New to forum trying to decide on 2015 CX-5, Forester, or Outback
- Thread starter cjecpa
- Start date
Thanks, was it the Outback you test drove? For me I think any of the vehicles will be more upscale then my current vehicle a 2012 Honda Fit. As far as road noise I can not image any of them being more noisy. The one thing though is the complaints on the heater of all three where my Fit I do not have any problems.
The one question I had, is paying the extra to get the Bi-Xenon HID headlamps with auto leveling and auto on/off worth it?
The one question I had, is paying the extra to get the Bi-Xenon HID headlamps with auto leveling and auto on/off worth it?
The HID headlights and auto-leveling with adaptive front lighting are worth every penny. I love them.
I edited my post when I realized you were talking about the Outback (need another cup of coffee!). We only drove the Forester because the Outback was out of our price range.
The Subaru 2.5L up until 2009 definitely blew head gaskets around 100K miles, but not sure if the new engines have that problem. Supposedly a new engine? I know the 2.0 turbo and 3.0 did not have this problem.
Original poster, be wary of the 2010+ Outback as its had steering wheel shake problem, and they have tried numerous fixes. Due to fixes the steering wheel feels hard to turn.
Original poster, be wary of the 2010+ Outback as its had steering wheel shake problem, and they have tried numerous fixes. Due to fixes the steering wheel feels hard to turn.
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Thanks I notice on the touring edition you have to purchase the moon roof to get these so I will see if that changes with the 2015 model.
I do have the GT with Tech. It worked for me because I wanted the moon roof. Living in Florida I get to make good use of it.
As I understand it, that was only an issue with 2010 models.
It is good to read everyone's thoughts and opinions in this thread. About a year ago I bought a slightly used 2010 Mazda5 after test driving a friend/coworker's 2012 Outback (2.5/CVT) a few times. While the CVT took some getting used to, but I like it. In the end, I wanted the extra seat that the Mazda5 gave over the Outback. Since then we have learned that just because the Mazda felt more eager to accelerate, full throttle efforts are a dead heat.
I am starting to research our next purchase, which will likely be a Subaru or Mazda product.
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You get the HID lights with Tech Package, not the Bose/moonroof package.
I notice that but it will not let you purchase the tech package without getting the moon roof package on the Touring edition if you go to the build your CX-5 on the Mazda website.
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- San Antonio, Texas
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- '15 CX-5 Miata AWD
Well, the new Mitsubishi Outlander is a larger car awd and pricing is about the same(also with selectable awd/locking) 6spd, Outlander Sport has less options than these, but awd and lesser price (looks good too).
Thanks but I do not even think there is a dealer around here any more. I kind of narrow it down to the CX-5 and Outback for 2015, but leaning more toward the 2015 CX-5. Initially all the propaganda on the web about Subaru's AWD system made you think you need to buy the Subaru. But after looking at the other AWD vehicles sales in 2013 like the Ford Escape, Toyota Rav4, Honda CRV, and Nissan Rogue that have similar systems to the CX-5. I came to the conclusion the CX-5 would be fine in snowy conditions as long as I use snow tires which owners of the 2014 Forester even recommend to do for snow and not the OEM tires.
Pretty sure shaker problem went beyond 2010. I believe all the way to 2012.
Anyway, here is where you would find out.
http://www.subaruoutback.org/forums/108-steering-wheel-shake-issues/
Mitsubishi Outlander it's the ugliest in my opinion. They will probably end up as Suzuki here in the US. They needed a vehicle like the CX5 to survive here, but in my opinion, they have missed the mark with this Outlander. In my opinion, the 10 year old Outlander Sport, still looks good today.
My wife is big on the Subaru Forester and Outback. Downside on the Outback if you want performance have to get the 3.6l then will be taking a big hit on fuel mileage. The 2.5l does not seem adequate for performance plus from my reading the steering is not that easy. Her big worry is the CX-5 will not perform that good in the snowy conditions as a Subaru.
Of course you will never know how a vehicle will perform in those conditions until you actually have to drive in them. While my feeling is snow tires will be needed no matter what AWD vehicle you buy there is three other seasons of driving.
Of course you will never know how a vehicle will perform in those conditions until you actually have to drive in them. While my feeling is snow tires will be needed no matter what AWD vehicle you buy there is three other seasons of driving.
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with all of the recent weather on the east coast, i could understand her reasoning.
honestly, if a subaru and an AWD cx-5 had the same winter tires, it would be safe to say that yes, the subaru would perform better in the snow.
maybe you won't ever notice the difference, or maybe it might be the difference between being stuck in the snow or not.
Honestly, you are splitting hairs here.
Yes, snow tires are 99% of the game. With both AWD vehicles equipped with snow tires, neither one of them is going to get stuck in the snow unless you do something really, really stupid.
So it comes down to driving dynamics at speeds above 35 mph. I haven't driven any Subaru newer than 2012 but the ones I have driven were more than a little numb in driving feel, something I find very important on very low traction (or variable traction) surfaces. Unless the new Subaru's have much improved feel/dynamics, I would rather be in a CX-5 on treacherous roads.
If you are going winter off-roading maybe the Subaru is your car. And good luck with the winter off-roading.
pjensen641
Member
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- 2013 CX-5 AWD Touring Zeal Red
Totally agree. The stock tires arent great in the snow, but the AWD is more than adequate. My last car was a 2004 WRX with manual which had the good viscous center diff AWD (50/50 split). The system may have been necessary to put down 275 horse in a gravel turn in a 4 wheel drift (with a huge s*** eating grin
). You wont be doing that in a CX-5. In the winter time, with winter tires, both vehicles will get stuck because of ground clearance before they get stuck from an inadequate AWD system. I can still to 4 wheel drifts and spin the back end of my CX-5 around in the winter. I'm not sure why folks complain about excessive wheel slip. That normally causes pushing in the slick. I don't find that with the CX.I have no doubts that the suspension components and the AWD components of the Subaru would stand up to more rough off-road abuse. My WRX was beefy. It was also a smaller car and weighed 3400lbs and got 25 mpg if you weren't driving with your hair of fire. Just have to decide if rough roading duty is a necessary operating parameter for your family.
I guess it very much depends on the level of performance that you are used to. 2.5 (with CVT) works for me (my other car is Mazda 5 with a manual transmission, a car before it was a Volvo 850 - none of them are speed demons but I cannot call them unsafe either). Again, you would not win too many street races but calling the performance inadequate does not seem fair either. I suggest if you have not driven one yet go and give it a try and then decide whether you can live with it.
