I Regret Buying This Subaru Outback

We have a 2010 Outback Premium with 57000 miles. We have had no problems.

You should have just bought a newer version. I have a 2013, identical to the 2014, and they did not have those options available at that time.

I couldn't imagine getting this bent out of shape about not having EyeSight - just drive your car, brother.

Interestingly I also had the 3.6r but mine had all the options including eye sight. I got mine used when a friend moved to Germany and sold it to me 2 years old and with 25,000 miles. I put a set of Goodyear all season tires on the Subaru and loved that car.
One day I was driving the freeway in a rain storm when it became a deluge. Water spashed over the car so I could see basically nothing, but the AWD kept it straight and under control. While the Subaru is not a sport sedan, I did enjoy traveling a winding back road one night at 100 mph. The Subaru was always in control and handled the curves great.
The demise of my 3.6 was the need to tow behind a motorhome which requires a trailer for a Subaru, so it got traded for Chevy Colirado which can be flat towed.
Our Subaru life continues as my wife got a low milage 2023 Crosstrek PHEV to replace a Ford C-Max. She was reluctant to go with the Subaru, but after a couple weeks and an hour of instruction on the features by our local dealership she can't understand how she could have driven anything else. Yes, her Crosstrek has eye sight and adaptive cruise control. It also has the Wilderness features of slightly lifted and X- Drive.

In my opinion this article is about a persons unwillingness to actually drive. I have a 2012 Subaru Legacy and it only has cruise control. A couple of months ago I drove from Gainesville, TX to Edinburgh,TX. It was a 8.5 hour drive and this 64 year old boomer made it. Yes I was tired. Yes my hands were sore and my nerves somewhat shot. But I made it. I did use Google maps which like other GPS apps help a lot. I personally believe the over dependence on automobile features may not be the safest thing.

First world problem. It's a guy whining.

I have the opposite perspective. After owning four Subarus consecutively, I very much miss the simplicity of some of our previous vehicles. The eyesight system is great for our insurance premiums, and the adaptive cruise control can be handy on rare occasions, I still prefer some of the less automated options.

In 2014, the Outback was still available. Five-speed manual transmission. This transmission distributes power 50% to the front and 50% to the rear at all times, through a very simple and inexpensive center differential. These manual transmissions were among the last in Subaru's lineup that drove "like a Subaru." The modern automatic transmissions distribute power with heavy bias to the front, much the same as Toyota, Mazda, Honda, and every other all-wheel drive offering on the market. They simply don't drive like a Subaru.

Additionally, having had eyesight on my current Subaru and our previous 2020 Outback, I can say with confidence that adaptive cruise control is the least fuel efficient way to drive. The eyesight system is constantly adjusting throttle and brake application to achieve that perfect comfortable drive. At the cost of around a 20% increase in fuel usage. In my experience. I rarely use the adaptive cruise control now for this reason.

This article is pretty dumb. "I bought a used car and it didn't come with new car features so now my legs are tired." Lame.

I’m confused about his comments. He bought this car despite the absence of the features he really wanted…because of the cheap price. Obviously the safety features took the back seat in your purchase. You bought a 10 year old car from a sweet old lady….without the essentials you desired, and this turned you off on Subarus? LOL

So what did you expect from a 3.6l Outback? I have the 2.5 version (without the Eye-sight thingamajig) and I get above 35mpg on a long run with the cruise control set at about 80mph. Personally I wouldn't want all those gadgets that you mentioned as I was loaned a new Impreza that was equipped with these gadgets and I found them to be quite intrusive, but saying that I was taught to drive my car and not be driven by it. By the way, I live in the Swiss Alps so I do appreciate the ground clearance in deep snow and its all wheel drive system.

I have a 2011 Outback 3.6r which now has 166,000+ miles on it. I bought it about 4 years ago for $8,000. I love the car. It has everything I need and nothing I don't. Powerful engine without needing a turbo. NO cvt. NO ugly and distracting touch screen. Excellent AWD. Minimal electronic gadgets. Gas mileage is more than sufficient. It's a shame that the new Outback no longer meets my wants and needs.

I don't really understand why, if cell phones are illegal to touch while driving, then why using a car touch screen is not. I have seen bad accidents due to distracted drivers.

Sorry for rambling. I love my Outback. Just not happy with recent car trends in general.

I own a 2015 Outback Premium four cylinder that I purchased new in November of 2014. It did not come with adaptive cruise control nor did I care. It is probably one of the top five vehicles I have ever owned ( I am 73 and have had more than 50 vehicles of every brand or type since I was 16). Yes, it’s nice to have adaptive cruise control and the Subaru “eyesight” technology (my wife has that in her 2018 Crosstrek), but that is not a dealbreaker for me. My Outback performs well in the snow (as long as it isn’t too deep), gets over 30 mpg highway, and 25 city/mountain driving, and has been a great car with no major maintenance expenses. I have 135,000 miles on it and I have no plans to sell it anytime soon.

I could not agree more. I love the eyesight on my 2019 0utback. I had it on my 2014 (which I passed on to my daughter) and I will not buy a car without it. Adaptive Cruz controll makes such a huge difference in fatigue and anxiety when driving.

I bought a 2010 Outback Prem 3.6 5speed auto in 2014 and , knock on wood, it's been wonderful. No eyesight, don't think it was available yet so I don't miss what I don't know. I'm disappointed they discontinued the 3.6 as I would replace this with a similar Outback. At 150,000 miles.

