Equinox or Outback 2011?
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Wow..you are asking that question to a bunch of Equinox and Terrain owners..ya know. Might be kinda bias here... ;Djosome said:
My wife and I test drove the OutBack...Equinox and so many others. I think the Outback may have been our second choice...if I remember correctly. However...nothing seemed to come close to the style..features...quietness and smooth drive of the Equinox "for us". I suggest another test drive of both to help you decide...through traffic..down a country backroad...then out on the open highway. That should give you a good 'feel' for both and bring out the pros and cons of each one.
It is a tough call. I looked at outback as well since with the outback i could get heated front seats in cloth which was important to me...i did not want to pay extra for leather. I think i could have saved $5k if went with outback vs terrain.
looking under hood of outback with boxer engine i would say it would be easier to work on. i was worried about shimmy that is described on outback forum websites. i think ground clearance is actually better on outback. 8.7 outback 6.9 terrain.
just looking at comparison of outback, terrain, and nox.
more horses with gmc/chevy..fuel mileage about the same...but who really knows on that . lol.
cvt tranny outback vs 6 speed in gmc/chevy
turning radious better in outback, but who cares that much
rear leg room 2 inches better in gmc/chevy...front legroom 2 inches better in outback
towing capacity in 4 cyl outback 2700 vs gmc/chevy 1500...
windshield wiper de-icer outback, can't get in gmc/chevy...this would have been nice in minnesota
they are all 3 very good vehicles, me thinks...i just hope that the terrain lasts a long time...i traded vehicles too much and have to commit to this one...
looking under hood of outback with boxer engine i would say it would be easier to work on. i was worried about shimmy that is described on outback forum websites. i think ground clearance is actually better on outback. 8.7 outback 6.9 terrain.
just looking at comparison of outback, terrain, and nox.
more horses with gmc/chevy..fuel mileage about the same...but who really knows on that . lol.
cvt tranny outback vs 6 speed in gmc/chevy
turning radious better in outback, but who cares that much
rear leg room 2 inches better in gmc/chevy...front legroom 2 inches better in outback
towing capacity in 4 cyl outback 2700 vs gmc/chevy 1500...
windshield wiper de-icer outback, can't get in gmc/chevy...this would have been nice in minnesota
they are all 3 very good vehicles, me thinks...i just hope that the terrain lasts a long time...i traded vehicles too much and have to commit to this one...
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I would be optimistically cautious about the 2700 lb claim from Subaru vs the 1500 lb for the Chevy. Firstly only 170HP vs 184HP, (not sure how the torque compares), and questionable ability of the CVT. Some bad issues on the previous 2.5L as well.scottb said:
FWIW, I have a friend that towed a 16' Hobie Cat (not terribly heavy) with his Outback, and he said it did a great job towing. He replaced the Outback with a Toyota Sienna (van) and he said the Outback did better towing. So, a small car does not necessarily mean worse towing ability than a big car. (just a data point !)2010Nox said:
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True but HP, torque, transmission and brakes do affect towing ability. And seeing that power is close with the edge going to the Equinox and brakes will be similar, even though the Equinox weighs about 500 lbs more than the Outback that doesn't account for an additional 700 lbs of "rated" towing capacity. Unless the Outback is geared really low but then the fuel mileage would go to crap.RIT333 said:
IMO I wouldn't make it a habit of towing anything near the rated capacity on a regular basis with either one since that's not really their strong point.
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having owned 3 subaru's in the past 5 years, i can say that they are dead reliable and the 2.5 is a very torquey engine for a 4 cylinder and would most certainly do do as good if not slightly better towin a small utility trailer or popup camper. The Equinox win's for quietness, smoothness and space but the Subaru is a great choice as well. really comes down to need, for us the equinox had more rear seat room then the Rav4 it replaced and the Outback/Legacy that we considered, with a 2 year old and a newborn on the way next month, we chose space.
According to what I found on line the Equinox has 7.8 inches of ground clearance. As far as price, anything that I would have wanted in an Outback would have cost me more then my LTZ. Then before I had a chance to even test drive one, a friend bought one and after riding in his I decided I didn't want one. I am a fairly good sized guy and I had trouble getting in and out of the Outback because of the low roof line. I didn't think much of the cargo space either.scottb said:
We are a Subaru and GM family. My daughter drives an 07 Forester, my wife an 08 Impreza. I currently drive the 2011 Equinox, a 2010 Miata and an 07 Silverado HD. I personally have owned five Subarus myself in the past and would be driving a Subaru right now if GM hadn't upped my GM card bonus money last year.
Subarus are excellent cars and the most reliable cars we've ever owned. Not one of those Subarus I mentioned were ever recalled or required service other than routine maintenance. I will say this, you are sure to get better gas mileage with the Outback over the Equinox. The CVT in the four cyl. Ouitback is very fuel efficient. The Equinox, not so much, contrary to what GM says.
Subarus are excellent cars and the most reliable cars we've ever owned. Not one of those Subarus I mentioned were ever recalled or required service other than routine maintenance. I will say this, you are sure to get better gas mileage with the Outback over the Equinox. The CVT in the four cyl. Ouitback is very fuel efficient. The Equinox, not so much, contrary to what GM says.
We almost went with the Outback but in the end the problem that they had (and maybe still are having with the steering wheel shimmy) scared us away. I have not monitored the Outback board in several months but last time I looked 2011's were being reported with the problem and people were reporting that the "fix" being put out by Subaru was not always fixing the issue. It seemed they really had no idea what the cause was and some cars would get 20,000 miles on them before they started to show the problem. The fact that the same problem occurred across multiple year models and would rarely show up on test drives made it too big a gamble for us. We even put off ordering a new vehicle until the 2011 Outbacks hit the street to see if any of them had the shakes. But since they did we ordered the Equinox.
That being said I found that the Outback seemed to be better at the utility aspect while the Equinox had more creature comforts. I am pretty sure you could fit quite a bit more in the back end of the Outback with the back seats down. It had a few more inches in length from the back of the drivers seat to the back of the cargo area but what really kills the Equinox there is the narrow cargo area. I also really liked the fact that the Outback has a storage space for the cargo cover underneath the cargo area with the spare tire. Another nice feature was the roof rack with the swing away cross bars, although some people did not like that because it meant you could not adjust the spacing on the cross bars.
That being said I found that the Outback seemed to be better at the utility aspect while the Equinox had more creature comforts. I am pretty sure you could fit quite a bit more in the back end of the Outback with the back seats down. It had a few more inches in length from the back of the drivers seat to the back of the cargo area but what really kills the Equinox there is the narrow cargo area. I also really liked the fact that the Outback has a storage space for the cargo cover underneath the cargo area with the spare tire. Another nice feature was the roof rack with the swing away cross bars, although some people did not like that because it meant you could not adjust the spacing on the cross bars.
I had not previously heard of the Outback's shaking issue before. This is very discouraging news. I hope this doesn't become a habit for Subaru. The Outbacks are made in Indiana, the most recent Subys we've owned have all been the Japanese variety. I guess I'd consider a Forester as an alternative to the Equinox. I don't mean to say I don't like the Equinox. I'm very satisfied with the Nox so far(except for the MPG.) The fit and finish are great, I love the technical features, Onstar, iPod control, etc. I'm hoping it holds up as well as all of our Subys have.
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Three government recalls on the 2010 Outback already (CVT cooling hose, steering column electrical connector, manual transmission lubrication hole missing).
Subarus do tend to last for a long time though.
Subarus do tend to last for a long time though.
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