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Subaru Impreza Outback Sport & TS
3121 messages, Last post on Nov 18, 2009 at 12:30 PM
You are in the Subaru Legacy & Outback Forum.- Your Host is KCRam@Edmunds
What is this discussion about? Subaru Impreza, Subaru Outback, Wagon
#696 of 3121 by celeste2
Jun 08, 2001 (8:32 pm)
Leomort: I can post pics tomorrow. We got back from out of town today and had to also hook our computer back up after having it fixed from damage due to an electrical storm. It's 11:00 pm and I'm beat. But I'll get some on for you sometime tomorrow. You should get a brochure from Subaru on the 2002 Impreza line. Very nice picures of the inside of the car, and specs on the back page.Piya: The OBS is a very deluxe version of the TS wagon. Here are some things it has the TS does not: Removable cargo tray (very nice), 12-volt cargo power outlet (like a cigarette lighter type adaptor), Temperature gauge (shows what outdoor temp is, someone said he likes this to know if bridges are frozen over in winter before crossing), Graystone metallic lower color on bumpers, wheel arches, body-side moldings and rocker panels, huge fog lights, cruise control, roof rails with crossbars. Anyway, I got all this from the Subaru brochure I have. Oh, also, the TS has 15" steel wheels with wheel covers. The OBS had 16" aluminum alloys, which many have told me they like the looks of better than the WRX wheels.
I have a 2002 OBS and here is the clincher for me: I love cruise control for trips.
Go back thru past posts here to around the beginning of May. I posted pics here of the outside of my car.
#697 of 3121 Buying a new Outback Sport by derekgw
Jun 09, 2001 (10:31 pm)
I've gone back and forth on what I wanted for a new car and I ended up coming right back to Subaru (Currently drive a '93 Impreza wagon which is staying in the family. Better than giving the poor thing to some stranger). Hatchback, AWD, powerful engine for the class, it's all good.Anyway I'm going to be picking up my Silver OBS in a few days. After going from dealership to dealership, and dealing with the worst they had to offer I finally went to the internet and got a good price from one of the sites that's out there with no haggling (go figure) I'd recommend that method of buying a car to anyone.
Anyway, I was wondering if I could find out a couple of things.
#1 - I've seen complaints on the quality of Subaru's paint as of late (My old one was ok . . . Better than a lot of '93 Civics, Crapaliers and Escorts I've seen running around but I think it was also repainted in various spots before I bought it so who knows). I've also heard that the Metallic paints they have are a bit better for durability than their other paints. Is this true and would the silver fall into the metallic variety? (Well it looks metallic-ish to me) Also, how soon can you wax the paint on this car. I've heard paint has to settle first before waxing but I'm not sure if that's the case nowadays let alone with this car.
#2 - Break-in time . . . How fast is too fast for this car during that period of time? I have not asked the dealership yet but I'm almost positive it's probably around 55 mph. Considering that everyone in this area drives 80-90 down the interstate despite the speed limit being 55 this will be interesting. Can I get away with at least doing 70 and not doing any damage to the car or compromising getting at least 200k miles out of it?
#3 - Does anyone here have experience with a clearbra on this car? How do you like it?
#4 - What kind of oil (Brand name, fully synthetic, semi-synthetic, etc) have you used and what would you recommended (assuming you change it yourself rather than going to the dealership or Oil XChange). Also are there any benefits to changing the oil early (before the first 3k miles comes up)
And finally #5 - Why couldn't Subaru make cruise available on the 2.5TS (Hey I got a cruise control kit for my '93. Genuine Subaru too. Why can't they do that for the 2.5TS?). I don't understand why a car that's already pretty well equipped with power everything, CD, etc wouldn't have cruise available for it. It's not an expensive thing, I think the add-on for my '93 was only $80 (bought a few months ago). Anyway, if it was that would've been the model I would've gone for (make mine that cool looking metallic blue that's not available on the OBS :p)
But that's just more of a complaint than a question.
Any help you guys can give me on the first four questions however would be appreciated. Thanks!!
