Queer women love Subarus for good reason, as the ’13 Outback proves
TOUGH AS (FRENCH TIP) NAILS | Outdoorsy, dummy-proof and comfortable, the Outback provides fuel-efficiency in a useful, versatile package. (Photo courtesy Subaru)
Not too big. Not too small. For me, the Subaru Outback is just right.
It was the guy at the rental car counter in Denver who first got me hooked on Subarus. I had reserved another category of car (read: cheaper) and the attendant said I had to take the Outback. When he insisted even after I refused to pay the upcharge, I knew he must be serious.
I was smitten from the get-go. I loved the look and the feel. And, I admit, I loved the fact that it was instant membership in a club that I really liked belonging to. Not the gay club — that one I was already in. The Subaru Club.
Wherever we went, people asked about the car. “Is that the new black?” “How much do you love your Outback?” “How many Subarus have you had? I’m on my fifth!” I hated telling people it wasn’t mine.
A year or so later, when my Jeep started showing signs of wearing out, I went to Subaru of Plano to see if I really liked the Outback or if it was just an “out-of-town” fling — what happens in Denver, stays in Denver kind of thing.
Nope —I really did dig it. At 5-foot-nothing, I like a car that doesn’t swallow me, but that makes me feel big on the road. The Outback does just that.
I am often toting one thing or another around town, not to mention out of town — my dog Walter to the park, a tangle of Hula Hoops to Move Studio, or a car load of family to Fossil Rim where the zebras all but climbed inside. And it even fits my new Slingshot SUP, which is pretty impressive, considering how long and wide the thing is. (Seven and a half feet long and nearly 31 1/2 inches wide, in case you’re wondering.)
The thing is, I’ve never been a real car person. I like it to look good and run well, period. But I actually like driving my car now. Of course, once I got the chance to test the 2013, I realized that I enjoy driving it even better than my 2011. That’s always the way, I suppose.
I took the 2013 for a spin in the Outer Banks of North Carolina. The sand dunes were the ideal place to show what an outdoorsy monster she could be. It took me two tries, but once I was brave enough to really punch it, the Outback went right over the dunes like it was on pavement. Very cool.
My 2011 was already user-friendly, but the 2013 is dummy-proof, ideal for drivers who will never be tapped to lap at Indy. They’ve primarily done that by adding EyeSight (comprised of two cameras over the rearview mirror), one of the most affordable systems of its kind. Right now you can only get it on the Outback and the Legacy, but it should be available on other models moving forward.
EyeSight lets you know if you wander out of your lane without using your turn signal or if you start swaying within your lane. If traffic is heavy, EyeSight lets you know when the car in front of you has started to move again if you don’t move forward within a few seconds.
And if something is in front of you but you continue to step on the gas, the system will actually cut the throttle so that you simply cannot accelerate. This works when you are backing out of a parking space and shift into drive instead of reverse, too — for example, when you’re trying to merge onto 635 and the guy in front of you who started to make a move suddenly stops.
Subaru has also added Adaptive Cruise Control, which will brake or accelerate in order to keep you at a safe distance from the car in front of you while keeping you at the speed you’ve chosen. It works from 1 to 87 mph and will even bring you to a complete stop if the system “locks on” to a vehicle in front of you.
I think my favorite feature is the pre-collision braking, which works when cruise control is off as well. If an object is detected, EyeSight will brake for you, slowing you down or bringing you to a complete stop, if you don’t. (The idea is, even if a collision isn’t completely avoided, damage will be mitigated.)
Subaru is known for offering the most fuel-efficient, all-wheel drive vehicles on the market based on the fuel economy standards put out by the Environmental Protection Agency. And every Subaru is made in a zero-landfill production plant. In fact, Subaru’s Indiana plant (where the Outback and the Legacy are made) is the only U.S. automobile production plant that the National Wildlife Federation has designated as a backyard wildlife habitat.
I don’t usually like to follow the crowd. But when it comes to my Outback, I actually don’t mind the cliché: Gay women like Subarus. Maybe it’s an obvious pick, but it suits me just right. There’s a reason clichés become clichés.•
— Jenny Block
This article appeared in the Dallas Voice print edition March 1, 2013.
