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Used 2016 Subaru Outback 3.6R Limited 4dr SUV AWD (3.6L 6cyl CVT) Consumer Reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
59 reviews

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5 out of 5 stars

A 98 out of 100

Edward, Newark, NJ, 01/03/2016
updated 01/22/2024
Subaru Outback 3.6R Limited 4dr SUV AWD (3.6L 6cyl CVT)
64 of 65 people found this review helpful

This is my first Subaru. I traded in a 2012 Genesis in for the Outback. The Genesis was great but living in the northeast, the rear wheel drive was a problem on snowy days. I could have gotten an all wheel drive Genesis but I couldn't justify the 54k it would have cost. (I prefer my vehicles loaded). So after doing much research I decided on that the Outback a closer look. And when I saw it at the auto show in NY, I was surprised by the interior quality. I have only put a little over 1100 miles on it so far and find only a few things that I believe should see improvement. While driving I rest my left knee against the door. It needs more padding. The next item is the gas fill door release.. I challenge the engineers to find it at night when you pull into a gas station. It is on the floor between the seat and the door rim. Invest a couple engineering dollars and either move it to an easily found point within the drivers reach. ERGONOMICS PLEASE. (Have the switch illuminated). The last thing I will knitpick about is the rear door button that you must engage to close the hatch. That should also be illuminated. My 3.6 is loaded. It was almost impossible to find a 6 to test drive, and I was happy that I finally found a dealer that had one I could road test. The 4 would be ok if you did mostly stop and go city driving, but if you have 3 adults in it and you are merging with traffic on the highway you may want to open the windows and start beating your wings. The engine needs a lot of help. The 6 is just great. The ride quality is almost as nice as my Genesis, and I believe it takes the bumps better. The interior is top notch. Very little wind noise. And I am happy to say that I am getting better MPG than are advertised. All in all I believe you would be hard pressed to find a better car for the money. BTW, I ordered the car on Sep. 2 and had to wait 14 week's to receive it. I hope your wait is less. I made them kick in extras for the inconvenience.

Safety
5 out of 5 stars
Technology
5 out of 5 stars
Performance
5 out of 5 stars
Interior
5 out of 5 stars
Comfort
4 out of 5 stars
Reliability
5 out of 5 stars
Value
5 out of 5 stars
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5 out of 5 stars

High Expectations Were Met or Exceeded

Jim K, Blacksburg, SC, 10/20/2015
updated 04/27/2017
Subaru Outback 3.6R Limited 4dr SUV AWD (3.6L 6cyl CVT)
81 of 84 people found this review helpful

