Subaru Introduces New Outback Limited Sedan for 2000
By Ben Miller
Contributing Editor
If you want to buy an all-wheel-drive
sedan and you want to keep the price under $30,000, you won't
be visiting too many auto dealers other than a Subaru showroom.
The Audi A4 and the Mercedes-Benz E320 AWD are fine all-wheel-drive
cars, but sorry, they're out of your under-$30,000 limit. Subaru
has a couple of choices at the higher end of its price spectrum
(whatever happened to "inexpensive and built to stay that
way?"), including the new 2000 Outback Limited Sedan.
Subaru has turned the Legacy Sport Utility Sedan into the Outback
Limited Sedan for 2000, probably because the "Outback"
name is selling quite well.
Subaru apparently believes that "Outback" users are
more prone to take their vehicles off-road than "Legacy"
users, but still, somehow, it's just hard to envision taking a
$26,000 sedan and going off-road with it onto some four-wheel-drive
path in the mountains.
But it's nice to know that the car has all-wheel-drive for sticky
Panhandle driving situations.
For an all-wheel-drive sedan, the Outback Limited Sedan has few
peers in this price range, but you might want to be careful, because
the vehicle might have a few too many drawbacks to justify its
$26,000 price tag.
The car is powered by a 2.5-liter, 165-horsepower four-cylinder
engine that is woefully outclassed by nearly every other sedan
in this price category.
You want get-up-and-go when you pay this much for a car, and the
Outback Limited Sedan doesn't deliver as much as it should in
the engine department. (Gas mileage for the automatic-equipped
sedan is 22 miles per gallon in the city and 27 on the highway.)
Another annoyance with the car is the automatic transmission.
Styled after a pricey Mercedes-Benz automatic transmission shifting
layout, a driver ratchets the shift lever down to get out of park.
Unfortunately, that usually ends with the shift lever ending up
in the neutral notch (you're not going anywhere in a hurry in
that gear) or in third gear.
Hitting fourth gear will take quite a bit of practice and hunting
until you get it down right.
Inside, the Outback Limited Sedan comes with nearly everything
you'll need to stay comfortable.
One nice item, which comes in handy when the thermometer is reading
below zero, is the standard front heated seats.
Other standard features include power sunroof, leather seats,
air conditioning, power windows/mirrors/door locks, keyless remote
entry and a power driver's seat.
Anti-lock brakes and dual front and side air bags are also standard.
The styling may take some getting used to as well. The lower body
side cladding is a different color than the rest of the car, and
the cladding has some interesting notches in the side.
The side cladding notches make the car look like it comes "pre-dented,"
according to my spouse.
The test 2000 Outback Limited Sedan had a base price of $25,895.
With one option (subwoofer-amplifier - $260) and destination charge,
the total was $26,650.
Subaru should be commended for its effort to create an all-wheel
drive sedan that costs thousands of dollars less than competitors
including the Audi A4 and the Mercedes-Benz E320.
You want the safe feeling of all-wheel-drive luxury sedan under
$30,000, you probably will enjoy the Outback Limited Sedan.
You won't get the power of an A4 in the 2000 Outback Limited Sedan
or the brick-like quality of the E320.
But then, you won't be spending as much money, either.
