2000 Subaru Outback limited review from North America

At 25,000 miles the power window switch broke.

I have the 2000 Subaru outback station wagon limited, which I purchased new in February of 2000. Previously I had a 1991 Camry station wagon 4 cylinder, which I kept for over 200 K miles with absolutely no problems. I would have bought another Camry in 2000 but they stopped making wagons long before then. I didn't need an AWD car, but at the time Subaru seemed to be the only maker of a descent size, reasonably priced station wagon (Volvos were too expensive for me and I wasn't pleased with the Ford Taurus reviews).

This was to be my first Subaru, and my first AWD car and my first car with leather.

I decided to get the limited version of the Outback because I wanted a sunroof, which I enjoyed on the old Camry. Going with the Limited Outback meant by default that I would also be getting leather, which I soon discovered that I really like a lot (cloth seats - never again!)

After 46,000 miles I am pleased with the Subaru Outback. I am more disappointed at the local Subaru dealer than the car itself (more about that later). The car has a nice solid feel to it and it's fairly quiet on the highway considering it has a roof rack. To make the ride even quieter on the highway I removed the two roof-rack cross bars (its very easy to do with the hex driver included with the tool kit) and I keep the cross bars inside the back of the car so that they are handy when I need them. Doing this really cuts down on wind noise.

The AWD is a nice convenience, but not a necessity for me. The interior controls appear to be logically placed, but a little on the small side for my fat fingers. They could have been designed to be a little bit bigger. Acceleration on the 4cylinder engine is OK for me (not much different from the old Camry), but other people may want some more pep. Shifting and overall handling is very controlled and comfortable (I was worried at first because I heard complaints from others).

Problems so far: At 25K miles the driver's side power window switch stopped working. It cost me 50 bucks US to the to replace the switch assembly which can be easily swapped out in 5 minutes. At 45K miles the brake light came on and a grinding noise was heard under the left front wheel when I turned the wheel almost to the extreme left while rolling into a parking spot. The dealer told me that I needed 4 new brakes, and that an engine cover underneath the car had come partially loose and was causing the grinding noise, also I needed a wheel alignment. Fixing all of this, plus a 45K service oil change cost me 650 dollars US, which seems a bit steep (the next time the brakes need replacing I am going to an independent chain - like Midas). Each time during these repairs, the Subaru sales people were a little obnoxious, the repair bill had some errors, and the whole place appeared to be disorganized.

Gas mileage has been good, but not spectacular: around 25 mpg on the highway.

Overall I am pleased with the car (a grade of B+), but not with the Subaru dealership repair costs or service (a grade of D). If/When I need any future work done on the car I will go to an independent repair service if possible.