2015 Subaru Outback

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Geektastic

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#1276722 3-Apr-2015 13:41

ilovemusic: saw one of these at the local subaru dealer.
my gawd what an ugly car !

for $45k i'd rather buy a runout vw passat wagon.

If this were Europe, so would I. Especially since most EU countries do not penalise modern, clean diesels like the NZ road user charges system does by treating them the same as some shonky oil burner from 1976...!

However, unlike Europe, NZ boasts very few VW dealers spread throughout the country, so if I am on tour with clients and have a vehicle issue outside a main centre there's a bit of a palaver involved in getting the vehicle seen to in comparison with most Japanese makes.

ilovemusic

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#1276955 3-Apr-2015 23:03

what palaver ?

from their respective official nz websites...

subaru has 24 official dealers/service agents,

vw has 21 covering much the same area,

notable omission being the west coast but there's nothing in a modern vw that should scare a competent workshop.

Geektastic

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#1276956 3-Apr-2015 23:18

ilovemusic: what palaver ?

from their respective official nz websites...

subaru has 24 official dealers/service agents,

vw has 21 covering much the same area,

notable omission being the west coast but there's nothing in a modern vw that should scare a competent workshop.

Subaru has 8 on the south island. VW has 5. Neither compare well in terms of dealer numbers to say Toyota or Ford. I had a BMW that had to be put on a truck and driven from our house over the Rimutakas to Welly just to have the battery replaced under warranty and was away 48 hours...!

If I am with clients I need the vehicle fixed ASAP, not put on a truck and taken to a dealer miles away (if at all possible) so I will always prefer a make that has as many options as possible. Warranty work has to be done by a dealer.

Toyota would probably be my first choice but the Highlander is really the only serious option and that loses out because they have only the large V6 - there is a Hybrid but not imported here - and the prices are much higher (about another $15k for the equivalent trim)

On top of that the equivalent VW (Passat Alltrack) is another $10,000 (plus around another $5000 or so on extras to match the Subaru equipment) on top of the Subaru and probably less popular at resale time.

The Passat does have "Self Sealing Tyres" as standard though, which sound handy.

mattwnz

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#1276961 3-Apr-2015 23:30

Geektastic:

Toyota would probably be my first choice but the Highlander is really the only serious option and that loses out because they have only the large V6 - there is a Hybrid but not imported here - and the prices are much higher (about another $15k for the equivalent trim)

What about a mazda, something like the CX-5, which is quite economical compared to others in the class? But the safety features do cost more if you go for the limited, which I suspect not too many people buy as it is a big percentage premium over the GSX.
The Toyota highlander is in another size class above the Outback I think, and it also looks to be an overall higher spec unit..

Geektastic

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#1277190 4-Apr-2015 17:29

mattwnz:
Geektastic:

Toyota would probably be my first choice but the Highlander is really the only serious option and that loses out because they have only the large V6 - there is a Hybrid but not imported here - and the prices are much higher (about another $15k for the equivalent trim)

What about a mazda, something like the CX-5, which is quite economical compared to others in the class? But the safety features do cost more if you go for the limited, which I suspect not too many people buy as it is a big percentage premium over the GSX.
The Toyota highlander is in another size class above the Outback I think, and it also looks to be an overall higher spec unit..

I've driven the Highlander and to be honest, the Outback is nicer to drive. The Highlander does come with 7 seats (although the rearmost ones are probably only useful for kids or on a very occasional basis for adults) and the V6 is of course very nice. However the vehicle is extremely expensive - the Ltd is $70k or so and the Limited 'plus' version (VR?VX? ZR or something) is another $5k on top of that. Too much I think.

mattwnz

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#1277193 4-Apr-2015 17:41

Geektastic:
mattwnz:
Geektastic:

Toyota would probably be my first choice but the Highlander is really the only serious option and that loses out because they have only the large V6 - there is a Hybrid but not imported here - and the prices are much higher (about another $15k for the equivalent trim)

What about a mazda, something like the CX-5, which is quite economical compared to others in the class? But the safety features do cost more if you go for the limited, which I suspect not too many people buy as it is a big percentage premium over the GSX.
The Toyota highlander is in another size class above the Outback I think, and it also looks to be an overall higher spec unit..

