C-Forum

Thinking of retiring well-worn vehicle and buying a 2013 Outback. I've seen negative reviews elsewhere by paddlers re: the factory rack and the troubles that Yakima had designing a solution to the new racks.
Anyone own one that cares to comment on the ride and on the racks?
-Kevin

Never owned an Outback, but I did a bunch of research last year looking for a wagon that would make a good boating vehicle. I decided on a Jetta Sportwagen and am very happy with it. It has factory rails that are easily compatible with the "feet" for both Yakima and Thule crossbars.

I ruled out the Outback for the following reasons:

1. AWD is the only option on Subaru's, and it's expensive, both in terms of mileage sacrifice and tire repair and maintenance. I know many people mayor like awd, but if the weather's bad enough for me to need it, school's probably cancelled anyway.

2. The back seat/storage area in an Outback does not go completely flat when you put the back seats down. I'm tall-ish, and I wanted to be able to sleep in my car if necessary and have a flat storage compartment, so this was a dealbreaker.

3. Jetta had much better safety and reliability ratings based on Edmund's and Consumer Reports.

4. I keep hearing of paddlers having compatibility issues with the Outback's rack. Easy enough to verify, but since I'd ruled out the O-back for other reasons, I didn't pursue the rack issue.


This is just my point of view, obvs, but I spent so much time researching the few wagons on the market before I pulled the trigger on the Sportwagen, I figured I'd share what I found. I was also considering a Volvo wagon, but I was told that they'd moved production to China and quality had suffered, and anyway, the VW had better safety numbers, which was surprising, since I always figure Volvos to be safety-oriented cars.

For what it's worth.

c

Chinese made volvos are not sold in the states. All American sold Volvos are made in Sweden.

If you're stuck on a Subaru why not the Forester? It's a bit cheaper, offers everything the Outback does, has traditional roof rails that are the full length of the roof. Plus, IMO, it's not as ugly looking as the outback. One of my paddle buddies has an outback, and the roof rails are pretty usless. We take someone elses car.

I agree with ChrisD in that the Jetta wagon (especially the TDI) is a great vehicle for canoe trips and that AWD really isn't necessary for the vast majority.

My wife was set on the 2013 Outback, so that's what we got. FWIW I use my van for paddling most of the time. The new model has more cabin space (vs our old 2002 model) but at the cost of cargo area
The gas mileage is quite a bit better (high 20's vs low 20's) than the old one, it seems to have more power, and it is taller. Seems to be a decent car overall in the 2 months we have had it. I have an issue with the rack system even tho they tried to tweak it on this model. The folding racks are not very far apart so long boats tend to see-saw. The max load on the racks is vague but it can't be more than 150lbs so that limits shuttles. A fellow paddler has the same car and it is fine for 4 kayaks, and near as I can figure it should be good for 2 open boats as long as they are not more than 12' long. I gotta figure out what to do with the sea kayaks over the winter. There is a after market rack system that is beefier I may go with that. Essentially remove and replace the factory bars with new feet and bars. The Forrester has a better rail set up. I would have gone for a Jetta TDI wagon if it was just my decision but had to keep the wife happy

The forrester isn't long enough for a tall guy to sleep well in. Get a man van!

i am ready for a new outback too. my 2005 has 226k on it with less than $400 in parts. i get 32mph naked and 27 with the open boat up on top. i make custom roof racks for all my rides. there is nothing wrong with the outback roof rails if your a tool guy. what i want is a wagon with a swing open rear hatch.

I did this... Yakima rack solution for the new subarus... and love it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3dSLL4F5aw" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

To all that responded, thanks!

@ChrisD - thanks especially for the research. I was actually considering a Jetta wagon but had not taken a test drive yet. And in-car sleeping is a strong consideration.

@DougB - I "tried on" a Forester a few years back and again recently and, surprisingly, its a tight fit for long-legged folk. Plus, I don't really like the amorphous looks of the current line (silly, I know)

@Joe Mc - You already know that I love sleeping in my Town and Country Van and that it is a superb canoe vehicle. But mine is falling apart; hence the replacement. And my Ford Escape has absolutely no power. I can barely make it on the uphill slopes to the Poconos. So I'm getting rid of both, but want to use the replacement as my everyday car too. I've had 20+ years of minivans and am looking for something smaller for everyday use. The Outback looked like the perfect solution, but I was unimpressed with the blah ride and the anemic rack setup.

Thanks again all. VW is my next stop.

@Chris D - there is a VW dealership right around the corner, so I just went for a test drive. The back seats do not appear to fold flat. Do the seat bottoms fold up? (I couldn't see a latch in the dark)

In my car, the seat bottoms fold up so that they rest against the back of the front seats, then the seat backs fold all the way down, flat. There should be a grab-loop on the front of the bottom seat cushion. (When I test-drove it, the dealer didn't know the seats could do that, so I had to show him).

When I bought the car, I took the seat-bottoms out completely so I'd have more leg room for sleeping and storage.

I've had the new style Outback for 2 1/2 years. It's the 6 cyl with 240+ HP. A terrific car with 44,000 miles on original tires & brakes with no service or warranty issues. I get 28-29 mpg highway & 22 around town with no boats. Mileage drops to 24-25 with boats. I previously had 5 Honda or Chrysler mini-vans and was looking for something smaller, quieter, better handling & more fuel efficient & the Outback works. Subaru sells a set of $20 adapters that I use with $12 homemade gunwale brackets or Yakima bars. I use bow & stern tie-downs to eliminate sway, even with a 15 ft tandem. I'm past the point where I sleep in the back anymore, tents or motels work better.

Need any other info, you can pm me with a phone # & I'll give you a call.

plus subaru has the ACA memeber discount! i lived in my 98 outback for a couple month with my dog. that was the best car ever built lay flat in the back. i am 6'4" 534467-R1-07-6A_008

After two Subaru wagons my wife picked the Jetta TDI (I hit a deer and wrote the Subaru off).

At the time, VW was more safety oriented.

Got over 350 000 on the VW.

Paddle Power wrote:
Got over 350 000 on the VW.

So is VW reliability a hit or miss thing, where you either get one that goes forever or one that is constantly in the shop? I often see testimonials like yours, claiming multiple hundreds of thousands of miles on a VW, but I also get lots of warnings from people about VWs needing constant repair.

I remember when our '98 Outback blew a head gasket down in NC, and we limped into a Subaru/VW dealer. I thought about just trading the car at that point and getting a Jetta TDI wagon instead of fixing the problem, but the service guy (who, best I could tell, didn't have any skin in the game one way or the other) took me back into the work bays and gestured around him. "Take a look around you," he said. "If it wasn't for VWs, my service department would be out of business." And sure enough, out of the 12 bays, 11 of them were newish looking VWs in various states of disassembly. The 12th bay was our Outback...