Here in Canada with a 2017 Outback: put actual snow tires on mine and it laughs at the driveway conditions depicted here. Thanks for the enjoyable video!
When it comes to real estate it's about location... when it comes to vehicles it's about tires... although my outback is a great car, it's even better in winter with soft, grippy, snow tires... nice video.
I love my 2017 Subaru Outback and unlike my husband, I look forward to snow. This is my second winter with this car and we're expecting the blizzard Ezekiel to hit the NE tomorrow. I'm excited! Last year we had one rather light snowfall that left a few inches of snow on the driveway but the temperature was warming up as the day went on and my husband didn't feel like running the snow plow. I had a great Idea, I'll just drive up and down the driveway a few times and the sun took care of the rest where the tire tracks were. LOL! I must admit to being confused as to the different modes for driving in snow. This video helped a lot. Thank you.
FFej - I'm also a proud 2016 Outback Limited owner :-) We just don't get much Winter weather here on the Southern Plains, so your videos help me understand what the AWD Subie can really accomplish . . . great concept and execution here on the long vids showing the different weather conditions. Looking forward to seeing more from you !
I have both the 2.5 and 3.6 Outback currently, boy oh boy do people who never drove both cars have opinion on what is best. The 2.5 dynamics suck and it can't haul weight, and what exactly do you get a wagon for if not that. Also you can't put your trust in it to safely overtake, you need a LOT of time for that on highways and you can pretty much forget about it in the mountain. The engine is much noisier and it often has to drop gear to maintain speed on highways with the slightest incline or headwind. The Ascent is getting a much better option, 2.4 flat 4 with turbo and that will have about the same performance as the 3.6. An Outback with that new engine will kick ass and will probably do sub 7 seconds 0-100km/h since the Ascent does it in 7.3 and is almost 2 tons.
I have driven both and I disagree. In the 2.5 I have plenty of power and I often tow a trailer of 1500lbs but have towed 4400lbs behind it. It does fine. Also the CVT transmission does a lot better with the 2.5 vs your older outback that has a standard transmission. I can overtake no problem and mountains are not an issue at all. I can have 4 people, 3 dogs, A week worth of stuff and a trailer of 1500 lbs and the outback will go up a 10% grade okay. Gas drops to 15mpg though but it beats the 3.6 that drops to around 11mpg up the same grade.
Thank you for this. I'm planning on getting a good first car for the winter here in Indiana. Full of pot holes and piled up snow here during the snowy days.
Hey there, I'm interested in a 2017/18 Outback 2.5i, or 2017/18 CR-V awd. (higher ground clearance + slightly revised awd system). Is there anything about your Outback that has been a problem for you, or difficult to live with? Comfy/quiet enough on long road trips? Enough power from the 2.5i? Although I'd love the 3.6r Outback, I think the fuel economy would be terrible with my almost 100% 'city' driving.
So this year I decided for the first time to buy an AWD vehicle which I never had. I mean it’s been March of 2020 and here it is December 2020 I’ve never had any wheel spin on wet roads even when pulling a hill in my 2020 Hyundai Santa Fe AWD. Handles excellent in rain. I can accelerate on wet roads aggressively while turning and the vehicle will not slide period or loose any traction 😁 That’s Hyundai’s new Htrac AWD system👍🏽👍🏽
I changed out my stock Geolanders(the worse-complained to Subaru) with Nokian WRG3 SUV directional tires and they turned my '17 Forester into a beast. We had 16" of snow in one storm. I live on a steep hill and at about 10 inches in to the storm I decided to test them out. Put the car into X-mode, TCS off and made it up the hill with no problem and very little to no electronic correction. Came back an hour or so later to still an unplowed hill. Put it back into X-mode and creeped down the hill with total control. Took the car on the beach about 2 weeks ago, no airing down-didn't get stuck or dig in at all. Nokian and Subaru are a great combination. Wish Subaru would stop putting on sub-par stock Yokohamas.
+Pillboy Dispenser I'm curious what state you live in. I live in Wisconsin and got Bridgestone tires. Also sub par. I know the southern states get really cheap tires.
+Pillboy Dispenser I'm curious what state you live in. I live in Wisconsin and got Bridgestone tires. Also sub par. I know the southern states get really cheap tires.
