Topic: CD Article: 2010 Subaru Outback 3.6R

[Autos_Editor]

         
Test Drive:


The 2010 Outback is "significantly larger" than its predecessor, says Contributing Editor, Chris Chase, and offers a "badly-needed boost in interior space", he says.  His only criticism is its new styling, which he finds "rather plain".
 More: View the photos | All the Test Drives

[Shnak]

What's the microphone and wire the reviewer is talking about? I tried to find a photo that would show this but couldn't.

Also, Subaru has to do something about those bluetooth buttons and speakers in the console... it couldn't look more out-of-place and aftermarket... Seriously, Kia's got it right in a $15k Soul, yet Subaru can't do anything decent with this in a $35k car?

[chrischasescars]

Shnak, you can see it here: http://www.canadiandriver.com/galleries/images.php?info=2010%20Subaru%20Outback%203.6R&src=http://www.canadiandriver.com/galleries/2010/images/subaru/2010_subaru_outback/2010-subaru-outback_cc_023-5482.jpg.

[Shnak]

Ugh. And you see the wire too? That's just terrible. Subaru has to fix this and the bluetooth buttons/speakers for the next model year.

[blur911]

Some electronics in Subarus seem to be last minute additions.  The McIntosh stereo in our Outback VDC sounds simply amazing, but the LED lights in it are a different colour and style than the rest of the dash and the luminosity levels are inadequate.   There are also some buttons on the dash that are in odd places and unlit. 
It's a quirky car, but my girl still loves it.  I'm used to quirky cars.

I don't think I'd want a bigger Outback like the new one, but then the newer Impreza has grown to Outback size. Super-sizing, Subaru Style.

[chrischasescars]

Ugh. And you see the wire too? That's just terrible. Subaru has to fix this and the bluetooth buttons/speakers for the next model year.

Yeah, the wire trails out the back of that mic, and runs behind the instrument cluster. Looks like an aftermarket install at best. It's like they had the car designed and then someone pointed out they'd forgotten to build in the Bluetooth hardware.

[johngenx]

Yeah, the wire trails out the back of that mic, and runs behind the instrument cluster. Looks like an aftermarket install at best.

I used to own an auto electronics shop, and NO WAY we'd let that out the bay door.  That's homemade looking!!

[Sir Osis of Liver]

So they had something fairly unique and turned it into just another garish cuv. bravo.

They added rear seat room and shortened the overall length, so the cargo floor is shorter. great. Hauling stuff with the seats down is largely pointless in a f'n family car. I need an adequate cargo floor with the SEATS UP.

I guess my current Outback will be my last Subaru for a while.

I am obviously hugely disappointed in this redesign.

[Mitlov]

A Subaru shamefully lagging similarly-priced models from other brands in terms of refinement?  NEVER!  I CAN'T BELIEVE IT!

In all seriousness, Subaru does a lot of things right--excellent AWD and good safety spring to mind--but it's always remarkable to me how many people turn a blind eye to their coarseness.  This speaker/wire job would be criticism-worthy in everything from a Ford Focus to a base Honda Accord, and we find it in a $36,000 Subaru?

[johngenx]

Part of why Subaru has never become a mainstream brand is the lack of attention to detail.  Folks like me that want the best AWD and decent economy in a wagon package don't have a lot to chose from, so Subaru is often "it."

The 1996 OBW was brilliant.  The 2000 OBW was a better product even if it wasn't the ground breaking idea the 1996 was (kudos to the Eagle, but poor execution).  By 2005, it seemed Subaru was on a real roll.  The 05 Legacy and OBW were sleek and the AWD system was not only preserved, but improved.  The Forester was old, but hanging in there.  The WRX had a following and the STi was hailed as the king of it's crazed segment.

Then the world got fat, and it seems Subaru has decided to as well.  If the 2010 Legacy and OBW are signs of things to come, the Impreza and Forester are next to be super-sized and cobbled together.