Suby Outback XT TDR (Test Drive Report)

This car is amazing. Drove a manual XT, which is the 2.5L 4cyl turbocharged engine. Basically it is the STi engine "detuned" slightly to only put out 250hp. It is the biggest sleeper car out there today, the only thing to distinguish it from the regular Outback is the hood scoop and an XT badge on the back. Soccer mom image my ass, it is fast as hell and I don't care. The thing just drives great, much more refined and tighter ride over the previous Outback generations, and is lighter overall. The thing that sums up the whole test drive though is: Outback XT vs Mustang Cobra at stoplight. Mustang Cobra = Owned.

They also had some of the first B9 Tribecas in the back of the shop getting unloaded. The styling is not nearly as bad in person as I thought. The one thing about this vehicle is that it's intended competition is the Acura MDX, Lexus LX300, Mercedes ML, etc. It is not a dirtbag ski vehicle. (Hell at $31k neither is the Outback XT.)

No, I didn't get one. I had my Forester in for service and they said they wanted it for their used lot, so I went in with the intention that if they wanted my Forester that bad they would basically have to trade me an XT for it. Of course that didn't work out.

thanks for the great review. my wife has been eyeing that car a lot lately. will have to do some more research.

I am fucking distraguht that TDR doesn't stand for fucking: Turbo Diesel Rally. Cocktease!

TDR stands for Timeout Detection Recovery. See it in an OS coming to you about 2012.

There's a Subaru called a Tribeca?? That's funny, and much better than Wyomings or Dakotas or whatever the hell they're calling some cars.

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Originally Posted by lemon boy

I am fucking distraguht that TDR doesn't stand for fucking: Turbo Diesel Rally. Cocktease!

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That is why I made damn sure to put it in the post title itself, I knew there would be confusion. Take your "fuel" and shove it! Gas rules sucka! :FIREdevil

Test drove the 2005 2.5 GT wagon a few weeks ago, man that thing hauls ass too. KS has his all pimped out to over 300 hp. Forget about stangs, he owns porsches.

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Originally Posted by scoober

They also had some of the first B9 Tribecas in the back of the shop getting unloaded. The styling is not nearly as bad in person as I thought. The one thing about this vehicle is that it's intended competition is the Acura MDX, Lexus LX300, Mercedes ML, etc. It is not a dirtbag ski vehicle. (Hell at $31k neither is the Outback XT.)

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good to know about the styling. this thing is getting my attention more & more these days.

for the price, it's got a ton of great standard options.

Tribeca looks like the bastard offspring of a Nissan Murano and a BMW X3

The new Outback is growing on me - was checking one out parked next to me this morning - but I need to keep my Jeep for a couple more years yet though.

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Originally Posted by Dexter Rutecki

There's a Subaru called a Tribeca?? That's funny, and much better than Wyomings or Dakotas or whatever the hell they're calling some cars.

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http://www.tetongravity.com/forums/s...hlight=tribeca

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Originally Posted by skiguide

good to know about the styling. this thing is getting my attention more & more these days.

for the price, it's got a ton of great standard options.

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The fully pimped Tribeca they had (navigation, etc...) was going to be listed at $42k. Plus, all you get in it is the 3.0L H6 engine. Now, that's a great engine, and don't get me wrong, I love my Subarus, but at that pricepoint I would much rather have a Toureg V8, or Land Rover LR3, something with locking diffs that can actually handle itself off road, not just a glorified minvan with all wheel drive.

The interior is pretty cool though.

Wagon 4-LIFE.

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Originally Posted by scoober

The fully pimped Tribeca they had (navigation, etc...) was going to be listed at $42k. Plus, all you get in it is the 3.0L H6 engine. Now, that's a great engine, and don't get me wrong, I love my Subarus, but at that pricepoint I would much rather have a Toureg V8, or Land Rover LR3, something with locking diffs that can actually handle itself off road, not just a glorified minvan with all wheel drive.

The interior is pretty cool though.

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Yea, I probably don't want the FULLY pimped, 7-passenger version. 5 people & leather seats is fine, and I don't need navigation. So price wise, it sounds more in the range of the xt outbacks or whatever.

I'm going off the assumption the AWD would be just as good as any other subie.

LR3s START at $44k, and I don't know too much about how they improved the engine yet, but my Disco acts more like a 6 cyl. anyway - it's got SHIT for power in high gears. and I'm thinking more than 15mpg may be good at some point in the future. and LR3s are so pimped out, it's not really an off roader anymore anyway. (and fairly low ground clearance stock)

in terms of real 4x4s, I want another Ram anyway - a freakin' steal at $24K.

