Subaru Joyride

We had been considering getting the new 2006 BMW 3 series wagon which was unveiled at the Frankfurt auto show in Sept, and supposedly available in Oct. Well, it turns out that this wagon is very difficult to find. One Bay Area dealer is receiving 3 wagons at the end of this month and they are all already sold! So no chance of actually LOOKING at a wagon. :-( We wanted to take a look at the new wagon before deciding whether to go for it.

So we started considering other wagons ... Subaru Outback and Volvo V50 & V70. I thought the V70 was too large, loved the cargo space, but didn't think I would ever be able to park the thing (although the funny thing is that the V70 is shorter than the Outback!). As for the V50, I didn't like how the head rests on the rear seats blocked out a good chuck of the lower corners of the rear windshield, and I thought the cargo space was too small. Actually, I also think the BMW 325 has a small cargo area as well. Loved the Subaru Outback when I first saw it. Had all the basic features I wanted, it has a relatively simple climate control (the complicated climate control on the Audi A4 drives me nuts... they expect you to make adjustments solely by "feel"?! It's too dangerous to glance down at all those buttons while trying to drive), and the cargo space is adequate. I need enough space to hold a stroller, some diaper bag stuff, and have enough leftover space for a Costco run. :-) I love the car reviews on Tech Now, a local TV show that talks about latest technology but sometimes includes a car review at the end of the show. They measure trunk/cargo space by the number of Costco (Kirkland brand) toilet paper packages that will fit into it. That sure makes it easier for me than trying to figure out how much x cubic feet of space really amounts to!

Here are some interesting numbers (showing dimensions of various automobile models, Length, Width, Height):

Audi A4 (2001):..............176.7......68.2......55.7
BMW 325 wagon (2005):....176.3......68.5......55.5
BMW 325 wagon (2006):....178.2......71.5......55.8
Volvo V50:....................177.7......69.7......57.2
Volvo V70:....................185.4......71.........57.5
Subaru Outback:..............188.7......69.7......63.2
Honda Accord (2005):........189.5......71.5......57.1
Toyota Camry (2005):........189.2......70.7......58.7

I was very surprised to learn that the Outback is a smidgen shorter than the Accord and Camry. There's something deceptive about those sedans, they look shorter than they really are. And there's something about wagons that make me think that they are very long.

After test driving, we're leaning towards the Subaru Outback. It has the basic features we like and reliability is decent according to Consumer Reports. The only thing I don't like is the gas mileage (19/25), the key which is one long pointy thing (instead of the retractable key/fob on the Audi which is a rectangular thing that doesn't poke), and the non-existent armrest. But these are just minor annoyances. We test drove the VDC model from Ron Price Subaru and went on a 12 mile loop ... up Westborough, past Skyline, down to Highway 1 back to 280 to the Westborough exit. It was a nice little loop with a little of everything. Pleasant drive. Baby loved it, she fell asleep shortly after we started. That's a thumbs up. ;-) It drives like any automatic, with a little delay before it shifts gears and a more sluggish getup&go compared to a manual. My left foot felt like it should be doing something; I'll get used to it. The Outback had no problems getting up the hills, and it didn't feel like it would roll over during the turns although I didn't take them very fast. Certainly seemed to take turns better than the Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo we rented when we were on Kauai (where I discovered who actually needed to heed those speed limit signs!). The turn signal lever wasn't too far away from the steering wheel, so small hands could easily reach them. The windshield wiper lever must use reverse polish notation or something, it's the first one I've ever seen where you push DOWN to turn the thing on ... it's somewhat reminiscent of installing Novell Netware.


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