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2015 Subaru WRX: Road trip to Maine [w/video]

After driving one of the best sport compacts on the market to one of the best-driving-roads states in the Union, who'd have thought that one of my big takeaways would be... great fuel economy? And yet, after putting more than 2,200 miles on our long-term 2015 Subaru WRX, driving from Ann Arbor, MI, to The Great State of Maine and back, my overall fuel consumption figures were almost as baffling as the premium-gasoline prices throughout Canada. In the early part of the now-past autumn, my wife Molly and I were happy to make use of the long-term WRX for our annual road trip from Michigan to Maine. Our goal, as ever, was to fit as much hiking, boating and lobster eating as we could into a one-week span. And, with the sporting Scoobie as our ride this time, I also hoped to spend time bombing down some of my favorite roads through the White Mountains. Anyone that pays attention to the industry knows that New England is a hot spot for Subaru sales, but it turns out that the WRX is just about tailor made for enjoying the best of Maine, too. First up, though – as it was the most surprising to me – is the fuel economy story. I knew going into the trip that I'd log more than two grand on the odometer, but I never expected the returns to be quite so positive as they ended up netting out. My total observed economy over 2,226 miles was 28.38 miles per gallon, or just a fraction better than the EPA estimated highway number of 28 mpg. How'd I do that? My total observed economy over 2,226 miles was 28.38 miles per gallon. Well, for starters, the stretch of Canadian highway between Michigan and Vermont is exceptionally long, flat, straight and dull. Excepting the inevitable traffic around Toronto, the trip is mostly of the "set it and forget it" variety, typically at a cruise of about 72 miles per hour (so as not to attract the Mounties). Doing that haul, I had one tank of premium (15.9 gallon capacity) last for 466 miles, running a trip-best 31.9 mpg. Considering that the Canadian petrol was running me roughly five American bucks per gallon, I appreciated the Subie's newfound frugality. One small issue, tangentially related to fuel, did crop up on the road. The WRX's gas door stopped popping open when I pulled the lever after my second fill up. As it turned out, there is a technical service bulletin out for this very issue, which was looked after as soon as we got back to the States.

2021 Ford Mustang Mach 1 is coming, and it's trivia time | Autoblog Podcast #629

In this week's Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by Senior Editor, Green, John Beltz Snyder and Associate Editor Byron Hurd. The big news this week is the new Mustang Mach 1 that Ford teased as a new track toy. John has been driving a Subaru Outback alongside their long-term Forester. Byron has been enjoying a Jeep Gladiator. Greg has been piloting a Toyota Corolla Hatchback as well as a new Highlander.  Greg tries to stump the other editors with some automotive trivia — see if you can answer (no cheating) in the comments section below. Then they talk about car movies they've been watching during quarantine and their favorite orphan car brands. Finally, they help a listener in The Netherlands pick a new electric crossover. Got any automotive trivia questions you want to hear on the podcast? Some (in)famous figure in the industry, a random fact about a car or a brand, racing history ... it can be straightforward or totally off-the-wall. Send those — along with your Spend My Money requests — to Podcast@Autoblog.com. Autoblog Podcast #629 Get The Podcast iTunes – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes RSS – Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator MP3 – Download the MP3 directly Rundown 2021 Ford Mustang Mach 1 is coming Cars we're drivingSubaru Outback vs. Forester Jeep Gladiator Toyota Corolla Hatchback Toyota Highlander Automotive trivia Side topic: remember this guy? Best car movies for quarantine Best orphan brands Spend My Money: EV crossovers Feedback Email – Podcast@Autoblog.com Review the show on iTunes Related Video:

2020 Subaru Outback First Drive Review | The big payoff

NEWPORT, Calif. — The 2020 Subaru Outback marks the sixth generation of a vehicle, first introduced for 1994, that is in no small part the lynchpin to its companyÂ’s current success. The Outback's sales have increased in every generation, with more than 700,000 sold in the most recent generation that started with the 2015 model year. Subaru doesnÂ’t expect things to slow down as it introduces the all-new 2020 Outback, which has undergone a major overhaul despite its familiar sheetmetal. The Outback has moved to the Subaru Global Platform (SGP), joining the Impreza and Forester on lighter, stiffer, and stronger underpinnings. If the 2019 Forester is any indication of how the SGP can improve a vehicle, this would mean the new Outback will also be calmer, quieter and more refined. Staging from the Inn at Newport Ranch on Northern CaliforniaÂ’s “Lost Coast,” with a day full of driving both on- and off-road, we were about to find out for ourselves if this would live up to our expectations. Our first driving stint was in an Outback Touring equipped with the lesser of two available engines. The naturally aspirated 2.5-liter boxer-four, with 182 horsepower and 176 pound-feet of torque, feels perfectly adequate for the driving we did at or near sea level, and climbs competently on steep grades. While it didnÂ’t perform passing maneuvers with a sense of urgency, we still felt comfortable overtaking slower vehicles when we had to. For daily driving somewhere like the California coast, or the suburbs of the Detroit, the more economical 2.5 (26 mpg city, 33 highway, 29 combined) would be our choice to live with. This is mated to a CVT, one programmed to “shift” like a traditional automatic, staying out of its own way, and providing a nice linear pull — without a rubber band type of feel — when you need to climb a hill. Paddle shifters on the back of the wheel give you a sense of more control, if thatÂ’s something you need. We rarely used them. If you live at higher elevations, need to tow up to 3,500 pounds, or just really miss the days of a turbocharged Outback, thereÂ’s now a 2.4-liter turbo-four available in the resurrected XT models. You sacrifice some fuel economy — 3 mpg across the board, 23/30/26 mpg — but get a significant power boost, with hardly any turbo lag and satisfying response. WeÂ’re certain customers whoÂ’ve graduated from the likes of a WRX to something that can better accommodate kids and dogs will appreciate the boost.