2015 Subaru Outback 3.6R - TestDriveNow.com Review by Auto Critic Steve Hammes | TestDriveNow

[@finnmccool684]

Ignore the anti-Subaru spamming that's occurring on these videos. Subaru makes a fantastic product. My Outback has 155K on the clock, and runs better than new.

[@sahilsunilpatel3676]

I'm driving a 21 Outback base model... believe me Outback is the best...

[@greglaurence7707]

Hard to beat the technology, safety and practicality of this vehicle. I have a 2014 Forester XT and is a blast to drive, love the eyesight and xmode features.

[@michaelscofield2444]

Hey Greg. How are you happy now with your stand Forester? I wanna buy one now and I wanna buy a 2014 yet as well, cause it’s with automatic transmission and it’s not CVT transmission

[@fsugrad03]

Modern wagons are definitely a step above the ones from my childhood. Planning to test drive an Outback this weekend. I hope the 2.5 isn't a dog, because the gas mileage gain is significantly more than the 3.6. Great review, Steve!

[@tvanb]

I really wouldn't call this car a wagon... it's too tall and fat !!

[@fsugrad03]

Torrey B It will be a wagon when it's in my garage. You can call it whatever you want.

[@tvanb]

fsugrad03 oooooooook

[@rrz464]

fsugrad03 I have a 2.5i 2014 Outback. It might not be as peppy as the 6, but it gets great mileage with a plenty fast ability. I drive in the Colorado Rocky Mountains regularly, and it never has trouble. The 2.5 will make you happy. :)

[@fsugrad03]

rrz464 I drove both and the 2.5 will do just fine for us. The 3.6 definitely has more get up and go, but it's not worth the extra 3G. Thanks for your opinion!

[@tommyw7]

been waiting for this from you for a long time!!!! great work

[@stevehammes]

Thanks, Tommy!

[@slerched]

I love the look of the Outback. I'm a dork though.

[@edwardlaw797]

Subaru owners don't care about looks.

[@ChristopherWalkenActor]

subaru needs to start offering heated steering wheels in their vehicles, a lot of people use their subarus for skiing and snowboarding.

[@stevehammes]

Agreed.

[@joshgrossman7444]

Good idea, let's make it a $1,200 package all on its own. How about no. Not sure why you would need a heated steering wheel when you have air vents right in front of it. Or better yet, you can wear gloves for the minute or so that it takes the leather to warm up. Any other ideas for Subaru to make heated? Maybe we could make the arm rest heated too, and the center console. I am using the radio buttons a lot too so we could make those heated. Let's make every touch surface have a $1,200 premium package heated option so the Outback can be a $58,000 vehicle. Better increase the size of the alternator to generate all of that electric resistance heating too. Of course then it will increase stress on the engine and reduce MPGs. But hey, people ski and need their steering wheels heated............. Awesome!

[@stevehammes]

Josh Grossman First off, heated steering wheels are not anywhere near that expensive, do not consume megavolts of electricity nor are they as exclusive as they used to be. You do realize Subaru sells more cars in the Northeast than in any other area of the country. Geez, if Hyundai and Kia can work them into their options mix on midlevel cars I'd think Subaru could offer it on their flagship vehicle for $37k!

[@keshanpersaud716]

TestDriveNow.com featuring Auto Critic Steve Hammes

[@letzchat321]

brilliant reply

[@campermortey]

Great review as always Steve.

[@alfredktn]

Excellent review

[@walj12748]

I'm to the point that if Steve doesn't have a review on a vehicle, I just read about it instead.

[@stevehammes]

Ha! That made my day.

[@darwandoo]

Great review Steve.

[@stevehammes]

Thanks!

[@islandgirl103]

Good review, Steve. Have you heard when Subaru is going to update the Forester with the Outback's upgraded infotainment/navi system?

[@stevehammes]

It'll be freshened in 2016 as a 2017 model...guessing you'll see it then.

