On Wheels by Brooks Peterson

Saturday, August 5, 2000

Latest in spunky Subaru line augments car's persona

Look: How are you not gonna love Subaru?
   I mean, come on. As Bill Murray pointed out in that unforgettable harangue in "Stripes," we're Americans, which means all of us (OK: almost all) are mutts - people who have, however improbably, washed ashore on a strange, threatening but infinitely promising land, and thrived against all odds.
   Americans are not going to find a warm place in their heart for a plucky little underdog like Subaru? Yeah, sure - and Americans didn't cry their eyes out at the end of the movie when Old Yeller bought the farm. Gimme a break.
   If you've paid attention, you'll know that Subaru has had its share of ups and downs since it scrambled into the U.S. market back in the '60s (I think): Over time, the company gained a foothold here. It gained a cult-like following among residents of the Frost Belt who embraced Subaru for offering four-wheel-drive on regular ol' civilian cars.
   At some point, however, Subaru missed a downshift: Inspired by pixie dust, or something, the company decided to ditch the niche and duke it out with the big boys - Toyota, Nissan, Honda, et al - model for model.
   Didn't work. In fact, it was almost the end of Subaru here. But then the company came up with a life-saving stroke of genius: It would make 4WD (actually, the more sophisticated all-wheel-drive by that time) standard on all its vehicles: wagons, sedans, coupes, the lot.
   Simultaneously, crafty old Subaru was bringing off another coup. It cooked up what you might call SUV Lite: Wagons (and more recently sedans) with beefed-up suspensions and macho cosmetics. With a little help from Crocodile Dundee himself, the Outback was born - first as a spinoff from the bigger Legacy line, later to be joined by a similarly spunky Outback derivative of the smaller Impreza line.
   And the joint has been rockin' ever since.
   The latest variation on this theme is the Outback Limited, which augments the vehicle's Paul Hogan persona with a nice welcome dollop of luxe.
   Though anyone can tell after spending a while with the Outback (Limited or otherwise) just what an intelligently conceived and sorted-out vehicle this is, you really need to have at least a bit of history with Subaru to really appreciate it.
   See, back when I first started driving Subarus for this space, I found them to be strangely endearing. The styling in some cases was downright weird, and the engine, that little horizontally-opposed "boxer" four, was a growly proposition that called to mind nothing so much as the old VW Beetle air-cooled flat four. Though the Subaru engine was (and remains) water-cooled, the kinship was definitely there.
   And now? In this elegant Outback Limited, with its leather upholstery, its superb in-dash CD changer and its heated seats - in this vehicle, are we to listen to that ol' rough-as-a-cob four?
   'Course not: It's still a four, and the format remains the same - but, my, what a change there's been. This rumbling, grumbling engine has been civilized to an almost astonishing extent - and, in this vehicle, has been prevailed upon to produce an entirely respectable 165 horsepower.
   But wait; there's more: Head out on the road, and you'll be genuinely startled at the solidity and silence of this pseudo-ute. Not only is engine noise minimal; wind noise has also been all but banished.
   And even as you luxuriate in all this civility, you can also have a bit of fun should you be so inclined. True, the Outback's suspension is jacked up a bit in comparison with its Legacy forebears, but not so much as to have a disastrous impact on handling. Monster truck drivers may sneer at you, but they'll be eating your dust when you get to twisties.
   Of course, being a Subaru, the car is going to have a few little, er, idiosyncrasies. This is not a vanilla vehicle.
   Take the parking lights. Please. A nice gent walking by our house rang the doorbell to inform us said lights were still on. I had assumed they were on a timer. Not so. There ensued a deeply frustrating search for the parking light switch. Not until I was finally driven to check the manual did I find it: perched atop the steering column right where most other cars have the switch for the emergency blinkers. The emergency-blinker switch, by the way, is on the dash. Between the air vents.
   Oh, and about those vents: Fashioned of sturdy plastic, they don't look any different from those on any other modern vehicle - but if you dial up Force 5 cooling from the A/C, the little vanes in the vents immediately flop over to the Full Left and Full Right positions respectively. If you want any other setting, Krazy Glue may be needed.
   But, hey: If you're a member of the Subaristi, that's just the dues you pay for refusing to run with the common herd.
   And it's not as if Subaru were neglecting you. Get this: For 2001, a proper big six-cylinder engine will debut in a couple of extra-fancy Outbacks - after which, in due course, it will probably migrate down to other vehicles in the line.
   Meanwhile, you can pass the time as I did: Cranking up the A/C and turning on the heated seats.
   Life is good. Toss another shrimp on the barbie for me, willya, Mr. Dundee?
  
  

---

  © 2000 Corpus Christi Caller Times, a Scripps Howard newspaper. All rights reserved.