#698 of 3121 by celeste2
Jun 10, 2001 (5:49 pm)
derek: I'll try to answer what I can. You can also go to Yahoo.com, click on clubs, then type in "Outback Sport" to go to the Outback Sport club. Another source is i-club.com. You can search thru past topics at both sites and very informative.I have read about many complaints on the paint. It seems to me that folks living in areas where there is lots of gravel and road scud kicking up, that the complaints are loudest. Here in Florida I don't have too many complaints about my paint.
We waxed both my 2000 OBS and my 2002 OBS within the first four weeks of ownership. Figure the paint has already been curing on the car, but that's just my opinion. Didn't seem to hurt either car. I would think silver would qualify as metallic.
I think they tell you not to go over 4000 rpm the first 1000 miles and to vary the speed (I interpreted this to mean, no cruise control during this period.) I pretty much did this, just don't drive like a wildman (for the time being) and you'll be fine.
I use 10w/30. The Subaru manual lists 5w/30 for temps that go cold and 10w/30 for temps that go hot. It's pretty much hot here. I have read not to use synthetics until you have 5000 miles on the car, but there are different schools of thought on this. Research at the sites I gave you above and see what you believe. Synthetic is quite a bit more expensive and I'm good about getting changes every 2500-3000 miles, so don't know if I'll go that route.
I think they wanted people to move up in price to the Outback Sport in order to get cruise control. Also, look back a little thru these posts a few days and I list some things the OBS has that the TS wagon does not. The whole thing is decked out more. Alloy wheels and all, nice looking, too!
#699 of 3121 Leomort: Here's your pics.... by celeste2
Jun 10, 2001 (5:53 pm)
Sorry, took awhile to download to Zing.com, may have to try this more than once to get it to work, here goes (pics of inside back end 2002 OBS):
#700 of 3121 Leomort... OK, on a roll, here's more.... by celeste2
Jun 10, 2001 (5:56 pm)
Notice the 60/40 split rear seat:
#702 of 3121 Question on folding seatbacks by esto
Jun 11, 2001 (9:07 am)
Celeste, thanks for the photos. Could you tell me if the back seat bottom cushion folds up and forward, so the seatbacks can go farther down, to make the cargo area flat? If so, is the seat cushion also split 60/40 (like the Protege5 and Elantra GT, unlike the ZX3)?Thanks.
Erik
#703 of 3121 RE: Folding Seatbacks by derekgw
Jun 11, 2001 (9:32 am)
The seats fold completely flat without having to put the bottom cushion up (one of the major upgrades from my '93 that I really liked) Most you have to do is take the headrests out.This is a lot more convienent than the having to go through all that hassle just to get them flat (I never bothered unless I was carrying a lot for a long ways)
#704 of 3121 Thanks, Celeste by leomort
Jun 11, 2001 (9:32 am)
Thank you for the pictures. Does the OBS come with full size spare? Do you know what the cargo size is with seats up/down? Also what's the gas mileage with the new 2.5L? You have an automatic, correct?If it isn't too personal a question, why do you chose the OBS? I'm debating between the Forester and OBS. The OBS might win out due to price consideration for me if cargo area is decent. Debating if it's worth waiting until the redesigned 2003 Forester comes out?
Thanks for the help.
Leo
#705 of 3121 Thanks Celeste! by derekgw
Jun 11, 2001 (9:45 am)
We'll see how that paint works out in Chicago then . . . Car paint doesn't usually survive here for long anyway unless you take very good care of it.Mine was just fresh out of the wrapper before I reserved it. Had 25 miles on the odo and nothing worked (dome light, a/c, and radio were all disconnected they connect them during the prep) So I wonder how long the paint had to cure . . . I think I'll give it two to three months before I wax. It's probably not an issue until winter anyway.
Yup the OBS is more well equipped than the TS but, aside from Alloys & Cruise, the TS had everything I wanted on it already. I think you're right on that though with trying to move people to the more expensive model. It worked on me!
Thank you for all the other information on the car!
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