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He wants an SUV, but I want a fuel efficient car so I did some research and found the perfect comprise (I think): the 2015 Subaru Outback. We plan on moving our stuff from the midwest to a mountainous area in 2015. Our choices are Colorado, Washington and Oregon. It would be great to have a car that can tow all the belonging we decide to keep. I'm torn between the 4 cylinder and 6 cylinder. I want fuel economy but I want a car that can plow through snow, haul me up a mountain and help me move my stuff ~2,000 miles
My partner has a 2013 Outback and it's been fine. He's had no issues with it. I can't say that I LOVE it, but then again, it seems to suit his needs well. He has the 4 cylinder engine. It's kind of a boing vehicle all around and in my opinion, not that much fun to drive. BUT, it gets the job done!
FWIW, all new residents of Boulder County Colorado are required to drive Subarus, and wear NorthFace jackets. /sarc
Go for the 6 cyl. All cars lose some power at higher altitudes, and on some steep grades, like the I-70 Eisenhower tunnel approaches, you need all you can get.
Subaru's are pretty popular here in Colorado, it would seem... especially among the younger, trendier crowd. Their AWD system is probably one of the better ones out there, and, for someone who's typically not going to go "off roading" in anything worse than a gravel road, it's perfect (and actually better than a 4x4), because the computers will restrict slip in the axles and transfer torque to where it's needed instantaneously. Definitely a more stable AWD than the Bravada I used to have (which, the Bravada uses a separate AWD transfer case, whereas the Subarus use an electronically controlled differential).
Subarus and generally considered to be one of the best cars for snow and ice.
Turbocharged engines are great for the high elevations of Colorado. Oregon's and Washington's mountain tops are right about where Colorado's valleys are, so they're not that important in those states.
If you want to tow a trailer, first find the weight of the trailer and estimate how much you'll put in it, then be sure the car you purchase is rated to tow that much. Some cars are available with a "towing package" that'll allow you to tow more than with the same car without the package. I once ordered a new Jeep with a towing package that boosted the tow rating from 3,000 pounds to 6,000 pounds. One of the things it did for towing was air up the shocks with the flick of a switch. It also came with a heavy-duty frame-mounted hitch with a 7-way plug, and I believe it had extra cooling for the engine and transmission and probably stiffer springs.
Can't go wrong with the new '15 Outback. I'd rock one if they put the 2.0T in it. Get the 4 banger, it's enough even in the mountains. Ship all your crap, cheaper than renting/hauling a trailer. Or better yet, sell what doesn't fit in the Outback and start your new life with brand new stuff. That's what I did when I moved to CO
I've been driving Subie OBW's since 1996, when I bought a 2.2 liter 1995 Subie Brighton Station Wagon (the forerunner of the OBW series, which was the upline model of these wagons. The Brighton model was the bottom of the line stripper model so they could advertise a low entry level price for the AWD wagon, but they sold very few of this trim level car). The 1995 was quite adequate for my sales trips from the front range (Denver area) up to the Colorado mountains, where I also have a 2nd home in Vail and commuted to that many times.
The Brighton ran 300,000 miles before we sold it, having put in a good used engine with about 150,000 miles on it when the car had 250,000 miles on it. The car is currently being used by a high schooler driving all throughout Wyoming, which is also a high altitude area (based at over 6,000' elevation), and commutes to Laramie from Cheyenne. The car has never lacked for power to do the trip, although one will find that downshifting to 4th gear for the mountain grades to maintain speed is advisable. While the performance won't startle anybody, it is entirely adequate for the intended use and will meet or exceed the speed limits anywhere.
IMO, folk who deem "more HP is better!" simply because it's an excess which can be used for a bit more sporting nature of the car completely miss the point that in the inclement weather months you cannot use that HP because you can't put it on he ground. Fact is, I drove MB diesels for decades in this region, and my highest mileage cars only had 60 or 65 HP! (MB 220D and 240D's). They would readily travel as fast as any car could on the mountain roads of Colorado, including my commute to my Vail house ... up the Eisenhower Tunnel approaches at 55 mph on dry roads, but able to keep up with any traffic during the winter months with the slick roads. (the drawback of the low HP diesel cars was the leisurely acceleration to cruise speed or picking up speed when slowed down on a mountain grade by traffic) Of course, my later 300Dturbo's (with 90 HP) were easier to drive, but it came at the expense of a 7 mpg penalty over the 65 HP MB diesel (with a main point of the diesel cars being the fuel economy). In the winter months, the 300Dt wasn't as easy to drive as the 220D or 240D which didn't have the surplus of power that the 300Dt offered with the turbo boost. The 220D simply couldn't break the tires free in normal driving, while the 300Dt could spin the rear tires, especially on slick roads.