I have to be a lone dissenting opinion on the Subie. I have owned an older Legacy and loved it until it was prematurely put to death by Mrs Comish while I was skiing pow in Alta, (another off topic story) but have been rolling various A4's for a while now.

I'm in the market for a car since my bike isn't going to work when I return to the "real world" in Sept so I was out test driving a bunch of cars recently. The Subie engine is certainly good, although turbo lag is substantial especially when compared to the new A4/A3 2.0T or even more surprising, the new Volvo S40 turbo which has the smoothest power of the three cars. The brakes on the new subie that I tried sucked. The one I tried had the short throw shirfter kit which also sucked. Very notchy, hard to drive smoothly, and just not fun. It still doesn't handle or feel as solid as a German car ala Audi or even the very surprising Volvo. I have a hard time thinking I could ever drive a Volvo, but I gots to say their turbo car is a pretty nice package, although I'm not a fan of the interior or exterior. The interior of the subie is nice, but still not Audi quality.

Don't know, I think I would still take the A4 turbo over the Subie and give up a little speed for everything else it brings. Hell a little chip in that A4 will get you close to the Subie as well. I do plan to drive one again without the short throw shifter kit. All cars were driven with a manual transmission.

Yeah, but the A4 is not a good comparison with many of the vehicles mentioned thus far... The WRX is much, much closer in terms of size and engines and whatnot, and a chipped WRX will crush an A4. To compare the legacy/outbacks, that's more into the A6/Allroad area, which is a whole 'nother story.

I dunno, Subie still doesn't do it for me, they feel too chintzy & cheap for how much they cost new. Although with these turbocharged Legacies, Subie FINALLY took a step in the right direction - what morons. I'm a Volvo addict, I'm shopping for a new car too and I think I'll be getting Volvo's 'Outback' - the CrossCountry. Maybe even an S40...but I think that's a little out of my price range.

Volvo interiors are almost as nice as Audi interiors, and the bonus is that in ten years, both the car and all the buttons and switches and stuff inside the cockpit still work. Audi / VW has some serious issues there of durability with time. Otherwise they make some fantastic cars.

I read in a car magazine that much like Audi/VW's new extended grille (as seen on the new Jetta, upcoming Golf/GTI, A4, etc), Subaru's grille on the tribeca is going to be their factory standard....say it isn't so, that's hideous, it looks like a whistling warthog or something.

FYI- From my contact at a slaaab/vw stealership:

They cannot give away the WRX Saabs and fully pimped ones are reportedly going for 22K. Worth a look.

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Originally Posted by Jumper Bones

I read in a car magazine that much like Audi/VW's new extended grille (as seen on the new Jetta, upcoming Golf/GTI, A4, etc), Subaru's grille on the tribeca is going to be their factory standard....say it isn't so, that's hideous, it looks like a whistling warthog or something.

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That is true. While the salesperson I was talking to said it would all happen in 2006, to rush me into buying a "normal" grilled Outback, it will happen eventually. It can't happen for 2006 because they have a new 2006 Forester that will be out in June that still keeps a normal looking grille for now.

The interior quality in the new Outbacks/Legacys is greatly improved, but you have to pay for an almost $3k package to get leather. In the XT add that on top of $32k and you are looking at an expensive vehicle. Considering they are gunning for cars like the A6 or V70, it is still a bargain, but becoming much less so.

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Originally Posted by skiguide

and LR3s are so pimped out, it's not really an off roader anymore anyway. (and fairly low ground clearance stock)

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That's a whole other issue. We all know LR won't put out a truck that technically isn't extremely capable off road, but they are appointed so nicely now that who is going to actually do so? The Toureg too, that thing can definitely hold it's own, but I would feel strange fjording a 24" deep stream while sitting in a light tan leather and walnut burl cabin with dual climate control.

i wanted a subie (my whole family has older outbacks) but because of the pricing when all is said and done, my A4 (pimped out) was cheaper than an Outback with leather, sunroof, good engine, etc.

good to know about the Snob... my wife has an older 9.3 and likes the look of the 9.2X...

