On my second day of vacation, July 3rd, I was told the 2011 Subaru Outback Premium 2.5i arrived at the dealership. Finally – with no warning of it’s impending delivery. It turned out not to be that big of a deal. Here’s why: my credit union was offering 2.99% on new car loans and it expired July 4. Thank goodness, Subaru offered 2.9% on all 2011 Outbacks! Thus my wanting to know of a delivery date, VIN#, etc.

I ordered the Silver Steel color with a 6 speed manual transmission, all-weather package, mud guards, bumper cover, partial zero emissions, and the Harmon/Kardon stereo. I picked up the car with 7 miles on it. It’s much larger than my Mazdaspeed 3 hatchback was. The reasons I made the move to the Subaru Outback was not for it’s HP! As a meteorologist living in the Inland Northwest – it didn’t take me long to realize that snow may be an issue. The Mazda had about 5 inches of clearance and was front wheel drive only. We live on South Hill…which is about 800 feet above I-90…in a short distance. Thus, the climb from I-90 to our home is rather steep.

La Nina has been forecast to develop since about March. For this area, record snowfalls have occurred in La Nina winters. So – I didn’t delay in ordering the AWD Outback. Plus, it’s clearance is nearly 10 inches. By the way, average snowfall in Spokane is about 50 inches. La Nina years have dumped nearly double that in recent years.

The car is really neat. It’s quiet…only a 4 cylinder. Definitely not quick like the Mazda was. Again, the reason for buying it was because of the AWD utility and more room for the kids and other miscellaneous items. The built in Bluetooth is pretty neat and driving with hands free devices is what the law makers insist on. The ride on the studded tire tore up roads is fairly good, considering how terrible they are. The windshield wipers have a defroster built into them. That will be handy soon!

So far – I have about 120 miles on the car. It starts a little rough (sort of like a diesel) for a brief moment then returns to normal/quiet. No other real problems. One thing I was surprised to notice was that there are no side door guards. Looks like I’ll get a few door dings before too long. Uh oh!

A coat of Zaino Brothers sealant will be added before the winter months. Have to protect the paint! Zaino is the longest lasting wax/polish I’ve ever used. It makes your car look great too.