I've driven the Highlander and to be honest, the Outback is nicer to drive. The Highlander does come with 7 seats (although the rearmost ones are probably only useful for kids or on a very occasional basis for adults) and the V6 is of course very nice. However the vehicle is extremely expensive - the Ltd is $70k or so and the Limited 'plus' version (VR?VX? ZR or something) is another $5k on top of that. Too much I think.

The big benefit of Toyota is it's reliability, and I believe the Highlander is largely a refreshed exterior design to the luxury Lexus RX, without the luxury interior. So I think you get quite a lot of bang for your buck with the Highlander. But the Subaru is also nice, and pretty decent value for what it it. These Japanese cars though do seem to have better reliability overall than their European counterparts. I have never had any problems with my previous Toyota, and only a couple with a previous mazda, but I had heaps of problems with all the previous European cars I have owned, and they are expensive to repair, and the electronics are flakey to say the least. Even for fixing afew failed dashboard light bulbs, you are paying the best part of 1k with a dealer.

Geektastic

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#1277401 5-Apr-2015 11:19

mattwnz:
Geektastic:
mattwnz:
Geektastic:

Toyota would probably be my first choice but the Highlander is really the only serious option and that loses out because they have only the large V6 - there is a Hybrid but not imported here - and the prices are much higher (about another $15k for the equivalent trim)

What about a mazda, something like the CX-5, which is quite economical compared to others in the class? But the safety features do cost more if you go for the limited, which I suspect not too many people buy as it is a big percentage premium over the GSX.
The Toyota highlander is in another size class above the Outback I think, and it also looks to be an overall higher spec unit..

I've driven the Highlander and to be honest, the Outback is nicer to drive. The Highlander does come with 7 seats (although the rearmost ones are probably only useful for kids or on a very occasional basis for adults) and the V6 is of course very nice. However the vehicle is extremely expensive - the Ltd is $70k or so and the Limited 'plus' version (VR?VX? ZR or something) is another $5k on top of that. Too much I think.

The big benefit of Toyota is it's reliability, and I believe the Highlander is largely a refreshed exterior design to the luxury Lexus RX, without the luxury interior. So I think you get quite a lot of bang for your buck with the Highlander. But the Subaru is also nice, and pretty decent value for what it it. These Japanese cars though do seem to have better reliability overall than their European counterparts. I have never had any problems with my previous Toyota, and only a couple with a previous mazda, but I had heaps of problems with all the previous European cars I have owned, and they are expensive to repair, and the electronics are flakey to say the least. Even for fixing afew failed dashboard light bulbs, you are paying the best part of 1k with a dealer.

I had an Audi Allroad in NZ and that cost $7000 or so to replace the rear tailgate when SWMBO reversed it into our Pajero (causing nil damage to the Paj worth mentioning, I might add!) so yes they are expensive. Main electronics failed in a Range Rover I had ages ago whilst still in the UK and that cost about $2,000 equivalent to replace the brain part.

Since moving to NZ I have had a Subaru, a Nissan and 2 Toyotas, all of which have been more or less trouble free. The BMW 740 I had was fine, the Allroad needed a new 'spark plug' bit (I don't think it was actually a spark plug per se but it did that job).

Subaru is likely to be as reliable as Toyota - I know they topped the JD Power survey for years in reliability terms and I read somewhere that a huge number of the total ever made are still on the road.

They have a plant in the USA but I don't know if the NZ ones come from there or Japan.

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#1277537 5-Apr-2015 17:02

There's a few videos on YT showing the OB up against things like the Jeep Cherokee and even the Land Rover Discovery. Obviously mostly things like muddy roads and mountain tracks rather than true hard core off roading, but it acquits itself very well. More than once it ended up pulling out the Cherokee for example.

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