We've since been through a number of Subie 2.5 OBW's, currently driving a 2000 and 2001 OBW Limited, both with over 200,000 miles on them. While one could wish for a bit more sparkling performance on dry weather days, we've not been able to use all the HP (165 HP at sea level) in these cars in winter driving conditions in the Rocky Mountain region. I just did a trip to Vail a week ago with a full load of tools and materials in back to work on a house, and I had no difficulty running the speed limit all the way from Denver to Vail (including a frustrating one hour stop and go from Evergreen to past Idaho Springs with the construction going on there). But ran the speed limit all the way from there up past Copper Mountain and thence over Vail Pass to East Vail where my house is located, and still got 28 mpg for the trip.
As posted above, unless you've got some rare/valuable "stuff" which must be kept, it's better to sell what you don't need to keep and/or ship the rest rather than hauling a trailer. FWIW, I built up an 800lb capacity single axle trailer for my wife to use for her farmer's market products and booth/signage which we tow with her 2000 OBW. The trailer has small wheels on it (which gives it a very low deck height so she can easily load/unload coolers of frozen food and chilled vegetables), but the downside is a 55 mph suggested speed limit for the trailer which the Subie easily can do. Note, too, that many small trailers have a tire rating speed limit capacity of only 65 mph, so again ... the OBW is readily capable of pulling the small trailers this speed, even into the mountains. Again, you will find it prudent to downshift for the grades and allow the engine to rev freely and breathe for the grades ... much easier on the engine to do this and it's designed to do so rather than lugging it with a full throttle and still slowing down.
Keep in mind that the fuel economy loss in the bigger engine Subie will be with you all the time, whether or not you need the HP compared to the smaller 4-banger for your driving needs. We went to Sidney NE today with our 2001 2.5 OBW running the A/C and had no difficulty driving 80 mph on I-80 in Wyoming, 75 mph in NE. How much faster do you need to go?
PS: my Vail tenants all drive Subie OBW's, which appear to give them yeoman service for all their local and regional travels, carrying kayaks, bicycles, ski gear, rafting gear, etc., and doing all the local shopping downvalley or their trips to Denver for business meetings. Friends of mine commute from Denver to Aspen at least 40 weeks per year and their Subie OBW's have given satisfactory service. Only one of them uses a different car for the summertime commute, a recently acquired Porsche 2-seat roadster ... which gets to Aspen in typical weekend travels about 10-15 minutes faster than the Subie OBW. The only way quicker is to fly there, so he picks me up at the Aspen airport when I take my Cessna 182 up to the hills (and it's not turbocharged).
PPS: While I'm a fan of Subie OBW's, and have a lot of good anecdotal experience with my own and those of my customers through the years in my shop ...
I'll point out that there are other very competent AWD cars in the marketplace and FWD cars, too. You may want to check them out just to be sure that the Subie is what you want/need. If you don't need the AWD capability for where you settle, it's an excess in the car which still costs you to operate due to lessened fuel mileage and typically higher tire costs. So be sure that the AWD is what you need because many FWD cars will perform quite competently in the mountain areas, even for inclement weather driving on the main roads.
I have a 2011 Outback (bought new). I know Outbacks. Don't let anyone tell you I don't.
I would not being the first adopter of a new model year. Wait until it's been out a year, scoop up a '14 or get something else.
Anyway:
Go for the 6-Cyl. The 4-Cyl is ok on the flats, but climbing and passing on the hwy isn't a fun experience. The damn things needs a Small Block Chevy under the hood.
Cargo space is AWESOME, this thing is like a panel van.
Make sure to get the Limited trim. The cloth seats suck. They aren't like nice velour cloth or anything, they're for cleaning punk in rental cars.
If I had to buy it again would I? Maybe. My second choice was a Crew Cab Chevy Silverado 4x4, and I kind of regret not getting that. I love trucks.
Test drive a Silverado, Tundra, F150 or Ram 1500 before you make any decisions. You may find yourself falling a bit in love.
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Mandatory Subies
