Jason on Cars

My first experience with station wagons came as a result of watching, over and over again, National Lampoon’s Vacation (the original and still my favorite). Clark is taking the kids across the country with aunt Edna strapped to the roof of the family truckster. Big, green, with wood-paneled sides; I feel this car is the quiet, true winner of Most Under-Whelming Car of All-Time. Leap forward 20 years and the wagon has seen some serious change, both in performance and public image. At least in the Northwest, Subaru’s Outback is synonymous with greatness, featuring one of the largest cargo areas in the way-way back, lots of leg room in the rear seats, and standard all-wheel handling. It’s somewhere between rally car and family truckster, with a dash of mountain-biking cool thrown in for good measure.

I’ve heard in Texas people don’t really care about Subarus, but in Oregon, these are the cars people drive. As someone who’s grown up mountain biking and snowboarding, for the past 15 years my friends have driven pretty much every possible configuration of Subaru wagon made. And each year, they get a little nicer, a little more refined, and a little more revered in “adventure sport’” lifestyles. Myself, I’ve always appreciated the Outback’s tall ride height, its stock use of roof racks and fog lights, tight turning radius, and its ability to drive through any road condition I could throw at it. This test car came with all of that goodness included.