I'm on my fourth Subaru, so count me as a fan. In brief, they're great cars, but why all the road noise? Is the road noise due to the AWD, or does the factory go too light on the sound insulation? At least it's hard to fall asleep at the wheel.

yes yes and you can make it worse.

 

Tire choice, wear and age can have a big effect on road noise.

Depends on the model you get. The Imp's and the Forester's tend to be pretty tinny. The high end Legacy and Outback tend to be quieter.

 

Remember that these are not $50k+ luxury cars. They are really very capable vehicles but very utilitarian by design. If you want a really comfy ride that looks like it could go off road then an Audi All-Road is probably what you want. DON'T take it off road though. WAY too much vulnerable plumbing directly under the car and right behind the the plastic core support. Last one I worked on bumped into a curb and crushed an ATF cooler line that's 1/2" from a steel bracket on the plastic core support. Core support was undamaged but transmission didn't last long

 

GD

Is the road noise due to the AWD, or does the factory go too light on the sound insulation?

 

Depends on the frame of reference. I was used to Legacy road noise then I drove a '96 impreza 5-speed that had been broken into and dash components stolen. The noise from the transmission even at idle was noticeably louder. Then I realized the open dash port from the missing radio funneled gear train noise into the cabin. On the plus side I don't mind not having layers upon layers of plastic, foam, and insulation to sift through in getting a radio out. I'm used to the whine in reverse, its like music.

Could be every sube you've had has had a bad wheel bearing...

frameless windows (depending on the year, you might have frames) tend to be noisier because the seal isnt as static, being that its your window up against rubber as opposed to metal+rubber+metal sandwich

Depends on the model you get. The Imp's and the Forester's tend to be pretty tinny. The high end Legacy and Outback tend to be quieter.

 

Remember that these are not $50k+ luxury cars. They are really very capable vehicles but very utilitarian by design. If you want a really comfy ride that looks like it could go off road then an Audi All-Road is probably what you want. DON'T take it off road though. WAY too much vulnerable plumbing directly under the car and right behind the the plastic core support. Last one I worked on bumped into a curb and crushed an ATF cooler line that's 1/2" from a steel bracket on the plastic core support. Core support was undamaged but transmission didn't last long

 

GD

 

 

Yeah he's right. These models are mainly for normal road driving but they are outstanding in slippery or snowy conditions due to the engine design and low center of gravity.

 

 

It's wise to realize those things about various car models, anyway.

 

When the big lizard sitting in your driveway gets pissed...it can get very unpleasant and sometimes it takes multiple hospitalizations for people to realize that.

I recently had a 13 loaner Outback and found (other than all the electronic gadgets) it really only felt 2-3 years more 'advanced' than our 03 H6 Outback. Road noise seemed about the same to me.

 

and, a few weeks later, I had a 13 Ford (um, Edge I think) and it had a several bad ergonomic problems I thought - and road noise.

 

seems like they just wanna throw electronic gadgets in cars instead of 'real' engineering nowadays.

I have always wondered the same thing. I agree with GD, they are build differently than other cars, tough!

Could be every sube you've had has had a bad wheel bearing...

 

 

Blu had a "going" rear wheel bearing for the past 3 years. I got so used to it. Now my 2005, Blu2, is so dead quiet I can hear owls in it (something sounding like a hoot owl in the distance inside the car).

 

It can even depend uon what the road surface is made out of. Usually the choice of tires will make a big dent in road noise, but not always.