I couldn't help noticing there were a lot of people in the other thread who said they own/lease one.

Considered a Forester but it doesn't have the towing capacity I need. FiL had an Outback which was nice enough but pretty cramped in back.

I've owned 2 Impreza WRX's and a Forester XT. The Forester blew up after 10,000kms. I like the concept of them, but the ownership experience was generally rocky.

We've had a Forrester for 4 years - great vehicle - no issues at all. Nothing has blown up, fallen off or otherwise deterioriated - but do have the all-purpose cracked screen of course

Most of our cars are Fords this week

We've run a 2007 Outback for a year and a half now, rock solid. Seems to be very popular around here.

Just sold our three and a half year old outback primarily because we couldn't get 4 adults and a kids car seat in comfortably any more.

Loved it for driving in the snow and it was a very nice touring car for long road trips.

The fact it was assembled in Idaho or Indiana or somewhere like that didn't bode well for the workmanship though: the seat belt had been installed back front, handbrake cover cracked and had to be replaced after a short while, but these are only minor niggles I guess - the main thing is it never conked out on us!

We also had the obligatory cracked windscreen!

It was a great car for the snow. If you are thinking of getting a 2nd hand one, avoid 2002 models. They have head gasket probelms as I found out when I came to sell mine when we left.

I have an 07 Legacy Wagon. It replaced a 97 that was rusting away. Had the head gasket issue, fixed under warranty. Other than that (and that wasnt an issue, the dealer pointed it out during an oil change) they have had no issues and are fun to drive. The big sunroof is a bonus.

Its a shame you cant get the wagon utility without all the Outback bollox anymore.

Great car in the snow and comfy on a long drive. Enough performance, not stellar, but decent economy too compared to other AWD, 4x4 options. AWD is not a substitute for snow tires in the snowy part of Canada, but with snows on a subaru Ive never had an issue with winter driving. Helped push half a dozen snowtire clad Quebecois out of the parking lot at the Ski resort, then climbed in the sube and drove off as if it was dry tarmac.

More than 4 in it would be cramped. Weve done it, but no one in the back would fancy a road trip like that!

Cracked windscreens are an out west thing arent they? The grit they use in the roads would be called aggregate anywhere else!

try the AWD Toyota Venza, great on a road trip. We just did 7700km from Winnipeg- Omaha NE-Hot Spring AR - Atlanta GA- Fort Walton Beach FL-St Louis MO- Minneapolis MN and home, an absolute dream to drive. We also did 5 adults and tonnes of lugage from Edmonton AB- Winnipeg shall not do that again tho wayyyyyyyyyyyyyy to cramped.

Well I have one too - pretty high percentage of people saying yes in the poll or saying they had one in this thread, must appeal to British sensibilities I guess. (Because of course it's a representative poll).

Haven't had any real problems with mine, I did have to replace the windshield but that's common in Calgary. The only things that annoy me are the warning light by the rear view mirror and also the remote locking/unlocking system is a bit iffy on my car, often have to hit unlock multiple times.

Either that or its the lack of any negative option in the poll skewing the numbers


My pet peave is how weedy the electric windows are, is it a safety feature or are they just crap?

Mine is the fit/finish/quality of the interior in general. The price point doesn't reflect very well on it. Despite my terrible Forester experience (the engine blow up was just one part of a catalogue of issues) I like the mechanical engineering, but got disenchanted with the rest of the quality and the attitude of Subaru N.America when it came to dealing with multiple warranty problems.

Have a American spec 2010 Outback with 45k miles. Build quality isn't great but fuel economy is good and the handling way better than any of the big 3's SUVs we test drove, plus it was much cheaper!

Rather appropriate for a mechanic.

Fix Or Repair Daily.