Used 2021 Subaru Outback Consumer Reviews
Used Outback for sale
Great car, infotainment is its Achilles heel
GME, 06/07/2023
2021 Subaru Outback Onyx Edition XT 4dr SUV AWD (2.4L 4cyl Turbo CVT)
4 of 4 people found this review helpful
I bought my Outback new in 2021. Extremely comfortable car and the turbo is fantastic (though the break-in period was pretty awful as the power wasn't consistent - this fixed itself around 1500ish miles). Lots of space and the sound system is great. That being said, I'm going to be getting rid of the car due to the infotainment system. Just about everything from the radio to the climate is controlled via the infotainment. It is very laggy and poorly laid out. It frequently crashes and restarts. I can't fathom the infotainment system lasting more than five or so years before needing to be replaced. If this is the way Subaru is going with all of their vehicles I will never buy another Subaru again.
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Disappointed
Jim, 04/09/2023
2021 Subaru Outback Premium 4dr SUV AWD (2.5L 4cyl CVT)
4 of 4 people found this review helpful
I’ve had this 2021 Outback for almost two years. Nearly 20,000 miles. The good: cannot beat this car in bad weather, snow, ice and mud. The all wheel drive is a confidence booster in those situations. The base engine is peppy and adequate for most. The road handling qualities are a lil stiff, but also create a fun driving experience. The all wheel drive corners on rails. Seats are comfortable on road trips. No problems yet with the windshield…. Now the bad: Brakes are beginning to feel grindy at 20k, gonna have to check that out. Auto start feature is annoying; but can be turned off. Anecdotally, the gas money saved pales in comparison to the cost of replacing the starter when it fails. Not if, when. Eye-sight does work, however you had better turn it off if you are driving winding mountain roads..it will think you are running into the mountain and give you a heart attack when it brakes. If you like farting in and out of traffic…it will not let you. The driver monitoring system is dumb and cannot deal with sunglasses. It will pester you until you turn it off. The worst thing, though, is the touch screen. 1-2 second delay on anything you do. That’s either a programming choice by the factory or poor hardware. ( my wife’s Lexus does not have a delay…maybe Subaru got the B team programmers?) Frustrating when parked; dangerous when moving. As with all touch screens, you have to tap the correct spot. With the laggy response, you are required to pay attention to where you are tapping and are not rewarded quickly enough with the correct response. This causes frustration and attention away from the road. The climate control “buttons” are minuscule and require you to focus on what you are tapping, especially the fan controls. VERY dangerous. Old school vehicles had knobs and levers that require minimal attention and could be operated by feel. Not so here. The navigation is hopelessly clunky to use. Partially due to the lag time in using the “buttons”. The lift gate has handy push button operation, however when using the dash button, it will not operate unless the drivers door is open. From a programming standpoint, the interlock could be set to only operate when in park… The proximity switch setting for the lift gate is handy, when it works, but the button that turns that feature on/off has no indicator telling you which position it is in. Trial and error is required. Recommendations for Subaru: bring back knobs, buttons and levers for the climate control. Add an LED to the lift gate proximity switch. Touchscreens are cool… only if they work and do not add to the workload of the driver. ( Aviation cockpit designers have learned that lesson via accidents and death..) As a programmer, I know that phone apps have delays intentionally written in so as to tickle our brains into reward cycles. This is not preferred in an auto. Reprogram or figure out how to get rid of the touchscreen input lag.
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Infotainment System nightmare
J Hart, 07/20/2022
2021 Subaru Outback Premium 4dr SUV AWD (2.5L 4cyl CVT)
4 of 4 people found this review helpful
Steer clear of this car. The infotainment system is known to be faulty, it shuts down while driving and takes all the electronic safety features with it. We’ve been fighting with Subaru for six months and have had to hire a lawyer to deal with them. An absolute nightmare!
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Out of the box ... a DUD
NotYetDefeated, 08/10/2021
2021 Subaru Outback Touring XT 4dr SUV AWD (2.4L 4cyl Turbo CVT)
4 of 4 people found this review helpful
I purchased a '21 Subaru Outback. By the time I reached 700 miles, I had jumped the car 6 times to start it. Fortunately I still have my 2010 Forester to drive, because time after time, the Outback battery was dead whenever I tried to use it. Interior lights, warning signals ... no, there was no indication lights were on overnight, and I checked the car in the dark for anything that was "On". The dealer offered no explanation other than the battery was dead when I took it in. They replaced the battery today. The service tech would not say it was an upgrade, only that the price was over $400. The corporate Subaru gave me a $350 coupon for a battery replacement AT THE DEALERSHIP! Next step if I still have a problem ... call Parts and order an upgraded battery.
great buy
koba Shvelidze , 05/09/2021
2021 Subaru Outback Touring 4dr SUV AWD (2.5L 4cyl CVT)
4 of 4 people found this review helpful
I was nicely surprised; I didn't expect Subaru outback would be such a great car. I am very pleased with my purchase. it drives nicely, visibility is incredible, and looks very classy too.
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- Technology
- Performance
- Interior
- Comfort
- Reliability
- Value