2016 Subaru Outback 2.5i Limited

When your car is in and out of the dealership for repairs you end up with a lot of dealership rentals. As I own a Subaru this means a lot of Subaru rentals. I have a wind noise / door seal issue that should soon hopefully be resolved. This last time around I was given a 2016 Subaru Outback 2.5i Limited for the day.

I have previously reviewed the Subaru Outback.

They have comfortable ride but more lean in turns than I would like. Then again, I was driving this one around Jacksonville, FL so there were no real turns or fun roads to speak of.

When making 90 degree turns at moderate speeds 90 degrees of steering input is required. The same turns at very low speeds or a stop require 180 degrees of steering input.
The dealership I had this as a courtesy car is Subaru of Jacksonville and I appreciate the vanity plate S0JAX 2.

Steering feel from the front wheels is not as dead as some of the cars I have driven recently but is not quite as lively as the Subaru Legacy I had recently. I am going to attribute that to suspension geometry and ride height of the more "off road" oriented Outback.

If you really accelerate it will rev out to 5900 RPM which is 100 RPM short of the 6000 RPM red line. You can use the paddles behind the steering wheel to effectively downshift while in "D" for stop lights or turns. The transmission returns to normal automatic operation after a brief period of time. The ability to downshift and engine brake will be useful to those driving these in snowy climates and slippery roads.

The transmission will "hold a gear", and by gear I mean ratio, since this is a CVT, if you are flooring it and being demanding. In manual mode the electronic nanny will prevent you from upshifting from "2nd" to "3rd" unless you are past 1750 RPMs. The engine / transmission seem to like around 1500 RPM in urban speeds and up to 2000 RPM for highway speeds (65 MPH in my current locale).

Interior materials are comfortable and not bad to touch. Being a Limited you have dual zone climate control.

There are rear vents and the outside rear seats are heated with two heating settings. Those rear vents would have been nice for road trips in my parents' old 2000 Outback.

Gauge cluster has useful multifunction display in the center, I was using it for MPG and MPH.

Plenty of room in the rear seats for adults.

Rear gate is automatic open and push button close.
Unfortunately this may just be one more thing to break and my friend who owns one of these (a 2016 Outback Limited) has expressed frustration that sometimes he wants it to close faster but does not close the door himself for fear of breaking the mechanism.

All in all, a comfortable ride and would probably not be a bad place for long road trips. Also plenty of shopping cargo space.
For me I would want either Legacy or WRX suspension and ride height along with a manual transmission with feel akin to my Subaru BRZ if I were to own one.