1999 Subaru Outback review from North America

Within the first year we had noticed that oil seemed to be disappearing too quickly. The dealership claimed it had a minor leak.. didn't leak fast enough to trigger the warranty. Knowing this I always kept the level checked.

At 95000 miles the radiator plugged and overheated.

It blew the head gasket. This was on the way to a transmission shop to find out why there was a lag in shifting into gear. It turned out that after the head gasket was replaced the engine was toast. While the car was at the mechanics, the transmission went t-u.

Still cheaper (tho not by much) to replace with "good used" parts, we spent over 5k to fix it.

Mechanics told us this was the first year with a double overhead cam and it was a year.

This was the first new car we'd ever bought. I expected at least 200k miles if not 300,000 miles before it died.

With exception of the oil leak and the engine & tranny blow up, it had performed reliably. (that's a big exception tho). The car felt solid and very comfortable.

It handled well tho a fast correction in steering would trigger a fishtailing. This car was perfect for our needs as you could pack a lot into it without having an suv or van. My bike fit perfectly into the rear (with the back seats down) so I didn't need a carrier for it.

I used to have a horse and and hauled gear in the back- the all wheel drive was good on gravel roads.

Loved the styling with the hood scoop (last year that had it).

I would probably go back to a Honda after this experience unless I could be convinced it was a fluke.