That makes sense. Same as me kicking down to fifth for a little more power on hills sometimes.
If size is an issue the Outback is currently Subaru’s largest offering so you might want to consider the Impreza or Forester. Not sure if that holds true for older models, though.
How about the Tribeca?
Still have a 2002 Forester that my daughter drives to school and work.
We bought it used with 35K miles on it, and over the next several months it developed a strange diesel note to the engine.
The sound became more pronounced as the years passed. One day I took it to my local garage and asked the mechanics loitering about if they could give it a quick listen. They nodded and said “uh oh…is it still under warranty?”
It had 59,500 miles at that point, so I immediately took it to the Subaru dealer, not knowing if there was some double-secret drive train warranty that would expire at 60K.
The engine was trashed. After a bit of negotiation where I had to document as many oil changes as possible, the regional manager approved replacement of the engine at no cost.
The second engine was nice, but was leaking oil. I took it back, and they told me it had a casting defect and that they would replace it again at no cost.
So, we have a Forester with its third engine, two replaced for free. I know folks sing the praises of the boxer engine, but even when we managed to get two bad ones in a row they fixed them free, even though we weren’t the original owners. Subaru FTW.
They went away after 2014, although they also didn’t bring very many of them over the previous few years because they weren’t really selling very well, for whatever reason. There might be a replacement coming in a few years, but it’d be made in North America and right now Subaru is struggling to keep up production on the models they’ve already got.
OK, they were in the dealership when I bought my '14 Forester. I’ve got to keep up.
My Wife and I drive our cars into the ground for the most part. But need it to do great in snow and hauling capacity. We each drive over the continental divide at 11500 ft twice every day.
It’s not unusual to get a total of 30 feet of snow throughout the winter.
My Wifes current car is a Grand Jeep. Does great. But is a maintenance hog. If something can go wrong it will. My wife will be buying a Subaru next summer. I’m on deck for a new car too. I have no Idea what will be available when I pull the trigger. The Outback is too small for me for an everyday driver.
But. At looking at current options the Outback looks good for my wife. Not as much room as the Grand Jeep, but better millage and less expensive. And it has good ground clearance. Surprisingly so.