I have a 2013 Outback with similar mileage and eyesight I will trade for your V6. Let me know….

An entire article about a guy whining about his car buying choice? Get over it and yourself. I read about 10%. Hey, torquenews- don’t waste your money on this kind of drivel.

I am so disappointed in my 2019 Subaru Putback. I bought it new and have had more than my share of major problems. I have been stranded twice. My engine overheated due to a manufacturing defect and ultimately the short block had to be replaced. This took months. I also had to replace my battery twice due to a known (but not publicized) defect in the software. I had to pay for the battery after I was stranded. It died again and then Subaru admitted the issue was known, but did not reimburse me for the first battery. Now I am waiting for my radio and control screen to be replaced. There are supply issues as Subaru is waiting for reconditioned units to be available. All of this a tremendous inconvenience. This particular model IMO a real lemon. I thought I would love my Subaru and drive it happily for a long time. Serious regrets here!

So, you decided to buy a 2014 ob without eyesight because you knew the owner. Suck it up. If you get fatigued with just normal cruise you have issues driving then. Until 2020 I never had anything like eyesight, but I don't use lane assist or adaptive because it's a bit hard on the brakes so it's just normal cruise. All the other stuff is for people who can't drive properly. It's not hard to maintain a lane.

I have a 2014 2.5i Premium with the 6 speed manual transmission. I ordered mine in March 2014 and received it May 12th. Was happy until September 1st the day after a trip to New Jersey. Less than 1200 miles and the oil light came on. This happened three times before two years old and serviced every 6 months. March 2016 I found out that there was a class action suit for excessive oil consumption in the 2.5 engine. After the 3rd consumption test my engine was replaced and the warranty was changed to 8 years/100000 miles. That was at Less than 3500 miles. Since the engine replacement 65000 miles and no problem. Average 28 might city and 34 mpg highway. 2014 was the last year to get the manual transmission. I'd only buy another if they again offer the 6 speed manual transmission. I don't have all the belts and whistles.

I believe Eyesight wasn’t introduced in the Outback or Legacy until the 2015 redesign. That, along with the much more modern infotainment were major reasons that I spent more to buy a newer 2015 Legacy a few years ago. I test drive a 2010 Legacy and really liked it, but compared to my wife’s 2016 Outback, it felt like the technology was rather lacking and it seemed I’d be more likely to keep and enjoy a 2015+ due to the redesign features added like Eyesight. That was 8 years ago and I still love my 2015 Legacy Limited w/ Eyesight. Although the 2014 and earlier models are generally much cheaper, I’d always recommend paying more for a 2015+ Outback or Legacy if you like modern technology and conveniences. The prior generation has very basic features and is not quite as refined.

I have a 2018 Outback Premium I bought new. It has the 2.5 engine and does not have the cruise control with eyesight. I have that on a 2020 Toyota Prius, so I have a basis for comparison. While I like that the Prius slows down on its own when behind a slower car, I find that annoying sometimes, for instance when I don't notice it for a while and was going slower than necessary. The lane departure is a bit bothersome as well. The Outback has been a great car for me, averaging 30MPgG even with air-conditioning on. I've put 80K on it and have not had a single mechanical problem. I did replace rear brakes and rear shocks, but other than that no problems at all. It does not have the power of other cars I've driven, but it is adequate for an old guy like me, someone who raced cars in the past and rode fast motorcycles for many years. We are waiting for the Forester hybrid to become available and are going to replace the Prius; it is a bit too low for us old folks getting in and out. I look forward to getting that.

I have 1 subaru with eyesight and 1 without. My 2024 Impreza RS has it. For your average commuter utility transportation, eyesight is pretty good. The adaptive cruise control is really the only part I like honestly.
My other car, a 2022 BRZ with manual trans does not have eyesight and I am sooo grateful for that. Many owners of the new models complain about the system freaking out and interfering every time they try to have fun and drive aggressive. Sure it can be disabled, but you have to plan that out ahead of time because once the car is in motion you cannot access the settings. So if you find yourself in a situation where you want to slide around or do some other hooning you may be S.O.L.
I would not want a BRZ with eyesight.

Hey Denis,
I just wanted to say that my wife and I bought a new 2022 Outback Touring and loved almost everything about it. But we didn’t really like that my wife had a hard time getting in and out of the backseat. The floor pan is pretty deep and she had to step up kinda high to get out. I didn’t like hitting my head every time I got in or out of the car. I think that the roof was too low. We traded it in and bought a 2023 Forester Touring and like it a lot more !

If you live in MA you can't get the complete Starlink software installed. Apparently Subaru is more concerned about protecting their technology than supporting consumers.

I owned a 2013 3.6 and now own a 2023 Outback. The old one rusted out in New England. I miss the power and quiet of the old one. The new one has the tech but also an unfriendly giant digital screen, and it struggles, loudly, to generate power. It just feels like it strains and we aren't trying to drive it like a sports car. It now belongs to my husband.

Complaining about buying a ten year old car. I don't feel a bit sorry for you. So someone stole the Eyesight system just before you picked up the car?

I drive a Toyota Corolla cross and it has all those things you like and I hate. I want to be the one driving the car, not the computer. People are just getting lazy and so demanding.

My 2017 Outback does not have eyesight. Was that even a 2014 feature?

I avoided the 2014 as I'd heard it was a bad year. I bought a used 2016 with the eyesight... BEST car ever! Had it 7 years now and will drive it til it dies.

I wonder this is just a way to sell the eyesight feature and the respective story written by s dumb ai?