Why we chose this particular car to build out for adventure.
Background:
We are self-employed farmers who love being in nature and living by the seasons of life. We enjoy being connected to our world at a primitive level, take the stewardship of our small part of the planet seriously, and love to explore other places whenever we can.
If you know anything about farming, you will already know this, but the grounded lifestyle that we live does present some challenges if you want to “go on vacation.” Although spiritually rewarding, being a small farmer is not a very fiscally rewarding career choice. There are no pension plans or 401Ks, no paid vacation days, and generally no one to cover for you when you are gone.
As we are getting older, we are spending time refocusing our priorities knowing that we do not have time to squander. We are working to carve out more blocks of time from our work schedule for travel and fun, but again as farmers, budget is a serious consideration.
Although we do plan to travel to other parts of the world, our immediate plans are to see and experience the nooks and crannies, the backroads and off-roads, of the United States and Canada. We grew up in the era when car trips and camping were the primary family vacations. We not only love the destination part of travel, but actually enjoy the journey. Overlanding and road-tripping are after all the perfect analogy of a life well-lived.
I only mention all of this to offer some insight into our situation and to put this project into perspective. I hope that by outlining our process, you will be able to glean some ideas, or at the very least, find the information educational and entertaining.
Why a Subaru Outback?!?!?
Here in the Pacific Northwest, Subaru models are everywhere; and seemingly for good reason. They perform well in our weather conditions, and can handle the diverse landscapes. Friends and family members who have owned them reported positive experiences. When we compared features, functions, reliability, and pricing with other vehicle makes and models, nothing compared. (Did I already mention that budget is a big issue?)
We didn’t have too many requirements in mind when it came to our perfect vehicle, but the ones that we did have were fairly specific. This included:
- Affordable
- Tinted windows.
- Comfortable and quiet ride.
- Back-up camera.
- Ability to fit three car seats to haul grand-kids when needed.
- 4-wheel or All-wheel drive for inclement weather.
- High safety and reliability reports.
- And black rims.
In the late summer of 2017, armed with our list and checkbook, we quickly narrowed our search down to a low mileage, base model, single owner vehicle. It was a 2017 Subaru Outback 2.5i that looked like everyone’s grandma’s car, but we could see its potential.
This photo is what we saw at the dealership, and after a short test drive, the one that we bought for our build.
Although it didn’t have all of the options that we wanted, we figured that we could add all of the options that we wanted at a later date as time and finances permitted. As a matter of fact, it fit within our budget with enough left over to have the dealer tint the windows and for me to start pricing rims.
The tinted windows were a step in the right direction, both functionally and visually, but at this point, the Subie still looks like some soccer mom’s grocery getter. That really is not acceptable and needed to be rectified quickly.
“Life is too short to drive boring cars.“
~ Elvis Presley
Follow along to learn about the modifications we have made, and about ones that we hope to accomplish as budget allows.
I have owned four Subaru Outbacks. I gave my oldest daughter my 2017 2.5i. It had 60k miles on it. Great car. I never thought if it as a “granny” car. I think it look sleek. And even the smaller engine has quite a bit of zip to it. She loves it. She says it make her feel rich. Ha ha! I bought a White 2022 Subaru Outback Touring. Being in the industrial real estate business I put a lot of miles on it and of course I’m in it a lot. Hence my willingness to spend a little more for upgraded package. I’m thinking of trading it for a 2025.
Thanks for the comment Johnny. This is the first Outback that we have owned, but several family members are Subie owners and like you, also recommended them highly. One of the things that we have loved about the Outback is that there is a very strong community surrounding the brand, as well as a lot of very cool third party suppliers of gear to modify and build out the stock vehicles into just about any configuration a person can think of for anything from off-roading to car camping to road tripping. I hope that you got a chance to check out the rest of the web pages in our project … and more pages are on the way as I get some time. 🙂