Cars.com Reviews the 2009 Subaru Outback

Long a Cars.com favorite, this versatile Subaru wagon has a lot going for it in terms of safety, reliability and overall functionality. What has changed, as Cars.com reviewer Joe Wiesenfelder notes, is that the Outback now faces much stiffer competition than it did when it debuted. The 2009 Subaru Outback continues its favorable tradition, but does it still have the chops when other models like the Volvo wagons, the VW Passat wagon and the Toyota Venza are closing in on its territory?

2009 Subaru Outback Review

Weekend Athlete: 2009 Subaru Impreza GT

Now, this is exactly what I want from a car I'm taking to a race. It's fun to drive, holds my toys, has great visibility, looks quick without being obnoxious — and it moves. So, yeah, I'm in love with this car, but objectivity demands that Subaru be tested just like everybody else. As it turns out, in the cold, hard light of day, there are some flaws.

End-of-the-Model-Year Deals: Subaru

Our review of model-year-end deals continues with Subaru. The company has made some changes to the Impreza lineup for 2009, which you can read about here, but that might not stop you from picking up a 2008 model. The 2009 Forester is all-new as well, and you can check out coverage — including video and reviews — here. Deals as found on Subaru's zip-code-based incentives site are listed below and are good through Sept. 2.

• 2008 Impreza: 0.0% financing
• 2008 Outback: $1,500 cash back
• 2008 Tribeca: $2,500 cash back (in limited regions)
• 2008 Forester: $740-$2,000 cash back plus 0.0% financing
• 2008 Legacy: $1,000 plus 0.0% financing

Again, the deals are based on zip codes, so check your area for specific deals.

Subaru Special Offers

Subaru and L.L.Bean Part Company

After an eight-year relationship, Subaru and L.L.Bean, a retailer of high-end outdoor gear, have had an amicable split, Subaru spokesman Dominick Infante said.

"The decision to part was mutual. We both decided it was time and made sense to go our own way,” he said. “L.L.Bean is a great company, but we wanted to expand our own brand appeal."

The marriage of L.L.Bean's rugged-outdoors line of clothing and accessories and the equally strong rugged-outdoors image of an all-wheel-drive Subaru might have made sense in 2000, but it was time to attract a few more city slickers, Infante said.

"We have been doing very well on the East Coast and in ski states, but want to expand more into sunshine states like Texas, Florida and California," he said. We think Subaru has far outpaced L.L.Bean in terms of name identity among consumers.

So, starting in July, the L.L.Bean Outback and Forester will become Limited models instead. There will still be L.L.Bean editions of the Forester and Outback available at dealerships until all are sold. The redesigned 2009 Forester L.L.Bean went on sale just this past April.

2008 Subaru Outback: Long-Term Update

We don’t have an official long-term fleet here at Cars.com, so I’m always willing to offer up my own new car for the role. As some might remember, my wife and I purchased a 2008 Subaru Outback in July 2007. We were looking for a low-$20,000 vehicle with all-wheel drive and some utility. 

The odometer is still under 5,000 miles even after seven months of ownership. There are a few reasons for that. One is that we live in the city, so my wife’s commute is pretty short in terms of distance. Mileage remains around the 20 mpg mark if not below, mainly due to so much city driving.

Since the last time I updated everyone on the Outback, one thing has changed that has drastically altered my opinion of the car: We’re no longer in the DINK category, as our first child was born in February. You know what that means — car seats and strollers. 

Subaru Closes Month With Small Tent Sale

Usually when end-of-month incentives sales are announced, they come with some pretty inflated rhetoric: The Year-End Event, The Tent Sale to End All Others, The Event of  a Lifetime (that’s our favorite), and so on. The hyperbole can get a little tiring.

Kudos to Subaru for avoiding that, calling its modest, 10-day incentives boost what it really is: kind of small or at least short. The Small Tent Big Event begins today, and until March 31 Subaru will offers customers 0.0% financing plus $1,500 cash back on the 2008 Outback, or 0.0% and $2,000 back on the outgoing 2008 Forester. Customers can also get 0.0% financing on a lease deal ($179 a month for 36 months) on the 2008 Impreza. The financing teamed with cash back is impressive, especially on these two models. The Forester is a Cars.com Best Bet and the Outback was our 2008 pick as Best Car for Weekend Athletes.

Subaru Small Tent Event (Subaru.com)

The Urban Dink: 2008 Subaru Outback Update

It’s been a while since I’ve written about the Urban Dink’s wagon of a purchase from back in July. Truth be told, we’ve put very few miles on the 2008 Subaru Outback 2.5i since then. How many? Just over 2,300. That’s not many miles even for my wife, who usually only puts about 7,500 miles on a car a year.

We’ll get into mileage in a minute, but overall I’ve found the Outback to be one heck of a car. Every time I get into it I can’t help but think we made a good decision. There are a few nitpicks, but not many, and none have to do with overall quality.

Cars.com Reviews the 2008 Subaru Outback

One of us may have just bought a new Subaru Outback himself, but that doesn’t mean the car doesn’t get the full expert review treatment, just like everything else. Kelsey Mays takes on the 2008 Subaru Outback L.L.Bean Edition with the panoramic roof and comes away unimpressed by the company’s many quirks. Strangely enough, Kelsey questions if the Outback will win over many shoppers. Hello … he sits next to the Urban DINK, for Pete’s sake. 

2008 Subaru Outback Expert Review

Subaru Streamlines Outback, Legacy for 2008

There’s no more confusion for Subaru wagon or sedan shoppers. For 2008, Subaru has trimmed its lineup so the Outback is sold only as a wagon and the Legacy only as a sedan. The move should clear up potential confusion for anyone unfamiliar with Subaru’s lineup, which has included sedan and wagon variants of both cars since 2000.

Consider the complications: When fellow staffer David Thomas blogged his experience cross-shopping the Outback with its competitors, one reader asked why he didn’t consider a Legacy wagon. Had this been last year, he just might have – the Outback wagon shares the Legacy’s gene pool, and you’ll have a hard time picking an Outback sedan from a Legacy four-door. The similarly named Outback Sport, meanwhile, is something entirely different. Confused yet?

Things should clear up from here on out. Subaru says the move to streamline both models made sense from a differentiation standpoint, and we couldn’t agree more. Now to do something about the Outback Sport; Subaru says a new one will arrive soon, sharing a platform with the redesigned 2008 Impreza. We don’t know why it’s called an Outback, either.

Source: Subaru