The AUSubaru.com.au Forums

Well, my friggin fantastic 1991 L-series wagon got nicked and the insurance co. has provided me with $2950 to supplement my replacement car purchase.

From checking the online car sales, I can see that I'm not going to get anything after 2000 for less that about 20K so I'm looking for a good replacement soob wagon, potentially an Outback (likely) or a Forester (less likely) or a Impreza (least likely), a Liberty may be out of the question.

Why a soob? Well I liked the 4WD ability as I do a lot of bushwalking and I need to extend onto WA gravel and sometimes sandy tracks. Also, the old series had good wagon space for a small car.

Anyway, I am thinking about an outback but can't decide on which model. As they all seem to be based on the Liberty body, am wondering which of the early Outback and Forestor 2000's, or 1990s models have the largest body size - some seem to be quite tiny on the road.

Also, to Outback wagons have the same 4WD drive capacities as L. series models do?

Any other useful information to help me make my decision will be of great assistance.

Thank you for your excellent knowledge sharing.

Geeze I hope you get hold of the scumbag(s) that stole your ride, might not get her back the way she was but at least might be able to part it out..if you get it back that is, Been looking at updating myself, reading reviews here and elsewhere and still find the price tags a bit much, that and the missus being overly vocal about fixing the L makes me think of taking a loan and buying a late model subi. Hope you find one to your liking, keep eyes on ebay,trading post etc in case someone starts trying to sell bits from your stolen L, had a bad experience recently when i was accused of theft but i keep every receipt for anything to do with the car.

enduro wrote:$2950 to supplement my replacement car purchase.

So what's your budget?

Also, to Outback wagons have the same for will drive capacities as L. series models do?

An Outback is just a Liberty wagon body with better suspension and gearing taller tyres. The early ones had a 2.5 and they are all 4WD. It may be a cheaper option to build your own Outback from a Liberty wagon. It has been done many times.

Your L series would have been part-time 4WD while the Liberty & Impreza are either front-wheel-drive or constant 4WD. The Outback & Forester are constant 4WD.

enduro wrote:$2950 to supplement my replacement car purchase.

So what's your budget?

Also, to Outback wagons have the same for will drive capacities as L. series models do?

An Outback is just a Liberty wagon body with better suspension and gearing and taller tyres. The early ones had a 2.5 and they are all 4WD. It may be a cheaper option to build your own Outback from a Liberty wagon. It's been done many times before.

Your L series would have been part-time 4WD while the Liberty & Impreza are either front-wheel-drive or constant 4WD. The Outback & Forester are constant 4WD.

if ur not wanting to spend to much u can pick up a good ej22 gen1 s2 liberty wagon with hi/lo for the 4k mark

BrennyV wrote:if ur not wanting to spend to much u can pick up a good ej22 gen1 s2 liberty wagon with hi/lo for the 4k mark

well ... I'm thinking of a solution form $5K-$15K.

I know that's a wide range, but I'm trying to decide to get either a short term car or a longer term one. Either way, I'm hoping they will both be soobs.

How effective is the 4WD in the Outbacks vs Foresters? The 4Wd in the L series was quite good and I'm looking at replacing with similar power or better. Most of the 4WD I do is on WA gravel (sometimes steep) and I need a definatley need a wagon.

Some of the Foresters and Outbacks look way smaller than the other models in the range do and I'd prefer not to have the smallest.

Im too looking at buying an outback in the near future.

Looking in the local papers and on carsales.com etc. A 2000 model Outback can be had for between $11000 and $15000.

The 5 speed manuals have a viscous centre diff. Under normal driving the diff is open with a 50/50 split. If a wheel starts to spin, the speed difference in the diff causes the silicone liquid to heat up and thicken, which tightens the diff and transfers torque to the other wheels

The 4 speed Autos have a multiplate transfer clutch that varies the amount of torque sent to the rear wheels, its computer controlled via wheelspeed sensors and other inputs.

Id prefer the Auto because its easier for every day driving and quite capable offroad.

Suparoo wrote:Im too looking at buying an outback in the near future.

Looking in the local papers and on carsales.com etc. A 2000 model Outback can be had for between $11000 and $15000.

The 5 speed manuals have a viscous centre diff. Under normal driving the diff is open with a 50/50 split. If a wheel starts to spin, the speed difference in the diff causes the silicone liquid to heat up and thicken, which tightens the diff and transfers torque to the other wheels

The 4 speed Autos have a multiplate transfer clutch that varies the amount of torque sent to the rear wheels, its computer controlled via wheelspeed sensors and other inputs.

Id prefer the Auto because its easier for every day driving and quite capable offroad.

I do love the feel on a manual though, plus all the auto's I have driven don't let me use engine braking when entering corners.

My experience is that 2000 models are about $15K-$25K here in the west. All the Outbacks are quite expensive, even the 98 models which sell for about $9K-15K.

Back to one of my original questions: which of the models is larger? I went to the Subaru website and could only find specs on the latest model, is there are site that lists specs for each model?

Thanks.

The impreza is the smallest, the forester is a tad larger (although it is built on the impreza platform) and the liberty/outbcak is the largest

Suparoo wrote:The impreza is the smallest, the forester is a tad larger (although it is built on the impreza platform) and the liberty/outback is the largest

I understand what you are saying here, I may not have described what I meant in my OP very well.

Some of the Outbacks look larger than others (on the outside) and some of the Foresters look larger than the others (on the outside).

I want one of the vehicles with the larger interior space.

For interior space, newer cars generally have more.

I doubt that there is much difference between the Gen2 liberty/outback and the Gen3 liberty/outback. But the liberty/outback will definitely have more than the forester.

On the exterior, the outback looks bigger than the lib because of the bodykit, but overall size there isnt much difference


Here are some dimensions for the 2000 Outback http://consumerguideauto.howstuffworks. ... back-3.htm

Hi Enduro i am selling my 97 auto outback. see it on carsales rego UVW538 i would be happy to sweeten the deal if your interested. I tried to PM you but you don't allow it. But PM me if you want to find out more.

matthew

madmat wrote:Hi Enduro i am selling my 97 auto outback. see it on carsales rego UVW538 i would be happy to sweeten the deal if your interested. I tried to PM you but you don't allow it. But PM me if you want to find out more.

matthew

I'll adjust he PM thing but I'm in WA so distance might be an issue.

enduro wrote:I'll adjust he PM thing but I'm in WA so distance might be an issue.

I can drive it over for you

Bennie

I have a gen 1 series 2 gx wagon for sale in two / three weeks as I am getting some paint work done
It has a JDM turbo drive line fitted ( done 84000ks ) new timing belt , oil & filter , fuel filter,all new struts & springs new 75mm lift kit ,sony cd player ,5 x 16 " forester rims with good rubber , cargo barrer , rola roof rack ,tow bar list goes on >

$6900.00