After reading every "expert" and "consumer" review that I could find, and after watching every YouTube video about the 2015/2016 Subaru Outback, I decided to order one in July. My wife and I picked up our Outback, October 9th. Before ordering, I was very concerned about the "wind noise" problems described in some of the 2015 reviews. Our car has no "wind noise" issues, and road noise, even at 70 MPH is subdued. Very quiet and comfortable cabin. We only have a little over 600 miles on the Outback so far, but that includes a trip to Sevierville, TN, from our home in the Upstate of SC. The route up I-26W, and I-40W have many high climbs and steep descents, including many twists and turns. The new Outback did a terrific job, easily handling the mountains. I used the Adaptive Cruise Control extensively during the highway portions of the trip, and it was amazing how well this feature worked. It is easy to turn on, and easy to set the distance between you and the car ahead. It reduces a lot of stress. For a car that is fairly big and heavy, the Subaru handled nimbly, both on the serpentine sections of I-40W in northwestern NC, but also in the narrow twisting road roads leading into and out of the Cades Cove section of The Great Smokey Mountains National Park. We are averaging about 23.5 MPG with the 3.6 H-6 in mixed driving conditions ( almost 50/50 city and highway). I am 5'11", and my wife is 4'11". The driver seat easily adjusted for both of our driving setups, and the "Memory Function" for our two driver seating positions, make it very easy for either of us to drive. We traded both of our older cars in on this new Outback, as we are retired, and think that we can get by with just one car. Some people complained about no height adjustment for the front passenger seat. While it might be a nice addition for the Outback, my 4'11" wife has no problem seeing out from that passengers seat. The Navigation system also got some negative comments the past year or so. I was happy with the Ford Sync system ( no nav display; written-spoken directions only), so I am really happy with the Outback Navigation System and Display. It only takes a few minutes to setup and save your various "destinations" to a "favorites" file. To test the system, we went to a very remote address outside of Sevierville, TN, near Lake Douglas. The Nav System guided us flawlessly to the destination. Some people also complained of the Voice Guidance being too intrusive. The volume of the Voice Guidance can be adjusted easily from the on screen menu. A truly nice feature of the Nav System, is the "next turn" display, showing up not only on the 7" nav display, but also in a display on the driver's dash, that also shows MPG, MPH, Trip A and B mileage, etc.(switchable from steering wheel controls). We took another couple through Cades Cove with us, and they were very comfortable in the back seat; plenty of legroom, and A/C-Heating Vents for the rear seat passengers, too. The rear seatbacks recline for additional comfort. Since we only have a little over 600 miles on the car, reliability and some other higher mileage issues can't be address yet. So far though, this is one outstanding vehicle, and it was worth the near 3 month wait to receive it. The "Owner's Manuals" are extensive, and I read some of the material every day, and then go to the car to use what I have learned. I think that it will take a month to read, and understand everything. One cautionary note, the "keyless" functions of the car warn of the possible hazard to anyone who has a pacemaker installed, due to transmitting antennas located throughout the car. This could effect you or your passengers, so you may not want to go the "keyless" way. Our car was ordered with everything except the auto-dimming side mirrors. All in all, a really nice vehicle. Very pleased. **Updates as of 4/26/16 Mileage 9267 MPG Combined 23.9 Best HWY MPG 26.8 (70 MPH) Terrain - Rolling Hills to Flat I still consider the cabin "fairly quiet". The noise level greatly depends on road surfaces. I sometimes think that the cabin might be a little too noisy, but riding same roads in a Cadillac SUV, and a BMW X5, produce similar quietness levels; Concrete whistles, black top is quiet, and milled roads are aggravatingly loud! We have made 6 trips of 650 miles in a day, and the drive was not fatiguing. The seats are comfortable, and the adaptive cruise control is terrific. Coming into Atlanta from I-75 and connecting to I-85 via I-675 and I-475, is a nightmare of construction, and general craziness. I just stayed "right", out of harm's way, and the adaptive cruise was terrific. I still rate the Navigation System as excellent. Just load up your "Favorites" and go. It sometimes takes a while to "search" for places, but not too daunting. However, it's better to do your research online, find the restaurant or hotel's address, and just enter it into favorites. Can't write more do to Edmund's software.

Safety
5 out of 5 stars
Technology
5 out of 5 stars
Performance
5 out of 5 stars
Interior
5 out of 5 stars
Comfort
5 out of 5 stars
Reliability
5 out of 5 stars
Value
5 out of 5 stars
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4 out of 5 stars

Ski car

Peter Phares, San Jose, CA, 02/05/2016
updated 08/09/2018
Subaru Outback 3.6R Limited 4dr SUV AWD (3.6L 6cyl CVT)
27 of 28 people found this review helpful