Nokian are very good snow tires. I had a set of the original Blizzaks on my 1st gen. Forester and it was a beast too! I had a set of Nokians on my front drive Honda Accord and they were awesome. And X-Mode seems to be really helpful in those slow snowy/icy conditions.
great video and thanks for posting. my wife just purchased a new forester and loves it thus far. we live in northeastern oh and have a steep driveway so this video was very helpful. if we have good luck with hers with regards to liability i am thinking of purchasing an outback when my car needs replacing.
In these conditions most cars with ESP and premium winter tires would have done it just as good, exept for on slippery ice. Where Subaru really shines is when the conditions get tough with deep snow, wet or dry uphill driving. 6" snow is nothing for my 2wd Opel Agila/Suzuki Splash.
Winter tires + Subaru Outback equal happiness in snowy conditions :) Our driveway is about the same degree as this one here in Colorado...but its a 1/4 mile long up a hill. Winter tires helps a lot.
Bought a used 2007 Tribeca but don't know if it has the XMODE on/off option. Appreciated your different perspectives in all situations. It goes without saying that a RWD-only "ultimate driving machine" likely couldn't handle that icy driveway.
WOW!! That’s amazing how a vehicle equipped with AWD can literally crawl up some icy driveway similar to my driveway. But for years I gets stuck trying to pull up mr driveway with Snow abs ice. Yes, back in 2017 I bought a brand new Jeep Cherokee sport. Nice front wheel drive suv but I got stuck many times trying to pull up small snow n icy hills in neighborhoods many times. Front wheel drive Jeep Cherokee SUV’s has too wheel spin especially for the 6 cylinder engine which I had. So trying to pull a slick driveway you’ll never get up there unless it’s salted down
Only thing is that i bought it 3 months ago and the darn thing consumes oil like crazy . 2 quarts of oil were missing at my last oil change and subaru say they c'ant do anything about it
+pliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii yeah I had that issue with my 2012 Impreza. The issues have been fixed for 2015+. I just carried extra oil in the car in case the light ever came on instead of getting early oil changes. Sucks but at least Subaru fixed the issue for future cars.
yeah i guess but other than that i love the power compared to my older Forester xt 2010 2,5 turbo It has way more torq and the sound system is amazing !
Alright Subaru family. I need advice. I am looking for a Subaru hatchback. I need a reliable sporty vehicle. I am active duty military and I move a lot and have a 8 hour commute on the weekends to my family. I also need a vehicle that is up to date in technology and should have a decent rugged feel. Any cars you would recommend? My budget is under 25k because I don't want to take out a loan. Any input would be much appreciated.
+Sonny Cruz I got my bulbs from super bright LEDs. Best headlights I've ever had. Great beam pattern and 2300 lumens but doesn't blind incoming traffic. www.superbrightleds.com/moreinfo/led-headlight-bulbs-conversion-kits/led-headlight-kit-h11-led-headlight-bulbs-conversion-kit-with-built-in-fan/2115/4803/. I bought Part Number: H11-HLV1. They have a new model out, do not get it for the outback. It doesn't fit right and the pattern is more for projector headlights and not projector beam headlights. But Part Number: H11-HLV1 is perfect.
FFej2423 thank you for that. How long have you been running these bulbs? Anything else I need to buy with the bulbs or just the bulbs themselves? Thanks so much.
+Sonny Cruz It is a $99 kit and comes with everything. It is plug and play. Super easy and has a lifetime warranty! It has a resistor pack that fits easily behind the housing and a fan to cool the lights. There is one insanely bright led. If you get it, make sure that led light is pointed up in the housing. If pointed down it looks like the brightness of a dollar store flash light. Pointed up it shines 150% of the original bulbs. Best I have found!
Thanks...I was actually looking for a opinion on when it it is best or how they affect traction....ie: x-mode alone without traction control or x-mode with traction control on ?
Genetk44 x mode is designed to use during travel below 25 mph. It gives a higher torque than without it to give the most traction. X mode is similar to the low setting on a four wheel drive vehicle.