[@76carmel]

What about the Impreza/WRZ for putting the Starlink infotainment system? Same model year as you responded to CJ VN?

[@stevehammes]

Billy Sou The redesigned four- and five-door compact will go on sale in late 2016 or early 2017.

[@aninstrumentalvision]

Nice review but it seems like you're yelling at 2:05.

[@ecleoidol5739]

Excellent review sir. What type of fuel for the 3.6r? regular or premium? Thanks!

[@stevehammes]

ecleo idol Thanks. Regular is fine.

[@76carmel]

Only Subaru's turbo engines require the good stuff (91+ octane fuel). It's in the Forester and WRX.

[@76carmel]

+Billy Sou I mean Forester XT.

[@juliandebaca9029]

The outback 2014 was six spokes

[@mahballzrhari]

Subaru achieves torque vectoring by applying brakes (i think) while the torque vectoring in Acura's sh-awd and Audi do it by sending more power where necessary which is more sophisticated.

[@joshgrossman7444]

I would take Subaru's AWD system any day over Honda/Acura's part-time 4WD. It is quite easy to overheat the rear differential on a Honda/Acura 4WD vehicle by the way. If you have a steep driveway and it's snowy/icy...better get a running start. So yeah, no thanks.......

[@dimamal]

Josh Grossman This is simply not true. Lots of "part-time 4WD" cars have a setting where you can shift to AWD full time in some circumstances. My 2007 Inifiniti G35x has a "snow mode" setting where AWD is enabled when driving speed is under 20mph. I am pretty certain that Acura's SH-AWD x-overs and trucks have a similar mode as well.

[@jgg204]

Dmitry Malkin Lots of them? More like only a number of models in the single digits. The Honda CR-V does not have a 4x4 lock mode, Toyota eliminated the 4x4 lock mode in the RAV-4, the only other vehicle in the small SUV class that has 4x4 lock would be the Jeep Patriot / Jeep Compass with its Freedom Drive I. The Nissan Rogue does not have it, the Mazda CX-5 does not have it, the Hyundai/Kia models do not have them. Sure with some variants of SH-AWD have a AWD lock mode but once the vehicle reaches 18mph the mode is automatically disengaged. Acura eliminated the SH-AWD in the Acura RDX anyways. To get a MDX with SH-AWD you are looking at spending $50,000+. Why are you mentioning trucks in this discussion? That is comparing apples or oranges. We are strictly discussing crossover SUVs. And if you don't believe me about the Honda CR-V rear differential overheating, check out the youtube videos where the front wheels are under full slip conditions. The vehicle goes no-where b/c the differential is not adequate enough to provide enough power to move the vehicle up an incline. We're not talking about a steep incline either, it could very well be my driveway in fact it's less of an incline than my driveway

[@edwardlaw797]

This car has a snow mode, permanently. ;)

[@pratyushpanda1985]

I test rode a 2016 3.6r outback and witness some wind rushing noise at highway speeds. Its not whistling but wind gushing. Just wanted to know how does it compare with other cars w.r.t. wind noise.

[@Carpetone]

I did witness a little of that too around 100+

[@Marco-ce8kr]

I guess this "wagon" is getting the title of "crossover SUV" faster. Great car. Great review

[@Lukos0036]

What kind of mileage does the 4cyl return?

[@rrz464]

I have a 2014 Outback manual, and I am getting approximately 26 city and 30 hwy. The new 2015 comes standard with the Lineartronic CVT and EPA estimates state 27 city/33 hwy.

[@Lukos0036]

rrz464 Thanks =)

[@budagen]

They should also start to offer the diesel engines that are available in Europe.

[@collinbryson9449]

You shouldn't have reviewed the 3.6r. More people are going to buy the 2.5 and the 3.6 is hard to find. They don't even have one at the Subaru dealership closest to me.

[@StevenAButton]

I wont be buying another until they figure out the HG Issues. The wife's '08 went out with 120K which is unacceptable IMO. Buyer beware.

