Road trip: Subaru Outback
Subaru is one of those manufacturers with which I haven’t had a lot of experience. In fact, in my mind, Subarus were aimed at petrol heads who wanted a gutsy car to show off. So, when I was offered the Outback, I jumped at the opportunity to really experience this car in all its glory and take it on a road trip up the coast.
This large crossover is described by Subaru as the ultimate outdoor adventurer. I didn’t take it anywhere to showcase this side of its personality, but I did take it on a 700 km road trip to Stilbaai along the Garden Route. One thing is for sure, space is no issue in this vehicle. It has a luggage capacity of 490 litres, which was more than enough for luggage, food, wetsuits, a cooler box and much more. It can comfortably seat 5 passengers but it was just me and a friend for this trip.
The cabin is spacious and both my passenger and I were comfortable. However, we weren’t overly impressed with the interior’s noise levels. It just didn’t feel refined enough, especially considering the sticker price. This model, which is the 2,0 Diesel Lineartronic, starts at R469 000.
The ride is smooth enough and, with 110 kW, there is enough power to manoeuvre the open road with ease. Overtaking is not a problem, which was a relief due to the number of trucks on the road. The only problem we really experienced was when driving at about 120 km/h, a warning light and alarm sounded and power was cut. I was driving up a hill at the time so it was a bit tricky to move into the yellow lane where we put the hazards on and tried to figure out what the problem was. After consulting the manual, we found out the specific warning light indicated that we needed to get the car to Subaru immediately which, considering we were in the middle of nowhere, was a bit tricky. I let the car stand for a while before trying to switch it on again and drove slowly to the nearest fuel station where we checked the oil and water and the tyres. All seemed okay so we set off again and we never saw the warning light again. It made for a rather uneasy drive the rest of the way, but all seemed to be in order and we didn’t experience any more problems. I managed an average fuel consumption of around 8,0 L/100 km, which is rather good.
Standard features on the Outback include a powered sunroof, leather upholstery, an eight-way electrically adjustable driver’s seat, dual-zone automatic climate control with rear ventilation, a multi-function leather steering wheel, cruise control, an electronic handbrake, a multi-information display screen, an audio system with six speakers radio, CD, auxiliary, MP3 and USB support, as well as Bluetooth for hands-free cellphone use and audio streaming.
If you are in the market for a crossover that is more than capable on-road (and should prove very capable off-road), you might want to consider this “adventurer”. It feels a bit bulky for city use and I can’t picture myself driving it everyday, but if I had a big family that loved to explore the untouched roads of this country, then it would most certainly be a choice worth considering.