1997 Subaru Outback review from North America

Regular maintenance is all that I have ever put into this car. Oil changes, tires, brakes.

Takes bumps hard, probably needs a back strut, but I put up with it..

Transmission is starting to slip and thunk again, not worried about it at the moment, my baby has nearly 240K on it. I have no room to complain.

I bought my car a little more than a year ago. Everyone thought I was completely crazy for buying a car with over 200k on it.

What drove me to write this review was I drove my buddies Dodge Ram 1500 today while my car was in for an oil change, and completely hated the lack of AWD handling; driving such a bulky truck that did not take nicely the way I drive my Subaru. I admit I drive my Subaru like it was a much newer / low milage car.. because it performs and handles so well.

My first car was a 91 Ford Taurus, which was so comfortable but lacked the handling and acceleration. On the back mountain roads I drive to college and work every day, I couldn't ask for more.

The 2 biggest things that I don't like are the feeling of being in a generic average car (although it doesn't perform like one), and the uncomfortable seats that go hand in hand with the genericness. 2nd is the transmission going, but its well deserved.

Its all around versatility is amazing. I can throw a load of firewood in the back, go 90 on the highway without a problem, get off the highway and travel through trails in the woods, through mud and even through a small stream to my very secluded cottage in northern PA. (You should have seen the look on my hunting buddies faces when I showed up in this).

It's high off the ground, and not very wide, but is a nice sized car, with amazing performance and reliability. I have taken it to my families place in Canada, and countless trips 2 hours away. I never could have expected half of the things that I have done with this car from any other car on the market for 2000 dollars.