The Outback is [...] slow

I had to pause here for a moment because my wife's 2016 Subaru Outback is the fastest of our cars and has some serious pick-up-and-go. I couldn't understand why they were complaining about it being slow.

Then I remembered my wife specifically requested the V6 engine variant of the Outbacks. Only 1% of them are made with a V6 engine and there's a waiting list a year or two long for one, depending on where you live. It's worth it; it feels like driving an EV with how quickly it picks up speed, and with the amount of weight it can tow. And since it's so rare, they deck them out with all the options. You don't get a choice; they come with everything pre-installed.

We got lucky; we bought ours from a Subaru dealership where all the employees were salaried, so they didn't give a shit whether we bought a car or not. They weren't pushy or trying to haggle a price. The sticker price was the cost, end of story. You either pay it or leave.

We were both active duty military at the time we bought it, and they had a deal where AD military paid 10% below the MSRP price, so we only paid around $34K for it. It was almost $38K MSRP in 2016. So we got a deal and it's been a mostly reliable car this past decade.

My extended family all buys Subarus; they really love them. I'm the black sheep; my personal car is actually a Mazda. 😜