Volvo V70 or Subaru outback?

[Cam Correa]

I'm looking to buy a wagon or maybe an SUV. But I'm leaning in the direction of wagon & at this point I was wondering what are your opinions on either the V70 or Outback?

I'd want something fun as well as practical. ( & good-looking )
Does one handle better than the other, & what about up-grading?

I know the V70 is a 5 cyl, not sure what the Outback has under th hood? Opposed 4?

Anyways I would appreciate your input on these two or maybe another similar is size & price range....?

[John Stimson]

My parents have a pair of the previous generation Legacy Outback. Handling, well, they're huge cars and they behave like it. They seem to have what feels like rear bump steer -- at least when they hit a sharp bump, the rear end twitches to the side. The only serious problem has been the need to replace the rear wheel bearings about every 1.5 years on each car. Subaru claimed to have come up with a fix, but they're still going bad after the fix. The new ones are even bigger, and my dad's complaint about them is they don't have nearly as good a turning radius as his.

[Mako Koiwai]

Karen has an '06 Legacy Outback. I really like it ... she's never been that found of it. No problem with the bearings ... but it's on it's 2nd engine rebuild?! All under warranty. Odd, it's a fwy daily driver, while the two WRX's we had were raced and never had any problems. First time something went wrong with the turbo and the engine apparently ingested something. This was at around 45K ... covered under the turbo being part of the emissions system which in CA has an automatic 50K warranty. Half a year later, the engine was sounding "rough" one morning. We had it flat bedded to the dealer. The very long list of parts included basically four of everything in the engine, except three pistons were replaced. ONE was still OK!?

For a wagon, it handles fine ... but, it's a wagon. I don't expect anything else. The only time I drove a Volvo I was disappointed now "wooden" it felt. The Turbo Legacy Outback, like we have, doesn't get great mileage. Even doing long distance cruise control set at 74 mph it only gets 23 mpg. The Vette gets a good 28 at that speed.

[Cam Correa]

Oh, I should mentioned I'm looking at around the '98 to 02 range maybe.
This is all with assumption that I sell my Bronco this weekend?

I've got some guys telling me that parts & labor would be cheaper with the Subaru, than the Volvo?
I need something that will seat 4 adults & have a space out back for our dog.
Yet want to keep him in the comforts of our A/C.
Not putting him in the back of a truck.

[Kurt Rahn]

Don't know if you're looking at new or used, or whether your size requirements are flexible, but you might consider looking at the Audi A3 or A4 Avant, BMW 3 series wagon and Mercedes C class wagons. A3 s a good chunk smaller than the others. If you're looking for another step up from those, there's always the A6 Avant and 5 series and E class wagons.

[Robert Puertas]

Wasn't Rick Jung selling his e46 328i wagon? It's red!

[Ken Lord]

I have a 2005 Legacy Outback with 123,000 miles. No problems except wheelbearings but it was only after 100k that that showed up. Still on the same clutch. I love the car. It holds a tremendous amount of stuff and will go amazing places. Combined mileage is about 26 mpg.

I had a 2013 for a month before my WRX was delivered. It is much bigger and feels more like and SUV than a wagon. The new one was getting around 30 mpg.

When ready I plan on getting another one or possibly the XV Crosstek since it seems a little smaller

[Steve Towers]

Sube Forester.

[Cam Correa]

Sube Forester.

Are they any good?
What about compared to an OutBack?

Looks more truck'ish than station wagon'ish.