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Anyone own a Subaru Outback or other small SUV? Any recs?
We are thinking about buying a Subaru Outback to replace my DH's current car and in anticipation of hopefully adding a little one to our family in the next year or so. I was just curious if any of you have one, and if so, what you like and dislike. In particular, I would be interested to hear about safety, ability to haul stuff/luggage, ease of getting a kid into/out of the car, etc.
Also, any recs for best place to buy one here in the DC metro area? We live closest to Farrish Subaru, but I work across the street from Stohlman Subaru in Tysons. We'd be open to buying at another Subaru dealership if it's better than others.
Any other smaller SUV/crossover owners? Any recs? We're open to other vehicles as well, but based on the initial research we have done, the Subaru seems to be a strong contender.
Thanks!
Re: Anyone own a Subaru Outback or other small SUV? Any recs?
I have a 2011 3.6R Outback that I've had for about a year now and I LOVE IT. My family has driven Subarus for many years, and my very first car I bought on my own was a 2006 Subaru Legacy. I ended up trading in my Legacy in April 2010 for H to get a new Subaru STI, and I was driving his Nissan Pathfinder which I hated. I agreed to trade in my Legacy on the deal that I would get a new Outback 6 months later
I got the 3.6R because we test drove both the 4 and 6 cylinder, and I loved the power the 3.6R had - we have never hauled anything with it, but I can imagine it would do wonderful. The trunk space is awesome, even more so with the back seats folded down. I don't have kids so can't say how easy it is to get them in and out of the back, but I have been in the back on some trips and it is pretty spacious so I can't imagine it would be difficult with kids.
One of my favorite things about it is that it feels and drives like a car, but I am higher up like an SUV - perfect combination. We got both of our Subarus from Stohlman in Herndon and had great customer service. Hope this answers some of your questions.
ETA: I special ordered my Outback - they didn't have any in the area with the options I wanted so we went ahead and just ordered one from the dealer with everything I wanted (I plan to drive this car into the ground so I wanted to get the options that I would love for years). I had it 3 weeks later and still love it.
Our two girls - Chenoa and Maddie
We have a Subaru Forrester that is just two months old. So far - LOVE it! We went to Stohlman and I couldn't recommend them enough. Less haggling than CarMax!
We went with the Forrester model because H is 6'5'' and I am 5'5'' so we need a car for talls and shorts and it came up on both lists for Consumer Reports. We also looked at the Toyota comparable and we were able to get many more upgrades for a much lower price so we went with Subaru.
No thoughts on the Subaru (I personally didn't like it when we test drove last Spring), but I'm on my second Hyundai Tucson and I LOVE it. It came out much cheaper than any other cars in its class, and much more "luxurious" - heated seats, leather, etc etc. It feels very fancy inside. Plus, when we bought, they gave me $11K to trade in my old car that was worth nowhere near that, and I have the 10yr/100k mile warranty, free tires for life, and free oil changes and state/safety inspections for life. I've been really happy with both my Hyundais.
I have the Britax Advocate 70 carseat which is HUGE, but two adults can sit in the back with it, and the trunk is a decent size. We went to Atlanta for 5 days and had no issues with luggage, pack in play, jumperoo, bouncy chair, Bugaboo Chameleon, and all the other junk babies come with...all fit in just trunk.
We have the 2009 Outback (mid-range model, with heated leather seats, sunroof, PZEV, etc.). It's great. It gets good gas mileage, it's good in snow, and there's tons of room in the trunk for long trips.
We had one kid in a carseat, and it's easy to get him in/out. He's in the middle seat (it's safest) and now that he's facing forward there's not as much shoulder room for an adult sitting in the back. It's too uncomfortable for my DH for trips longer than a few minutes, but I've done it all the way to Ohio and been fine.
TTC #2: BFP 12/17/11, m/c 1/7/12 and D&C 1/12/12
baby blog/cooking blog
I have a 2006 Forester and I love it! I can't say enough about the all wheel drive and how smooth it has been. I think the only thing I've replaced so far are the wipers.
The only complaint I have had was that there is no center latch system, so the convertible car seat rear facing was a tight fit on the side. Now that we are in forward facing it's fine.
We are a Subaru family. My mom bought a legacy wagon in 1994 and drove it to nearly 200,000 and finally donated it last year. She also has a legacy sedan. My dad has the tribeka. All of them have been fabulous.
So are we! My brother recently traded in his Subaru Legacy (with 100K+ miles on it) for a newer version. My dad is currently driving pre-owned Tribeca.
And yeah, the only things we've replaced on the car so far are the wipers and the seal around the door (under warranty).
TTC #2: BFP 12/17/11, m/c 1/7/12 and D&C 1/12/12
baby blog/cooking blog
