My (requested) review of my new car
Two or three KTers asked me to report back on what I liked and disliked about my new car after I'd been driving it awhile. It's a 2024 Subaru Outback Onyx XT. The XT stands for turbo. Onyx is sort of a milder version of the Wilderness. The Wilderness is designed for heavy off-roading, while the Onyx has a softer ride while still able to handle the rough roads I travel often.
The Pros: It's a joy to drive. "Responsive" is the word that comes to mind when I think of the steering and acceleration. And the brakes too. I love all three. The brakes and acceleration remind me somewhat of my 92 Chevy Caprice, which I sold recently after enjoying it for 28 years. I always said the Caprice had the Best. Brakes. Ever., and the acceleration gave the slightest feeling of levitation sometimes. lol Same with the Onyx. Also, both the Caprice and the Onyx know how to coast.
I like most of the technology, which I imagine is on most newer cars these days. It's all new to me, and I'm still learning. I turned off the feature that stops the engine whenever you stop and starts it up again when you take your foot off the brake. Although I like the idea of reducing emissions, the practice is not without controversy. I also found it annoying, especially when encountering multiple traffic lights in quick succession.
This is the first car I've had without leather seats, and I don't think I'm going to miss the leather at all. I like the water-repellent StarTex upholstery a lot, both for looks and comfort.
One reason I chose this model is because it had the three things on my wish list: turbo, a heated steering wheel, and a good Harman Kardon sound system. I'm enjoying all three immensely.
Cons: A couple of minor ones, starting with the glove box, which I think is too small. I assume it's sized to accommodate the large "infotainment" (silly word) screen, but I miss the ample size of my previous Outback's glove box. I was able to keep lots of things in there. Not a big deal, because I can keep them in the center console. In my older Outback I kept that filled with CDs, but CDs aren't an option in the new one.
The door pockets seem to have been poorly designed. They start out wide enough to put my hand in, but if I move my hand toward the back of the car, the pocket narrows so that my hand no longer fits. I started out by putting a small flashlight in the driver's side door pocket. The flashlight slid toward the back, and I could no longer reach it. It, too, now resides in the center console. I should add that my hands aren't particularly large. I don't know how Subaru came up with this design.
The big Con are the headlights. I hate the headlights. I used them once, driving home at night, and I thought something must be terribly wrong. It looked as though a black curtain covered the top half of my lights. I was driving through the woods, where normally I look out for deer and other animals, but I could see only a short distance. Turning on the high beams helped only slightly.
I've since learned that this problem (which a lot of people don't see as a problem) is not limited to Subarus; many newer cars equipped with LED lights are this way. It was explained to me that so many people complained that LEDs were blinding them, that the industry decided to aim the lights downward. Maybe people who drive on lighted streets and highways aren't bothered by this, but I drive through the woods and over a mountain a lot. I loved the headlights on my older Outback. When I turned on the high beams going up the mountain, they illuminated everything. And no one ever flashed their lights at me because I was blinding them. I have to look into what can be done about my current headlights.
But the bottom line is I really love this car. I'm so glad I can say that because it took me so long to decide what I wanted, it would be a terrible disappointment if I didn't love it. But I do.
Comments (22)
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Request for Review and Recommendation on new HVAC - Tigerdunes
Comments (9)Thank you for your response Tigerdunes. I will definitely check with the bidder on the third party evaporator coil. I specified matched systems having read your prior posts to others extensively, but didn't catch that this evaporator coil wasn't a matching Trane. Thanks. The boiler was sufficient in heating the entire 1200 square feet main floor living space with AND without all the radiators in place. I don't recall the size at the moment, but will check. The HVAC people were all pleased with its size when they looked at it. Because the house is without electric and water service as yet, we are not totally sure the boiler is still in working order. It was not fire damaged, but water from the fire fighters and heat from the fire might have caused some unknown problems, which was another reason to hedge the bet by adding a gas furnace. The second reason for considering a gas furnace, not just A/C is that a realtor who knows the house and its value, - which is considerable for a small house, given its location and craftsman, cedar shingled cottage charm - suggests that some buyers don't like radiator systems, and feels the addition of an alternate heat system and the addition of A/C will be worth it, which is another reason I got the bid for it. The third reason for considering a gas furnace is code compliance, and the cost to do so. The cost of adding hydronic units to the sunroom, pantry, dining room and bath areas to meet code are unnecessary if I install the gas furnace. Anyone wanting to use the radiator system only for heat would have to add these units, or live without them as I did, but code is met with the addition of a furnace. No furnace, and I have to add radiators in the areas mentioned above and detailed below. I agree that a heat pump would be the way to go if we knew for sure that the radiator system was going to be the primary source of heat as it was when I lived in the house. New owners might opt for a forced air system. My question on this is, can a gas furnace be added into the system as cost effectively later as it can be added now with the A/C going in. The new heating system, if installed, l would heat/coo the 1200 sq ft main floor with its 9 ft ceilings, with two registers in the open 950 sq ft unfinished basement. The