The Outback was purchased as a ski-commuting vehicle (for usually no more than 2-3 passengers, including driver). I've had it 2 year, 8 months and driven 22,000 miles- 90% highway (200 miles each way to skiing). Overall, good cargo capacity, loading/unloading of cargo, and equipment (fold down half of the rear seat and putting skis inside in ski bags). The ride is comfortable, and I use the dynamic cruise control a lot- which works well, even in heavy traffic or slow traffic. It's a generally a fairly quiet vehicle with muted road and wind noise (except side mirrors- see below). GREAT snow traction! I haven't had any issues getting moving in 8"+ of fresh snow, and have never gotten stuck. The 6 cylinder motor has good power, and the CVT works well generally- but reverse responsiveness is a bit uneven, and strange compared with a standard automatic (but hasn't been a big deal). The paddle shifters are very helpful on downhill grades. Fuel economy is ok, not great. Highway fuel economy is much better if you keep it under 70 mph on the freeway (which can be slow on some CA freeways)--- keep it 2-3 MPH under 70 and I get 26-28 MPG. Avg 70 MPH, and I get no more than 26 MPG. If you average 75 on the freeway, you'll get 24 mpg max. I don't jackrabbit start or use heavy throttle, mostly drive with eye-sight cruise control on. Currently, I'm not using the roof rack and don't have a cargo box- so loading the roof would reduce mpg further. I would have preferred a turbo 4-cylinder option to the 6 cylinder. My biggest complaint about the car is driver seat comfort. I am 6'1", and 210 lbs. The seats are not large enough for someone over 6' tall, and it's difficult to find a comfortable driving position for longer trips. The view of the instruments for taller drivers isn't great. If I had the ability to change the car, I would create a longer seat cushion for more thigh support, add more bolstering on the sides of the seats (almost none there now, not good in corners), improve adjustment range of seat tilt, and increase the steering wheel telescoping length. I have a 2009 Honda Accord coupe and a 1999 VW Passat, and in both cars I find several comfortable seating positions for long trips--- not so in the Outback.... I'm constantly adjusting the seating position, but nothing feels quite right. The center console intrudes too much into the leg space. I'm not uncomfortable in the car- but never very comfortable either. It also could use a center armrest which adjusts up/down. Wind noise with side mirrors is bad, in anything more than a light cross-wind you get some significant rumble coming off the mirrors (guessing 10 mph+ cross winds it gets rumbly). The door storage pockets don't work well for water bottles. MirrorLink never worked (connect to phone for phone based apps)- from what I've read, I need an older version of the app on my phone (which is not compatible with my newer Samsung phone). This is a joke that Subaru didn't update the MirrorLink to work with newer phones. The App menu still prominently displays 'MirrorLink', yet the functionality isn't there- horrible to sell the feature they never planned on supporting. One other complaint is the quality of the lower body cladding--- it pits very easily. My VW Passat with 180K miles on it has much less pitting on the lower cladding from snow and sand coming off the tires than the Outback with 4500 miles. The front splash guards need to be bigger and the cladding plastic a higher quality. Overall, I'd give the car a "B" grade. The jury is out on whether I keep it long term or sell in a few years (I normally like to keep a car for 8-15 years) Too early to tell on reliability (no repairs thus far at 22K miles). Friends with Subarus have had good luck with reliability- other than the older models with known head gasket issues.

Safety
5 out of 5 stars
Technology
3 out of 5 stars
Performance
4 out of 5 stars
Interior
4 out of 5 stars
Comfort
3 out of 5 stars
Reliability
4 out of 5 stars
Value
3 out of 5 stars
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5 out of 5 stars

My wife loves it

Desert Mountain Biker, Scottsdale, AZ, 07/15/2016
updated 02/11/2022
Subaru Outback 3.6R Limited 4dr SUV AWD (3.6L 6cyl CVT)
15 of 15 people found this review helpful

This is our second Outback. My wife hated the passenger seat in the 2006 and wasn't too fond of the hard seat on the driver side either. Fortunately, the 2016 has enough driver side adjustments that she can find a very comfortable driving position. The passenger side was still an issue so we didn't buy until I found a cushion in one of the upper level catalogs that relieved that problem. It has a support matrix and memory foam and it boost her up a bit since which is ok since she is 5'4". If the passenger seat had the same adjustments as the driver's seat, we could have bought the car sooner. She loves the radio and the great visibility and the backup camera and warning system. I really like the adaptive cruise control. It is great for both local driving and for the freeway. Average gas mileage is an honest 24mpg and we have gotten 27 +mpg on long trips through desert and mountains but most of our driving is not in dense city driving. We recently did a trip through Colorado to Animas Forks at 11200 feet on a very bad road. The only vehicles on that day that made it up into that region were the intermediate sized 4WD vehicles and newer Outbacks and Foresters. The x- mode was really nice for the return trip down the hill and the hill holder was also nice in places where the car could slip backwards between shifts. The navigation system is nothing special, confusing at best but useful once one gets use to it. But it does seem to miss useful data like gas station locations in Cal. The phone and Garmin type navigation are superior. I wish we didn't have to have the moonroof - mostly useless in a desert climate - in order to get Eyesight. Based on more than a 60 fillups, the indicated fuel economy is 5.5% too high. Not bad but not correct either. I wish the seats were a bit longer but my wife would not have liked that. Fortunately, the seat adjustments make long distance driving comfortable. Based on several hours of riding with my 6'1" frame, the back seat is also amazingly comfortable and roomy especially in comparison to the 2006. We had one trip for hours through the desert in 122 deg heat with no problems. The A/C worked very well. The engine is very responsive and quiet. Downshifting for long declines with the paddle shifters is easy. We have has no problems and see the dealer for the scheduled service only. And unfortunately for me, my wife has stopped driving our other car and is now a great fan of Subaru. The only negative is that the battery failed at only 14 months in a hotel parking lot in Tucson. Fortunately, not very inconvenient. 17 months later, the replacement battery from AAA also failed in my garage. That one was free and the inconvenience was minimal. I had also talked with a lady waiting for service at the dealership who had had 2 battery failures within the first 2 years and was waiting on yet another. The service rep recommended getting one of the portable batteries for jump starting at ~$100. Given that we live in the desert, the heat could be a factor but the life is much less than any other batteries I have ever had. I bought a portable charging device when the current battery reached 1 year. There have been no maintenance issues. But we have replaced 2 windshields because of rocks from the 101 in Scottsdale, AZ. Because cracked windshields are so common here, our auto insurance has full glass coverage. We also had the moon roof shatter when it was hit by something from a large panel construction truck going the opposite way. That was also covered under insurance. The tires were replaced with Michelins at about 40000 miles ago and they might have slightly reduced fuel economy. At 82000 miles, one of the fans failed, struck the radiator and caused a leak. Both radiator and fan had to be replaced but no other engine components were damaged. Still like the vehicle and we did test drive the new XT for 4 days as a loaner and that 2022 is even better. So we ordered one and traded the 2016 to the dealer because the increase used car value helps cancel the high price one has to pay for a new version. The 2022 XT is a definite improvement on the 2016 but it will take awhile to determine how much.

