2006 Subaru Outback 2.5 XT Limited Review - Freedom, Youth, & Innocence

[@mitchman2100]

I really think this and the Legacy wagons are some of the best looking Subarus ever made.

[@faheemabbas3965]

Too bad Subaru’s gonna go out of business within the next 15 to 20 years with the quality and options they offer now. And the new STi is gonna be electric after Subaru filed a trademark for the name “STe”. Imo I don’t think they’re gonna survive electrification. Something from within just tells me that, I don’t know why. It’s sad really. They used to be cool just over a decade ago imo.

[@wigletron2846]

@@faheemabbas3965 subaru isn't going anywhere anytime soon. They work with toyota now and the average person couldn't care less about the STI.

[@PerfectDon-g3t]

Absolutely

[@patricktidman1770]

I currently own an 09 with a manual and it’s one of the best cars I’ve owned! I’ve put over 200,000km on it in the last 3 years alone and it’s never skipped a beat

[@adrian.diloca6686]

How much does fuel end up costing you, because I know these only take premium and don't have fantastic fuel economy

[@samstedman409]

This is honestly the perfect car for young adults. Fun, fast, safe, practical, decently reliable, and pretty good looking (and has some room for mods if you're into that). No one can really give you crap for owning it because it's just a simple station wagon on the outside, but underneath its like a more practical WRX. A mom car back in the day, but a kid's car today. I can't wait to own one of these in a couple years.

[@celestek.b.5257]

Absolutely agree! Though I may be biased as I am a young person who owns a 2005 OBXT haha

[@katefoyder506]

I was living in Maine in the late 90's. Back then we all had 1980's Subarus. You either had a GL or a DL Wagon and if you had money, you had a Loyale. My first was an '88 DL Wagon. You want to talk about real simpler times. I didn't have power windows and locks or even a tape deck. About a month ago I bought a 2023 Forester Wilderness. It's basically fully loaded. I love it, but a part of me misses that old Wagon I had. I enjoyed your video. Thanks for sharing

[@celsovera91]

My friend's grandma has one of these. She bought it brand new back in 06 and still owns it. Her car has the tan leather seats and the navigation system though.

[@johnfarel3152]

This was the best generation of Outbacks in terms of design. Great looking wagon

[@Mike_44]

There is a few things that go wrong with them, but once you learn how to take care of them, these wagons are awesome. They have all the power of the WRX, but are even more practical because of all they can do, including bigger cargo and some light off road.. I love my '05 OBXT! 212K miles and still going..

[@Savak22]

But the things that usually go wrong are really, really expensive. Ringland failure nuff said

[@Mike_44]

@@Savak22 Keep it stock. People love to modify the heck out of them without knowing what they’re doing. Never seen a stock Subie with ringland failure..

[@fightingfalconfan]

@@Savak22 They get that failure because from factory they tune the engine to run lean instead of a little rich when in boost. Very easy to address if you get a Cobb Access port and put a stage one tune on it.

[@adrian.diloca6686]

Has the fuel economy been a big issue with your car, i want one so bad but I am worried about the premium fuel and lower mpg

[@Mike_44]

@@adrian.diloca6686 I no longer have the car, but it used to do 18-19mpg city driving.

[@iCarlyfan4534]

YO ITS A CAR I OWN. I have the facelift so its a little different but not substantially. For an everyday car its amazing, great power (for a subaru), comfortable and can haul almost as much as a full size suv. The gigantic downside to this car is the fuel economy, oh my god its terrible (for a 4 cylinder) i average between 16-18 city and 20-24 highway and it REQUIRES premium. Getting barely 280 miles per 18 gallon tank in a car thats barely faster than a honda odyssey hurts, but its way cooler and better to drive so it sorta evens out (or thats what i tell myself). Amazing cars (they're stupid expensive for their age especially for facelift manual) I highly recommend them if you can get one without rust for cheap

[@Mygary]

Do you accelerate quick all the time when driving city?

[@chasethecarguy]

Such an underrated gen of the Outback!

[@rodneydiggs3926]

My son flew off a cliff in his 99 Outback and walked away with only a scratch, so it's been Subaru ever since..99 Impreza outback sport n 04 Legacy wagon (under powered) 06 Outback XT limited 250hp and 04 Impreza WRX 300hp so safe so fun

[@kensmalley9840]

This was the last of the good looking Subaru wagons, BUT... I would never buy a Subaru, with that engine again. My 2005 XT had it's head warp at 100,000 miles, along with the turbo needing to be replaced. 5,000 miles later, the rear crank seal started leaking, so back to the Subaru dealer again. Then, 22,000 miles later, the heat gauge started rising and the dealer stated that the "new head" was warping. That car was a money pit.

[@zackdenardis]

My 06 Impreza Wagons gas tank is under the back seat, I’m assuming it’s the same for this one too

[@doug6191]

That was the last generation of the Legacy worthy of purchase. And I spent my money on one. Loved it until a pumpkin seat came along, and the Subaru was too small with the BIG, BULKY car seats of today. Traded it for a bigger vehicle that could easily load/unload the damned seat. Still miss that Subaru.