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Originally Posted by scoober

That's a whole other issue. We all know LR won't put out a truck that technically isn't extremely capable off road, but they are appointed so nicely now that who is going to actually do so? The Toureg too, that thing can definitely hold it's own, but I would feel strange fjording a 24" deep stream while sitting in a light tan leather and walnut burl cabin with dual climate control.

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totally agree. They can still do the job when needed. LR just had its spring adventure event in Moab with my client's resort as base camp - http://www.landroverusa.com/us/en/Ow...tures/Moab.htm

They bring in all the stock brand new ones to use, last fall it was LR3s.

but not too many rich soccer moms take advantage of those features.

meanwhile, i've got to take the disco in tomorrow for the second time in a week, and I'll probably laugh at the sales guy once again when he tries to get me to trade in for the LR3.

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Originally Posted by snwbdrhoon

i wanted a subie (my whole family has older outbacks) but because of the pricing when all is said and done, my A4 (pimped out) was cheaper than an Outback with leather, sunroof, good engine, etc.

good to know about the Snob... my wife has an older 9.3 and likes the look of the 9.2X...

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That's because the Outback isn't intended to compete with the A4... Try reading my thread up top where I mentioned its A4/WRX and A6/Legacy or even All-Road/Outback...

Not sure I'm in total agreement with your comparison BB. I would agree that the Outback models are more similar to the Allroad/XCountry since they have the extra clearance and are focused on competing with the SUV's.

But, the basic Subie legacy is far closer to the A4 in size, price, power, etc than an A6. Car and Driver seems to agree as well.

http://www.caranddriver.com/article....rticle_id=8550

I suppose considering more than one person here is considering the A4 and the Legacy/Outback shows that actually they are competing whether they like it or not...

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Originally Posted by comish

Not sure I'm in total agreement with your comparison BB. I would agree that the Outback models are more similar to the Allroad/XCountry since they have the extra clearance and are focused on competing with the SUV's.

But, the basic Subie legacy is far closer to the A4 in size, price, power, etc than an A6. Car and Driver seems to agree as well.

http://www.caranddriver.com/article....rticle_id=8550

I suppose considering more than one person here is considering the A4 and the Legacy/Outback shows that actually they are competing whether they like it or not...

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Regarding the Audi A4 in your article:

"Okay, you can find an A4 for less than $30,000, but we didn't. This one listed for $31,220"
"With only 170 horsepower—the others are all rated at 200 or more—acceleration is a weak point"
"The result is a fun-to-drive rating clearly behind the others."

Subaru Legacy GT:

"following the news that we can order 250 horsepower in a Legacy, the big Subie, the adult four-door."



So your "price, power, size" argument doesn't really work...

The new A4 has 200 horsepower, so still slower, but closer which I believe I stated in my very first post.

The article actually states regarding the price of the A4: "But we could get our hands on this one in time for deadlines, which, at times, speaks louder than the budget" That says that they were making an exception based on their deadline and still believe they had the right car to compare.

It is interesting they weren't comparing the Subie to the A6 in that article, but ultimately this minor side debate is irrelevant.

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Originally Posted by comish

It is interesting they weren't comparing the Subie to the A6 in that article, but ultimately this minor side debate is irrelevant.

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I think it's probably because they set a price around $30k, and the cheapest A6 starts around $42k, and goes up to $52k pretty quick with the V8 in it. Anyhow, it's still pretty much apples vs. oranges with Subarus and Audis, IMO.

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So your "price, power, size" argument doesn't really work...

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Lets see, price works since at around $30k the A4 is closer to the same price as the legacy/Outback (although they are slightly cheaper than both Audi's) and as you point out the A6 is mo money ($42k - $52k).

Power: 200hp/255 hp for the two A4's vs 168/250 for the two Subie models vs. 255/335 for the A6. Yup, looks like the A4 and Subie are the closer match.

Size: this one is a bit interesting. For length the Subie is in between the 2 cars, while just about every other dimension is similar to the A4.
A4 Subie A6
Length: 180 186 193
Weight: 3200/3300 3300 4000

Check out Subaru's own website and check out who they think the competition is for the legacy/Outback.

A4, Passat, 3 series, Saab 9-3.

Sorry, just had way too much procrastination time on my hands today as I'm mentally checked out of school hence my attempt at proving a rather unimportant debate.

I still think it was a great call to put that engine in the Subie, just not sure if it will win my money, besides can't (ahh love that school debt) and wouldn't want to plunk down money on a "new" car. But it is fun to drive the new one's.

WB * RAW / GVW = CG
CG + FOH = CGFE