Handling or Acceleration

Some of you and I know who you are, will say that the 2006 to 2009 Subaru Outbacks are lower to the ground and handle better than the 2010 plus versions. Maybe that's true, however, the 2010 cars and newer are a lot safer in crash tests. I don't know why anyone would purchase a car like this for "slalom racing".

Just get the 3.6L and upgrade the suspension, add lightweight wheels and sticky tires. If you want the faster 0 to 60 times and handling or turbo the 2.5L.

Thanks, actually, I'm not sure if the standard 2.5 Four as designed is built for an aftermarket turbo, and don't think I really need the extra zippy acceleration. Plus, turbocharged engines lead harder lives. If I really thought I needed extra power, I would have persisted in looking for a used 3.6 naturally aspirated engine. You know, here's an interesting thing, the 3.6 H6 can tow 3,000 pounds while the 2.5 Four has a tow capacity of 2,700 pounds. That's only 300 pounds more than the Four cylinders. So, the only real advantage is the power climbing up mountains. When driving in mountains, I hardly notice any loss of performance due to the ever changing continuously variable transmission. That was NOT available on the 3.6 H6 in 2010. They had the old 5 speed transmission. That extra gear is handy. And, all of the NEW Subaru Outback's are all CVT....that definitely tells you they are committed to this new technology for fuel economy. I know that there's naysayers out there casting dispersions on the CVT, BUT, the person with 300,000 miles is a prime example of how well some of this newer technology can go.

You know mark.. You should seriously reconsider your role here on this site. You are meticulous with your car and don't need the help that this site is intended for. This is a ridiculous question that has no realistic answer. Just like towing a camper and wanting to know which top case luggage is most fuel efficient... Buy the right vehicle or modify it. Stop asking these questions and then disagreeing with responders.

Walth- I'm not in disagreement with Michael at all. He's right, the 3.6 is definitely a faster car, no question. The reason I asked this question is to find out how people feel about getting the extra two seconds of acceleration to 60 MPH. Both engines are good and can easily tow my trailer and in California, the posted speed limit is 55 anyway. You can safely push it to 60 or so, but, if you go too much faster, the CHP will cite you. Hey, I thought this site was for car enthusiasts, and sure I would like to know what people are thinking. And, you're very CORRECT about the way I keep my cars. My car's are always in top notch condition, if they're not, I take them to a professional mechanic. Who wants to be stranded? And, my question about a roof top cargo case? Yes, I really don't know. I'm looking into it. From my initial inquiry, I'm leaning towards Yakima. Have you ever used one? There's a few things to consider on the roof top cargo boxes. They have to be removed before you go through a car wash, they might create a whistle noise while driving down the road and they come in a variety of shapes and sizes. As for handling characteristics, I think that it's possible that the Four is a little lighter on its feet because it's 164 pounds lighter, but, maybe there's people out there who will not agree. If Michael had not brought up the issue of upgraded suspension or lightweight wheels, I would not know about that. So, it's an exchange of Information. I'd like to find out more information about Class B motor coaches, but, there's not a lot of information on this forum about it. Right now, the Subaru Outback is my tow vehicle for my teardrop trailer. And, my primary concern is to try and get 200,000 or more miles from my Subaru.

yep he's right, TURBO. nuff said. I think I've asked one or two questions the entire time I've been on this site. If you were on a real forum, I sincerely think you would have been banned several times over. Forum goers don't answer questions like yours, they tell you to use the search feature or go to Google.

as far as turbo charging the 2.5 it would depend on the year for it to work out good as the newer cars have cvt transmission for the top trim levels if you had a model with 5 or 6 speed manual it could handle it no problem but you still couldnt run much boost reason being is the stock compression ratio is 10 to 1 for a 2012 outback maybe 6-7 lbs would be safe as long as you had the manual transmission version. the cvt would never handle the extra torque especially with the added stress of towing something there is a lot of sites that even suggest to not down shift the cvt to prevent premature transmission failure or wear i own a 2012 outback limited with the cvt and the 2.5 and i love it. the reality is no one buys a outback for fast 0-60 times and the fact that the 3.6r is only rated with 300 more lbs of towing makes it a ridiculous option in my opinion the 2.5 is a proven workhorse that has impeccable reliability i cant say the same for the 3.6r. but if you need more towing capacity than 3000 lbs the answer is buy a different vehicle puting a turbo on is not in anyway solving the overall problem all it does is add power but it doesnt add heavier duty trans or axles or suspension etc. and puting a turbo on a 2.5 is rediculous idea anyway as it would not make any more power then the 3.6r because of the compression ratio limiting the boost you could run if you completely changed the internals lower compression pistons head studs copper gaskets etc. etc. you could make a lot more power but it would just completely break everything else on the car. so basically its pointless to think turbo for 2.5.