basement stays cool in summer and warm in winter without additional heating and cooling. The attic space, if developed later, will be heated and cooled with an in-wall, Mitsubishi type system. Trying to run ducts and vents is a problem, which is why we don't have the new proposed system sited in the attic. It would make the attic fairly unusable in a future development as a master suite and sitting room. The ducting layout using the in the basement location has worked well, and the location of cold air returns well placed and spaced. So the attic will not be heated or cooled with this system. In the past, with the boiler, the heat loss from the main floor was enough to keep the attic above freezing, but does not warm it significantly. The attic has 4 large double window sets, 3 large Velux skylights and a 4.0 french door set, and the roof is black, so it stays warm enough on sunny days, and is well ventilated in summer.. The attic floor will be re-insulated at this time, but not the walls or ceiling. The new insulation in the attic floor will be far better than the old, and as I said, the new windows throughout, from basement to attic are a vast improvement in energy efficiency over what the boiler used to have to handle. The 950 sq ft basement is unheated at present, though I believe two registers will be added to this space with the new furnace The basement stays comfortable in winter when the boiler is in operation simply from the hot water pipes to the radiators and hot water heater and warmth of the up stairs. It is is open space, unfinished and only used for laundry and workshop space/tool storage. The dining room radiator was removed from under a south facing bump out window. That window was removed and replaced by an exterior double french door when a new deck was added at the time of the new boiler. The heat loss to this room was noticeable but not enough to be a problem for me, though it would be for others, and it is for code. Each room has to have a heat source, so I either have to put in a register or add a radiator. The bathroom is only 6x7 and is now warmed by the heat/fan which is not sufficient for code. I have a not yet installed hydronic towel bar that gives off 1500 BTU, enough to handle the bath and the small hall adjoining the dining room, bath, bedroom and parlor. If I do the gas furnace, this is unnecessary. At same time the new boiler was installed, a kitchen was installed in a 11x12 ft space that only had a sink and refrigerator with a radiator. An adjoining but separate 6x8 pantry at the south end of the kitchen had a stove and a cabinet. The pantry is also an access corridor to the basement stairs. So in installing a kitchen, I removed the radiator and replaced it with a toe kick radiator under the sink base the fully fitted kitchen. Base and upper cabinets were added to the pantry on the load bearing exterior wall that separated the pantry from the screen 8x8 screened back porch at the other half of the kitchen south wall. The fire that started at the electric service connection into the house was located on the east wall between the kitchen and screen porch, so this area and the attic above it were severely impacted by the fire. In rebuilding this area, the screen porch got a solid foundation, was mostly opened to the kitchen, and serves as a sunroom breakfast area. It is,fully windowed from ceiling to 36 inches above the floor with a door that opens to the deck. The load bearing wall separating the sunroom from the pantry still exists, but the pantry is now open to the kitchen rather than walled off with a doorway. The kitchen toe kick puts out 5,600 BTU and has to handle the kitchen sunroom and pantry area now. If I do not add a furnace, code will require me to heat the sunroom and pantry areas, which I would do with toe kick units under the pantry base cabinets - one venting into the sunroom through the wall and one venting into the pantry. If I add a furnace, this will not be required, we will simply use those areas for the forced air registers. If I do not add a furnace I will have to provide hydronic heat sources for both areas. So, to answer your question 4, the only addition to the heat load that the boiler has covered adequately (1200 sp ft) is the 8x8 fully weatherized and insulated sunroom. If I go with a gas furnace we will add the register(s) for the unfinished basement. I don't know if code requires the basement to be covered. I do know the non living space attic does not need to be covered. Sorry for all the detail, but I find that sooner or later the information is needed, so I am trying to give it all upfront....See MoreI got my very first NEW car
Comments (17)Congrats Linda..I'm happy for you as a first time new car owner. I want to do that one day, but I'll never know the new car smell since I have no sense of smell. If you can relate a new car smell to a flavor, what would it be? I can taste. :)...See MoreMy new dog will pee only in the car
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Comments (15)eld, a few reactions to your comment. First, if you don't drive much in traffic or with stop and go conditions, it won't do much for you. Many people do drive in situations like that, especially those who commute to work in urban locations. Cars burn gas when idling so whatever is saved is more than nothing. It's low hanging fruit, the feature is cheap and will help and can't hurt. Second, it was developed in Europe, where auto engineers have been focused for years on wringing more performance and more efficiency out of engines. I have a few year old, not small German car with an engine that's maybe half the size of what was put in the same model a dozen years ago. It gets amazing mileage, in the high 20s in town and mid to high 30s on flat highways (at highway speeds). With a turbocharger, it's very fast and responsive at lower speeds. When I lived in Europe a few decades ago, I remember that when stopped for other than a short interval - a draw bridge, a level train crossing, a long signal- drivers turned off their engines. The start stop feature does that automatically for those who, like you and me, appreciate not having to think about it. It's not a big deal but I think it's a thoughtful one....See More- 3 years ago
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Fun2BHere