Once Motor Trend’s long-term Subaru Outback 2.5i Limited amassed its break-in miles, our partners at Emissions Analytics subjected it to the full battery of Real MPG fuel economy testing. Translation: Emissions Analytics technical gurus Sam Boyle and Jesus Flores affixed a $150,000 gas analyzer to the back of the Outback and took it for a 100-mile spin through several of L.A.’s suburbs and highways. The results? Although the Outback’s Monroney points to EPA estimates of 25/33/28 mpg city/highway/combined, the data Boyle and Flores crunched revealed the following: 24.1/31.0/26.8 mpg. Those numbers aren’t quite up to the EPA’s, but they’re not terribly far off, either.
For some perspective, since implementing Real MPG testing, the Outback ranks as the best performer compared to four-cylinder AWD crossovers such as the 2015 Honda CR-V Touring AWD (23.0/28.8/25.2 mpg), 2015 Mitsubishi Outlander SEL AWD (23.2/26.9/24.7 mpg), and 2014 Nissan Rogue SL AWD (20.1/28.2/23.1 mpg).
With around 12,000 miles on the Outback’s odometer, we paid a visit to Ladin Subaru in Thousand Oaks for a service visit. For a lovely fee of $0 (Subaru covers maintenance for the first two years), Ladin performed an oil change (0W-20 synthetic), full inspection, and tire rotation. The on-duty technician also handled a recall for a telematics DCM ID check and reprogramming.
Alas, after we reinstalled the Outback’s original wheels and tires, one of the its OE 225/60R18 Bridgestone Dueler Sport A/S tires took a nail to the rounded edge between the sidewall and tread—a nail there means you’re screwed, as the tire can’t be patched. And because the set had over 10,000 miles of wear and tear, including a session of instrumented performance testing, we opted for fresh rubber. Our friends at Toyo were kind enough to send over a set of Versado Noir, an all-season “luxury touring” tire designed for optimum ride comfort, a quiet ride, and extended tread life. We can’t speak to the tread life just yet, but the Versado Noir’s plush ride quality and minimal road noise have been welcome improvements.
I continue to love the Outback’s roomy cabin, notable fuel economy, and versatile skillset, but a few items have been bugging me. Take the throttle, for instance, which is overly sensitive when leaving from a stop, requiring a patient forefoot to launch smoothly. Then there’s the navigation screen, whose colored traffic display is hard to decipher in daylight and disappears when zooming out beyond a three-mile scale. Last, the infotainment system lacks an “Audio” button on the center stack, requiring the two-step process of touching the “Home” button and then the on-screen “Audio” button. I don’t know about you, but I like to access the audio system often, so this additional step is frustrating. Finally, although I appreciate the standard paddle shifters, especially for accessing engine-braking when heading down a grade, I get annoyed that reengaging Drive isn’t feasible when holding the upshift paddle – you have to give the computer several seconds to figure it out and reengage on its own.
More on our long-term Subaru Outback 2.5i Limited here:
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