Author Topic: Test Drive: 2019 Subaru Outback (Read 3539 times)

AutoTrader.ca · « **on:** November 06, 2018, 02:44:08 pm »

ChaosphereIX · « **Reply #1 on:** November 06, 2018, 03:07:59 pm »

so it isn't an Outback anymore? Soon the Outback and the Crosstrek and the Forester will all be the same CUV, but with different sizes. And 19 cupholders each!

Remember this?

Great_Big_Abyss · « **Reply #2 on:** November 06, 2018, 03:13:51 pm »

I think that's a lifted/modified model. The Outback has always been very carlike. My MIL had one for years. Identical to this one:

The new one seems to follow the exact same formula... It looks like a car, drives like a car, etc.

PJungnitsch · « **Reply #3 on:** November 06, 2018, 03:32:43 pm »

Are the 2018 and 2019 the same platform?

The wife favors the Outback as a replacement for her CRV, but I've scared her with Subaru engine horror stories

tortoise · « **Reply #4 on:** November 06, 2018, 03:39:44 pm »

Quote from: Great_Big_Abyss on November 06, 2018, 03:13:51 pm

The new one seems to follow the exact same formula... It looks like a car, drives like a car, etc.

I came here to post that this is now more SUV than wagon.

quadzilla · « **Reply #5 on:** November 06, 2018, 03:42:05 pm »

I once thought I saw their new SUV but turns out it was just an Outback. Miss the original versions of these. I guess if one wants that size now they have to move over to the VW Alltrack.

Great_Big_Abyss · « **Reply #6 on:** November 06, 2018, 04:00:13 pm »

It's like any other car make, though. Everything is just getting bigger, bloatier, and more SUV-like. And, given the direction that car-buyers are going (CUV), I guess we can't really blame them.

ChaosphereIX · « **Reply #7 on:** November 06, 2018, 04:01:44 pm »

Quote from: Great_Big_Abyss on November 06, 2018, 03:13:51 pm

I think that's a lifted/modified model. The Outback has always been very carlike. My MIL had one for years. Identical to this one:

The new one seems to follow the exact same formula... It looks like a car, drives like a car, etc.

yes it is modified, couldnt find a low res shot of an XT quickly other than modified ones

I always liked the Outback XT - could be had with a stick and was like a grown up WRX

tortoise · « **Reply #8 on:** November 06, 2018, 04:07:04 pm »

Quote from: Great_Big_Abyss on November 06, 2018, 04:00:13 pm

It's like any other car make, though. Everything is just getting bigger, bloatier, and more SUV-like. And, given the direction that car-buyers are going (CUV), I guess we can't really blame them.

Agreed.

But the outback seems to have made a bigger leap than most.

Gurgie · « **Reply #9 on:** November 06, 2018, 04:09:31 pm »

Yesterday morning I was at a set of lights & directly in front of me was 4th gen outback and the 6th gen... couldn't believe how much BIGGER the 6th gen is!!! What went from a cool wagon is now some sorta weird SUV.

ChaosphereIX · « **Reply #10 on:** November 06, 2018, 04:15:25 pm »

that is because everyone hates wagons. Ewww! But make it a tad taller and fatter and....poof! It is a CUV! Now everyone will buy it!

I will say one thing, at least they are trying to rescue the vehicle from the market's current red-zoned obsession with CUVs. I am sure leaving as a cool offroad-y wagon with a turbo and a stick would sell to a couple of us here, but nobody else. Which is very, very sad.

Niklasky · « **Reply #11 on:** November 06, 2018, 05:05:36 pm »

I see no difference with the 2018 model. Same looks, same engines... What's the big deal ?

Wake me up when something new comes out.

PJungnitsch · « **Reply #12 on:** November 06, 2018, 05:20:54 pm »

Yeah, it looks like the 2020 Outback moves to the new Subaru Global platform

johngenx · « **Reply #13 on:** November 06, 2018, 07:39:00 pm »

I love the Outback - what a great wagon-ny alternative to an SUV. We briefly owned a 2001, but the missus didn't like driving it, the glass area on the Forester was much more suited to her, so we sold the OBW and bought the Forester. I like the OBW a lot, and even the new "size mucho" one appeals to me.

But, yeah, the long term ownership experience is a bit of a gamble.

Davep · « **Reply #14 on:** November 06, 2018, 09:01:52 pm »

I always liked the original Legacy GT wagon. The Outback always reminded me of a whale in comparison. But if I ever went that route, I would only consider the 6cyl. No question.

OliverD · « **Reply #15 on:** November 07, 2018, 09:41:26 am »

To call the current Outback a wagon is definitely a bit of a stretch. They're huge!

Those ridiculous oversized roof rails don't help. The ones that come on the Premier model are much more svelte.

random006 · « **Reply #16 on:** November 07, 2018, 12:40:26 pm »

Quote from: quadzilla on November 06, 2018, 03:42:05 pm

I once thought I saw their new SUV but turns out it was just an Outback. Miss the original versions of these. I guess if one wants that size now they have to move over to the VW Alltrack.

If you really want to see how they have grown, compare the current gen Outback to the relatively tiny first gen Outback Sport of 1994. I know, I know, perhaps it's not a true comparison as it was an offshoot from the classic wagon design but it does show how things have changed:

OliverD · « **Reply #17 on:** November 07, 2018, 12:50:36 pm »

The Outback Sport is really just the ancestor of the Crosstrek.

'94 was also the first model year of the original Legacy Outback.

johngenx · « **Reply #18 on:** November 07, 2018, 12:51:40 pm »

I actually really like the 2001- Impreza based "Outback Sport" and the Crosstrek is my current favourite Subaru model.

ChaosphereIX · « **Reply #19 on:** November 07, 2018, 01:14:07 pm »

I am a fan of the Legacy Wagon. Since my bro bought his, I have come to appreciate its utility and traction in bad weather. Bro takes "Betty White" down some nasty trails to go fishing in remote areas - I dunno why, but hey he likes that. He says the Subaru is better offroad than his Renegade was, despite the loss of ground clearance.

Another anecdotal real-world example: Wagons FTW.