production cuts, going to Honda dealers and seeing "market adjustment" prices, which are $3000 more that sticker, it made the decision to get the Subaru easy. It's what we really wanted. Couldn't buy one off the lot. Inventory is LOW. We ordered one. Should be here in 8 6 weeks.

Thank you for sharing this info. I’m out of state and just noticed the 2022s hitting the lots. Used ones are almost as much, so I was curious if it would be worth going for a new one.

[Anonymous]

I think you made the right choice, OP. I think people get drawn to the Forester because it sits up higher and is kind of an SUV-lite, but I personally think the Outback is a much more practical car. For a similar footprint, you get a lot more storage space, and I prefer they way the drive a lot more. But I love wagons and have always been fond of Subaru wagons -- I loved the old Legacy wagon too. I'm just not an SUV person.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think you made the right choice, OP. I think people get drawn to the Forester because it sits up higher and is kind of an SUV-lite, but I personally think the Outback is a much more practical car. For a similar footprint, you get a lot more storage space, and I prefer they way the drive a lot more. But I love wagons and have always been fond of Subaru wagons -- I loved the old Legacy wagon too. I'm just not an SUV person.

Foresters are nice enough, but I think Outback looks much better and the ride is much nicer/more comfortable,

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think you made the right choice, OP. I think people get drawn to the Forester because it sits up higher and is kind of an SUV-lite, but I personally think the Outback is a much more practical car. For a similar footprint, you get a lot more storage space, and I prefer they way the drive a lot more. But I love wagons and have always been fond of Subaru wagons -- I loved the old Legacy wagon too. I'm just not an SUV person.

I think of myself as not an SUV person, but then the Virginia DMV told me my Outback is an SUV

[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 owned a Toyota & Subaru and i much preferred the Subaru.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

What a bizarre and ridiculous post. All Subaru owners don’t believe this.

Every one I know IRL does, and like it did on this thread before I ever posted - it comes up in every thread about Subarus. "Subaru has AWD!" They all do, Sharon.

Okay, Honey.