Safety
5 out of 5 stars
Technology
4 out of 5 stars
Performance
4 out of 5 stars
Interior
4 out of 5 stars
Comfort
5 out of 5 stars
Reliability
3 out of 5 stars
Value
5 out of 5 stars
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5 out of 5 stars

No longer your father's Subaru!

WJZ, Strasburg, PA, 12/22/2015
updated 12/22/2016
Subaru Outback 3.6R Limited 4dr SUV AWD (3.6L 6cyl CVT)
34 of 36 people found this review helpful

I've owned many Subaru's over many years. I'm no die hard Subaru owner however. In the past, they've been quirky and were always "catching up to the competition"! This newest generation is close to, or at the top of the heap, among it's competitors and I find myself more than satisfied with it in so many ways. Perfect? No! Going to acoustic glass in the front quiets typical wind/road noise up front but only highlights noise from the rest of the chassis. Not a real problem in and of itself, but I feel Subaru should have gone the rest of the way with noise reduction. Let's face it, this is a car that can cost almost $40K and road noise (although not bad) should not be quite as noticeable. There are a few other shortcomings, such as the lack of power adjustments on the passenger seat and some displays on the dash are too small. In all honesty, the technology can be a bit overwhelming too (ex: the separate manual for the navigation system is bigger than the owner's manual). There are more warning lights and buzzers than anyone needs, they can be distracting and we've shut a few off altogether. All this being said however, doesn't mean this isn't a wonderful car with many great features. It is that and then some. First time with a 6 cylinder Subaru and we find the motor quiet, refined and quite impressive from an acceleration perspective. The 6 cylinder engine changes the character of the vehicle perceptibly for the better (IMHO) and fuel mileage is not atypical. We've compared this vehicle to many others out in the marketplace that it competes against and it simply has more features, at a better price, than all of them. In the past, we've found the Subarus we've owned to be reliable, capable and to have above average resale value (in spite of their quirkiness). As of this review, I can add they are now better all around, even if that means a bit less quirky as well. Owning the vehicle for over 1 yr. now, my only real complaint is the overall noise level of the vehicle. Now that the tires are worn down a bit, there is a bit more road noise being transmitted into the vehicle thru the chassis. I think Subaru should banish this to "a thing of the past". We also own an 11 yr. old BMW X3 and I don't think the Outback is as quiet as the old X3 (that vehicle not known for it's quietness). Summing it up then, the Outback is still a very nice vehicle, but more refinement would certainly help it's cause.

Safety
5 out of 5 stars
Technology
5 out of 5 stars
Performance
5 out of 5 stars
Interior
5 out of 5 stars
Comfort
5 out of 5 stars
Reliability
5 out of 5 stars
Value
5 out of 5 stars
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