[@tommyw7]

why you say the front seat isn't comfortable??? let us know

[@stevehammes]

Firm and unsupportive throughout.

[@TruthHasSpoken]

Having rented one this week with a 2 1/2 hr drive back and forth, I would agree. Not terrible but disappointing.

[@BTC909]

Don't forget the pot smoking Grandma wanting to rekindle old memories.

[@honestycounts9352]

MOST IMPORTANTLY = it does not come with the 2.0 L engine that Subaru is currently having MASSIVE oil consumption problems. Subaru is currently facing 2 class-action lawsuits on this one oil consumption problem alone. Everyone I talk to is telling me to avoid any Subaru that comes with the 2.0 L engine as its a disaster in the near-term for long-term owners. Subaru is an EXCELLENT car company, all you have to do is just find a model that comes WITHOUT the 2.0 L engine and you will be just fine. The extra ground clearance (compared to the CR-V or RAV4) means you can off-road without having to worry about smashing your car's bottom on a small rock every few seconds.

[@igalburt]

+Honesty Counts Agreeed with you also most of 2.5 Liters they do have the same issue with Oil Consumption.

[@milanofootball294]

The 2015 Subaru Outback has the weakest engine that they've made, while the car has gotten significantly heavier. And now the CVT transmission returns which makes it one of the most boring drives in history. Wagons are out of fashion these days. SUVs are the biggest in fashion and the 2015 KIA Sorento can be bought for the same amount of money.

[@KoreanSaram8]

MilanoFootball Subarus are known to have transmission problems down the road. Oh and faulty/dangerous Takata airbags.

[@joshuapirelli6146]

MilanoFootball SUVs are much better for the money these days.

[@chadever87]

MilanoFootball Look at all the people talking about how awesome any Kia or Hyundai is and you will notice that they also go to all the competitors and trash them. They usually pretend to be from Italy, Spain, France, Japan, Germany, and Russia. It's fake reviews and aggresive social media marketing by Kia and Hyundai. Look out for these fake posters: MilanoFootball RealMadridSuperiority Motorenwerke.de Gianluca Cannavo UltimateDriver Artilheiro テクノロジー Joshua Pirelli Marcus Jensen David Bennett LOL @ Hyundai & Kia

[@humpyswifey]

+MilanoFootball buy an 08-10 or whatever the cut off for the "improvements" was, mine has 265 hp

[@johnnste1]

Kia and Hyundai are utter shit for people who can't afford anything better, have given up on life, or don't care what they drive.

[@Y10Q]

$37K? Thats bsI. If they want to sell it, they better price it at $27k . I don't like this direction everyone is heading. Subarus used to cost $15k 20 years ago. F350 used to be $25k. Now F350 is $60k and Subarus cost $30k. Thats bs. Dollar isn't getting weaker to justify this price increase.

[@dashcammer4322]

+Y10Q You can buy a base outback for $26K.

[@alexballantine3973]

I think our future is the dreaded ... 'CVT'

[@alexballantine3973]

i'm not sure that makes sense O.o

[@humpyswifey]

the new outbacks look worse than the older smaller model

[@humpyswifey]

+Heather Humphries and the interior is the most comfortable

[@NgocThiuDo]

Very disappointing car. Very weak engine, CVT and numb steering. No thanks Subaru.

[@NoToMailOrderBrides]

Shirazi Agree

[@OneRaceKorea12]

Shirazi Don't expect to get any girls with a Subaru.

[@artilheiro5151]

Shirazi The Subaru badge is ugly... looks like a blue colored version of the Chinese flag.

[@maxwellhello]

Shirazi Weak engine? That's a 3.6 with 256hp.

[@dvillalba3d]

I your looking to buy an Outback 3.6r, you already got the girl.

[@jasonme3557]

dude is full of crap about that CVT

[@stevehammes]

Jason ME Happy Thanksgiving!