Introduction
I wasn’t going to test drive these cars, but I decided to do it anyway this weekend because of a) there was a $50 gift card for test driving a Subaru and b) reader Ken wanted me to test drive it to compare to the other cars I’ve driven already. Remember that I had already bought the Infiniti QX50 and had test driven these following SUV’s already – Lexus RX350, Volvo XC60, Lexus NX200T, Acura RDX, Audi Q5, Toyota Rav4, and the Range Rover Evoque.
2016 Subaru Outback 2.5i Limited Fully Loaded ($35K MSRP)
When we got to the dealership, I wasn’t even sure what the difference was between the Outback and the Forester. The sales rep told us the Outback is more like a hatchback vs the Forrester is higher and is more like an SUV. We decided to go with the 2016 Outback since it has the ‘collision avoidance’ feature while the 2016 Forester didn’t have it yet. Plus, my wife sat in the Outback and felt the interior was nicer in the Outback vs the Forester.
When we first sat in it, it reminded us very much of the Rav 4, meaning it felt big and spacious and “empty.” Meaning it doesn’t “envelope’ you like the other luxurious cars like the Lexus and Audi. It was like getting into my Hyundai or any rental car. Just big and plain. Yes, I realize there is a $15K difference between the other 2 cars, but bear with me here. We even mentioned it to our sales rep who said, “Yeah, that’s how it is in Japanese cars.” So if you want luxury and gadgets all around you and an “enclosed” feeling, you’re not going to get that feeling with cars in this price range.
We took the car for a 5 minute test drive. A couple of things we liked about the Outback – the nicest rear view camera out of all the cars – very crisp and large LCD. I also liked the blind spot sensors being on the rear view camera instead of being on the A pillar like in the Infiniti. The dealbreaker however was that it didn’t have rear or front parking sensors. I thought it was odd that it would have the collision avoidance feature but not any sensors. For the price point though and the good gas mileage, it’s a solid car, but like I said, the wife didn’t like the non-luxurious interior and I’d have to agree with her. Just because the car wasn’t for us, it doesn’t mean you wouldn’t love it, so don’t take a blogger’s advice on what to buy.
$50 Visa Gift Card
By the way, I handed the $50 Visa gift card form to the sales rep after the test drive, and he took it away for about 5 minutes. Within an hour, I got an email for the $50 Visa gift card. Make sure you redeem your reward by clicking on the email else it’ll expire on you. Also, this is when it pays to have a mailbox (so that I have 2 x $50 VGC’s now). Lastly, I chose the physical card option instead of the virtual card. It says it’ll arrive in 7-10 days.
2016 Volkswagen Tiguan SEL w/ 4 motion Fully Loaded ($37K MSRP)
We had no intention of test driving this car, but the car dealership we went to had both Subaru and VW, so we decided to walk over to VW to check out the Tiguan. The Toureg was an Audi Q7 size, which would have been too big for us. We actually didn’t test drive the car since it didn’t have the advanced features (no sensors or collision avoidance) we were looking for; plus, we didn’t want to waste any more of the sales rep’s time. I’m surprised that VW hasn’t caught up yet on the tech, but my guess is they’ll have them in the 2017 model.
We did however sit in the Tiguan, and immediately my wife said, “Oh yeah, this interior is much nicer than the Subaru.” I also loved the Evoque-sized moonroof. While the interior was nicer than say the Subaru and Toyota, it isn’t Lexus/Audi/BMW nice. Ironically I thought the interior was nicer than the Volvo XC60 but not nicer than the newly redesigned XC90. I think if it had all the tech we wanted, we would have definitely taken it for a test drive, but I think ultimately we would have turned it down since it wasn’t quite as luxurious as we were looking for.
So the $50 test drive offer at Subaru came back and we test drove a new premium Outback. We were disappointed, and that’s coming from a beat up old 2003 Forester. In 13 years not much has changed, and this was for a $32k car too. I think cars today, in general, are just incredibly expensive for what you get compared to 10-20 years ago. At least we’ll be getting a $50 vGC for our time.
Ah bummer. What did you not like about the new Outback? Did you sit in the Forester?
We did not sit in the Forester.
It just doesn’t feel like much has changed in 13 years. The Forester was top line for its time and was only $24k from what I recall. So 13 years and an additional $8k does not buy much. It still felt cheap. The rear cargo area was smaller than I had hoped, and the pull shade was a terrible design that flopped around. And with such an angle to the rear gate it would limit the FBA boxes I could bring to the UPS store LOL. Much better gas mileage though.
If you thought the Outback felt cheap, the Forester is even cheaper than that!
Hahaha, alrighty then.
Yup, this is exactly how I expected the Outback test drive to go, but I’m still happy you did it. And, hey, you made some cash too! If I wasn’t at a bachelor weekend I’d have test driven the cars just for the free $50 too.
Anything for you Ken.
Hahaha, thanks!
You need to look at BMW X5 (2016) version. I’ve read enough of your posts about car choosing to know the feature and feel you are looking for, and the X5 has them all.
I am driving a 2month old 2016 X5 right now, and cannot feel better about my choice. Test-drove (all 2016) BMW X5, Porsche Cayenne, Mercedes GLE (might be wrong on the name, it changed from 2015 to 2016), and the Lexus GX460. The Cayenne is just absolutely gorgeous inside and out, but crazily noisy (which apparently is a feature, according to the sale guy, the engine noise). The BMW and the Mercedes are in the same ball-park, although the wife indicated the Mercedes was not as smooth in term of outer appearance. If you have experience sitting inside a BMW or a Mercedes already, the interior of the Lexus just feels ways too inferior to even consider in the same luxury SUV category. The screen looks like 2005 technology. Don’t get me wrong, my folks have been driving Lexus ever since I was little, so I have no problem with Lexus as a brand. But it is just not in the same class. At the end, the X5 won out.
I think you’re right Viet. I’ll test drive that and the Audi Q5 and a MB to compare the 3. The Porsche is definitely out of price range.