Used 2015 Subaru Outback Consumer Reviews
Used Outback for sale
So Good We Bought 2
Joe P, 07/28/2015
updated 08/02/2016
2015 Subaru Outback 2.5i Premium PZEV 4dr SUV AWD (2.5L 4cyl CVT)
21 of 23 people found this review helpful
Had a 2013 Outback that was loved by all and performed well. It had a stiff ride though, handling was just OK and the interior was so so. The 2015 is a night and day improvement...... to the point we went back and bought a 2nd. Ride quality is supreme and the power-train is quiet and smooth. The 2.5 engine has plenty of pep for most uses and the CVT is really well tuned for around town and highway use. MPG is as advertised. Handling is surprisingly agile. The height of vehicle will always limit its sportiness but I am shocked out much I can hustle the car through back roads. Steering in precise and road grip is abundant. Back road gravel/dirt roads are handled like a champ and X mode helps when going down steep muddy declines. The car will control braking and throttle so you only need to steer. No experience with snow yet. The 2013 performed well but the tires that come with the outback are crappy for winter use. I would suggest upgraded all seasons or dedicated winter tires/rims. The interior is plush and well fitted with solid materials front to back. The tan interior now comes with black door sills and door trim which hides all the dirt. Love the auto/auto front driver/passenger windows but i wish they would just make all 4 of them auto. The cloth is grippy and well made unlike the last gen cloth. Cargo storage under the hatch floor has been decreased which is sort of a bummer but there is now more room in the rest of the car. Get the accessory cargo nets as they are a real help.The power lift gate is super handy but i wish you could operate it manually. The premium trim stereo is no show stopper but when the EQ settings are tuned correctly it pumps out pretty decent sound for all genres. Hopefully they bundle the harmon kardon unit into one of the premium trim option packages down the road.The roof rack now has tie down hooks which are great for gear and im really liking the steps that are integrated into the door sills for an easy step up to the roof. IIHS safety scores are top notch and reliability flawless. Skip the hype of honda/toyota and grab a subie.
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Gas mileage does not come close
A. Fleck, 01/30/2016
updated 08/02/2016
2015 Subaru Outback 2.5i 4dr SUV AWD (2.5L 4cyl CVT)
9 of 9 people found this review helpful
The purchase of a new car is a huge deal to us, since we are not wealthy by any means. After two years of research before buying our 2015 Outback, one of the main selling points was the advertised gas mileage. We drive the car carefully, so it is not an issue of how we drive. It gets 20 mpg city and, if we are lucky, 26-27 highway. A huge disappointment. How can they get away with lying like this?
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2015 Subaru Outback for sale near you
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- 2.5i Premium PZEV 4dr SUVMSRP: $8,999In-stock online
- 2.5i Limited 4dr SUVMSRP: $11,99525 mi away
- 3.6R Limited 4dr SUVMSRP: $10,18535 mi away
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Good and bad
Eric, 01/29/2016
updated 03/05/2018
2015 Subaru Outback 2.5i 4dr SUV AWD (2.5L 4cyl CVT)
9 of 9 people found this review helpful
So there are many nice things about the vehicle. A couple of long road trips with and without the luggage carrier on top. (We got about 28pg highway) The road noise is louder than I'd expect. The acceleration is SLOW, but is steady and isn't that big of a problem once you get used to it. Just don't jump out in heavy traffic, give yourself some room. The active safety "eyesight" is a love hate relationship. If you're following someone faster on the freeway you can set your cruise to 90 and it'll just maintain the speed and appropriate distance from the vehicle in front of you, which is nice. The lane sensors on the side view mirrors seem to work well, although they take a little getting used to. It is comfortable enough, although nothing I'd shout about. We did drive for several hours on the highway with up to 6" of snow before the plows came and had no problems, although we were only going about 35mph. It handled snowy driveways with some elevation change just fine as well, nothing crazy. The car is roomy enough and it's easy to get a car seat in and out of the back. There's also enough room in the cargo area to put the dog (we keep her on a doggy car harness tethered to the rear cargo hook) and a large stroller with no difficulties. The comfort level of the seats is adequate with nothing to complain about or rave about. Now for my complaints. The entire electronics package sucks. I hate it. Nothing is intuitive. I'm comparing this to both a BMW, where I can control everything with one little knob in the center console, and a dodge ram, which is super simple and intuitive. Changing anything requires a lot of taking your eyes off the road. The clock is tiny and requires looking at the console a couple of times to find where it is (it's my wife's daily driver, not mine). I had to pull over and screw with the radio for several minutes to figure out how to manually change a station, it only wanted to work on pre-sets. The voice commands are horrible. If you want to input something in the navigation, forget it. It requires pulling over. My wife driving and me entering an address.... not a safety issue. Maybe subaru should change the sensor and let you put in the address on the go if there is someone in the passenger seat. There's already a sensor there as the car yells at you for not being buckled up. I'm glad this is my wife's car, I would not own it myself simply because of how much I despise the electronics package.
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DEAD Batteries - Subaru finally replaced battery
Jon Fish, 11/14/2015
updated 08/02/2016
2015 Subaru Outback 2.5i PZEV 4dr SUV AWD (2.5L 4cyl CVT)
31 of 35 people found this review helpful
New Battery solved problem - Battery has died 11 times in 9 months I have owned 2015 Outback Wagon. Three visits (7 days without car) to Dealerships have not detected any electrical problem (other than replacing alternator on second visit ). Still the car dies. Several instances seem to result from short trips to do errands. Also extended period of open power lift gate will deplete battery even with dome light off. Would love to remove power lift gate, but dealer says it will cost several 1,000's of dollars. Best feature is Eye Sight. Blind spot warnings work well and makes one feel much safer. Have had several occasions when Eye Sight failure light up, but restarting car several times has caused problem to go away. Battery failures are so pervasive that I have no confidence that car will start and constantly have to plan where I park so I can get jump start. I do appreciate the kindness of strangers who have helped. Suspect there is a design problem with undersized battery. Attempting to return car under Calif Lemon Law. This car is not anything like previous Subaru I have owned
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Drive it weekly or have a dead battery
William Wehner, 07/30/2015
updated 08/02/2016
2015 Subaru Outback 2.5i PZEV 4dr SUV AWD (2.5L 4cyl CVT)
36 of 41 people found this review helpful
This is my first Subaru. Overall I love the car and everything about it... with one major exception. After parking the car for just over a week, the battery was DEAD. I called the dealership and was told, "all of the onboard computer systems will drain the battery if the vehicle sits for over a week." The dealership offerred a solution to solve the problem. Open the hood and disconnect the battery ground when the vehicle is to be left for a week. This is unacceptable to me. A car with the level of sophisticated electronics present in the 2015 Subaru Outback should be able to measure battery level and automatically shutdown unnecessary electronics and go into hibernate mode. The low level solution might be a battery disconnect switch (pre-installed). I have yet to convince my wife that she needs to become a mechanic and disconnect the battery ground when she is away for a week and the car is left at the airport.
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