Been looking into the outback’s and others Subaru.. I know tires are the key .. but is stud tires on winter tires better for icy or black ice or will just snow tires without them be better
The conditions are hard to tell over a video. I could hardly walk up the driveway as there was ice about a half inch thick. So it is impressive that it can handle it with the old tires I had on the car. I’m also not sure why it is a “who’s car is better thing”. I’m sure the explorer does great but this is a very different class of vehicle. A wrangler will off-road Better than a rav4 but doesn’t mean the rav4 can’t do it. Thanks for your comment though
Yup and after good snow tires try going in them on an icey road. Without locking differentials starting is a mess. Sub has 2 locking, good enough. Proper offroad requires 3 manually lockable diffs, so don't assume our outback will get us out of anywhere.... I got stuck the two times I was eager to do a an offroad deviation (chains solved once as 4 wheels where entirely on ice and once I just drove downhill on a mushy field)
It's pretty obvious when you hit the brakes and stop forward momentum! But why? Are you trying to sell a feature that we don't need? I have a 2005 Outback and I go through way deeper snow then that! The secret is to plan your route and don't stop! Keep a steady rpm and feather the throttle as needed. Go out on the road and find some nasty deep streets and then record!
I am not trying to sell anything…. 😆 Just showing how it works in the conditions that were present at the time (years ago). I don’t get paid to create videos, just do it for fun occasionally. So, if you would like to record your recommendation and share… please do.
Still don't understand why you don't just get Winter tires already. Obviously you care about winter driving performance because of all these videos. Do it right already and get winter tires for winter conditions. If nothing else you can make more videos with the winter tires and compare them to the all-seasons.
If quality and reliability are your top priorities, you have many other better brands/choices than Subaru. The video is speaking of money. I really do not understand why now days Americans no longer value honesty as a merit. What a shame! The key facts intentionally miss in the video are: The problem of oil consumption and the weak CVT transmission is still killing Subaru (www.subarucomplaints.com/oil-consumption/), due to the design. In addition, air bag problem may kill anytime (www.consumerreports.org/car-recalls-defects/subaru-recalls-nearly-500000-vehicles-to-replace-defective-airbags-again/). Also, the assembly quality of Outback is much inferior to that of Forester: Luckily we have less careful automobile workers in US than Japan do. Those really knowing Subaru will chose Forester (made in Japan), instead of Outback (assembled in US); but the former does not burn oil less either (www.cargurus.com/Cars/Discussion-t74961_ds852989).
Yours is Black, ours is more of a dark grey. I LOVE that side decal. I thought about getting it for ours but the wife said" Not for that price!" I made a set of stripes for my 85 Mustang that spelled out the words Mustang. It was much cheaper than buying the set. Sadly the dealer took them off when I traded it for a Ford Ranger. That was the Last new vehicle I ever bought. Ice is ice when it comes to stopping I told my wife that years ago. 4 wheel drive doesnt matter when stopping, its the brakes that do the job then. I had a truck pass me on an icy road once because I was driving much more safe than him. He ended up spinning out in front of me and rolled his truck. I made sure he crawled out ok then told him at least I was going to make it to work that day, and didnt destroy my vehicle. I bought my Subaru for the fact they are very safe cars. I have had 4 of them now. Our last one was the Forester. 2010. The one I have now is the 2015. We are paying $11 more a month for the Outback. We had 4 payments left on the Forester and were 6 months early towards pay off because we paid $50 extra a month towards the principal. I have no regrets buying another Subaru. My wife loves it. I am retired disabled so to me its no big deal. I dont need a vehicle any more!
Well done video Subaru. Just put on toyo celsius tires on my 2015 wrx and my wife's 2018 tucson sport this week 12/28/18. We haven't seen any snow here in NY yet (at least in my area) but I believe we are expecting some next week so we shall see how these work out. Based on the reviews the toyo's look like a great all year round choice. Experience so far, they have been great in the rain and dry with a ride quiet ride. They have a 60000 mile tread life and full money back if not happy from toyo so fingers crossed. Cheers
What I’ve learned about why 2WD vehicle’s would get wheel spin is that, The power that is transmitted to the wheels will alway look for the path of least resistance... Which is normally the tire that is spinning and not propelling the vehicle forward
I live in WI too and I just bought a new Subaru (my first)! We should be friends and go find some cool roads that will get my shiny car nice and dirty!!!
09 Outback-This is my 5 Subaru- The engine threw a rod with 77,000. Oil ran dry, no warning light, I change my oil every 2500 miles. Subaru knows this problem exist with this engine, for years. Yet, does nothing about it! Corporate didn't help. But, I love my Subaru!
Tyler Stanton, my co worker's 2015 Outback CVT tranny needed to be replaced at 50k. Failed without warning. She drived that car easy and mostly highway miles. No oil consumption issues on '15 outback, 15's got new 2.5L engine.