[@crouchb15]

Miss my grandma's blue 05

[@m-funkshun]

Currently running one. It's a little thirsty and drinks the high grade stuff. The doors close by themselves, even if the car is parked on a light downhill grade (this is highly annoying as the doors will close on you and/or the stuff you are trying to put in the car, constantly) but it is very comfortable. The Outback (subjectively) looks great, hauls a ton of crap, and just straight-up hauls ass on the highway. Still not a lot of wagons on the road with 250 HP/250 torque unless you get into the European stuff. And finally, the AWD system on this vintage is world class. Ice, snow, mud, hills, rutted 4x4, overland... the suspension is a bit soft for the off-road but it will go up anything the Tacomas can. Careful coming down though as it doesn't have a low gearing.

[@adrian.diloca6686]

How bad is the fuel economy?

[@m-funkshun]

@@adrian.diloca6686 ​as bad as mid-teens in uphill driving. Above 5000', highway cruising can be as high as the low thirties. Average mpgs now, driving at around 2000 - 3000' in western US deserts, is about 24 mpg. Since leaving my original post, the Outback popped a hole in its radiator hose and left me stranded in the middle of the Sonoran desert. Could happen to any old car, I guess, but the back-to-back maintenance issues this car has had since 90k miles, when I bought it, it is hard to believe. Do not be tempted to buy one of these things. And for me, I doubt I will ever buy a Subaru again. Not a turbo, at least, but w/o the turbo they're gutless. And the CVT holds no appeal to me. Check out Consumer Reports and you'll see that despite glowing reports on many of Subaru's latest releases, CR's rankings on Sube's reliability are pretty atrocious.

[@MammothBehemoth]

Ahh....yes, when your bluetooth reciever cross contaminates with a nice neighborly family's Christopher Cross with your random Meshuggah on shuffle

[@BaggnWaggn]

Some fact checking here The legacy had the wrx and stis turbocharged 2.5/2.0 first and the 08-14 wrx got their engine AFTER they tested it in the legacy gt and outback xt The legacy platform has always been the testing platform for the wrx

[@DBAUG]

The best looking family wagon ever

[@trevorzehren139]

When I bought my first lgt I thought the steering wheel buttons were also for volume

[@AMPSLY]

i have an 08 2.5i in blue and i stuck a pair of 2022 crosstrek rims on mine, with new headlamps to match it might as well be a brand new car

[@JJ-rn5wm]

Currently looking. It’s between an 08 Outback XT Limited(68,410 mi)and a 23 crosstrek premium(46,519 miles). Any thoughts would be appreciated

[@losingmyfavoritegame8752]

Wow! I always liked your voice, and you are their voice-mail! Congratulations, Zack! 😃

[@losingmyfavoritegame8752]

This is a cool car. The + - in the steering wheel IS weird, but I like the platform and other features.

[@elmario74]

Nice review, thanks! How does the fuel consumption hold up for this turbo version? Greetings from overseas, Amsterdam ✌🏻

[@bwofficial1776]

The last generation of peak Subaru wagon. These and the previous two generations of wagons are iconic Subarus and good looking cars. Reliability wasn't great but they're simple practical cars. I wish the Legacy wagon had continued in the US but the extra ground clearance of the Outback is nice.

[@fightingfalconfan]

It was getting confusing between the two models. 4th gen (2005-2009) was the last gen to keep both models as wagons. 5th gen on Legacy became the sedan only and the outback became the wagon only.

[@jeffvillanova]

A tune is a no brainer on this car. This is day and night. No need to change anything to do so. If you have one and considered doing it: rebuild the turbo if it's still the original and go for it.

[@cameronlovesevolve]

your friends legacy was beautiful! that red was deadly~

[@RandyOrtonsfather]

No volume buttons for you just reverse side button shifters

[@davinp]

This Subaru has more trunk space then a Toyota Corolla hatch, but small rear seat space

[@dkmorris713]

so?

[@Chris_Adams1]

Haircut Zak? Lookin sharp.

[@dave11686]

These are neat

[@StefanBacon]

Nice trek wheels lol.

[@jamesdewer]

I had one with the stick, wow! only lasted 135,000m. I laughed at idiots that bought the other sport wagons, the Dodge Magnums etc..... at the time I laughed but which is still today on the road? Not the Subaru. I should have gotten the Tribeca.

[@FogartyAvenue]

Tree-mendos.

[@wigletron2846]

This was peak leaky head gasket Subaru era

[@Holmesson]

True, but the turbo cars didn't suffer from the head gasket issues.

[@Crispychicken4u]

The extra money spent for a 2.5 turbo but gets the automatic and not the manual? Augh…that’s a sin

[@blue-tb2fd]

Autos are probably easier to find... for my 2010 Forester XT there was no manual so I didn't even get a choice lol

[@anthony_rivera4735]

I always thought these looked obsolete even when they were new

[@bwofficial1776]

That's part of Subaru's charm. They look a little clunky but they just plain work.

[@anthony_rivera4735]

@@bwofficial1776 it would've looked nice in 1996 but in 2005 it already looked dated

[@Holmesson]

They look great, especially for the era. There are countless examples of this generation Legacy / Outback still on the road and going strong. Obsolete? I think not.