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Should I get a Subaru Outback as my next vehicle?

Discussion in 'Fred's House of Pancakes' started by Isaac Zachary, Dec 31, 2022.

  1. fuzzy1

    fuzzy1 Senior Member

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    Don't know. It doesn't have as much cargo volume as the Outback, and even shrank a bit from the previous iteration, the reason a friend rejected it.
    ?
    I'm seeing 4 or 5 mpg better, depending in variation. 38 vs 34 or 33. And 6 better than the Outback.
    I'm still considering the Prime, but for more reasons that just fuel cost, though it may still end up being too steep. Also, it isn't available in my state, and at least some dealerships in the neighboring state won't sell this far out of their local area.
     
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  2. Isaac Zachary

    Isaac Zachary Senior Member

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    On the Toyota homepage, just clicking the SUV tab shows the non-hybrid with 35mpg and the hybrid with 38mpg. City mileage is substantially better in the hybrid though, 41mpg vs 27mpg. But yes, both are better than the Outback. The non-hybrid RAV4 is also about the same price or even a bit cheaper than the Outback.
     
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  3. fuzzy1

    fuzzy1 Senior Member

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    I used the fueleconomy.gov page, and initially looked at the FWD with stop-start, assuming it would be better than the non-stop-start version. But weirdly, it is only the non-stop-start version that gets the best with 35:

    upload_2023-1-1_23-15-58.png

    It looks like the ss-FWD and best AWD version get 34, the other AWDs get 33 or 32.
     
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  4. Leadfoot J. McCoalroller

    Leadfoot J. McCoalroller Senior Member

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    EPA credits are weird like that. Cars can get points for having specific features even if those features take (a little) away from fuel economy.

    We bought a Mazda 6 last year and we love it. It was kind of a random find, but once we drove it we knew we weren't going to find anything else that fit us better.

    Coming from an Outback, the Mazda gives more torque, has a bigger back seat, and gives 22% better fuel economy on regular fuel where the Subie needed premium. We sacrificed AWD and about 1" of ground clearance. (Note that current Subarus are fine on regular)

    We're a little sad because we know we will outgrow it- if the 6 wagon had still been available, we'd have leapt for one. Now that they've discontinued the 6 altogether, it could be our first and final Mazda in one.
     
    #24 Leadfoot J. McCoalroller, Jan 2, 2023
    Last edited: Jan 2, 2023
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  5. fotomoto

    fotomoto Senior Member

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    NOTE: the 3.6r (EZ36) has always used unleaded fuel since it's introduction in 2009. The older EZ30 used premium.
     
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