Nope
If they have the ‘convertible’ swing-arm style crossbars then they have one of the non-Touring 2017 Outback models.
Only the 2017 Outback Touring model has the new low-profile Euro-style roof rails. I guess only we sea kayaking types want robust factory roof-rail system like that.
Apparently Subaru’s target market for the Outback is “soccer moms” and they prefer that plastic laden, swing-arm baloney. It took them seven years, but Subaru finally saw fit to put real Euro-rails on one Outback model.
Subaru is playing it smart
Subaru knows it still has a niche position and probably knows some people are disappointed with its newer cheesy rack.
So it gives potential buyers a real rack, but only in a premium package. You want it, you’re emotionally tied to Subaru, so you’ll pay for it. What, you’re gonna buy a Toyota?
(I don’t mean YOU you).
I agree with your assessment…
and ironically this does apply to me/ME (embarrassed emoji).
We’ve now owned several Subaru’s.
My ACA membership discount helps in the purchase and our son can work on them. He happens to race modified STIs.
I often haul two sea kayaks, plus a cargo pod; or a sea kayak + one canoe. From 2010-2016 Subaru Outback just was not going to do it. My last two personal vehicles have been Subaru Foresters. They meet my roof rack requirements with their robust factory rails, but the road feel is a bit more truck-like. The Forester is also not nearly as nicely appointed as my wife would like (e.g. the Outback), and it’s quite a reach to the roof rack for my aging body.
I’m looking to trade-in my Forester next year and the 2017 Outback Touring model with the new roof rails is squarely in my sights.
it just makes me sad
I’m empathetic. Hey, they have to compete. But I had a '99 and loved it, it soldiered on with a failing head gasket for about 75k and was still running fine when I sold it. the roof rails AND crossbars were rock-solid, it had a low roofline that made it easy to load, and a low center of gravity that allowed it to handle great for a wagon.
I do like the new Foresters and if I was in the market, I’d try one out. But I also like the new Mazda CX 3 mini crossover.
Well…
…we tried it today and it seems beefy enough to hold a 70lb wood & canvas canoe? Loaded it today and no problem. I always prefer a rack that will hold 2 boats, but for an older couple using this on local lakes I think it will be fine?
Congratulations
Tell your friend I said “congrat’s” on the new Subaru!
They Bought The 2017…
…because his wife survived a crash in their 2015 Outback; he said it was a “Miracle?” They are pretty happy with it.
Thanks for the help!
Times change (for the better this time)
Back when I bought my 1980 Subaru, the most recent crash ratings in Consumer reports at the time (for Subarus about two years previous) said that you shouldn’t expect the seatbelt buckles to even stay connected during a crash. When they crashed their test models, all the seatbelt buckles broke free and the crash-test dummies went flying. At the time, people I knew simply said you had to expect such things with Japanese cars! Times change.
yes
I have to give them that, safety is definitely a priority with Subaru.
rack
– Last Updated: Nov-04-16 4:28 PM EST –
I delayed my planned purchase of a replacement for my 2004 Outback, precisely because of the awful roof rack on the new models. The old style allowed me to widely separate the crossbars to carry a long canoe. So now I have 2 new Foresters, a 2015 (my wife's) and a 2016 (for me). I am very happy with both. They handle a 23 ft C4 with ease and may be carrying one from the Adirondacks to the Yukon next summer.
Outback rack
Forgive the long answer, but I have a long opinion. As a rack installer for several years, I’ve put Thule, Yak and other racks on a lot of cars. When Subaru came out with the redesigned 2010 model, they used the weird set up with folding crossbars. Subaru claims this design came from a “focus group”. I believe it was about that time that Toyota bought an interest in Subaru, so maybe we can blame Toyota. Ask any Subaru salesperson about that rack and they’ll gush about how the bars fold into the rails to help with gas mileage, but neither they nor Subaru has any data to back up this claim. It’s a sales gimmick. The problem lies not so much in the weight capacity of the rack, but that the crossbars are too close together, and in 2016 or 2015 the rails are even closer together making carrying a boat longer than 17feet a crapshoot. Yakima makes a system just for the Outback that attaches to the big plastic blocks and extends the total length, but not by much. Bow and stern tie downs are a must if you’ve got the newer Outbacks. A Forester still has the tried and true raise rails and that’s a better choice. Interestingly, the Outbacks sold in Europe come with standard raised rails. I guess they don’t use “focus groups” there. There are Subaru forums on the 'net that discuss the rack situation and the general opinion is that the Outback rack sucks for carrying long boats. Look at a Forester. They have better visibility out the blind side anyway. Good luck.
Food for Thought…
…for those of us considering one, however; my friend has the vehicle and it appears the rack will be fine for his purposes. He will use it for short trips with one boat. For MY purposes, short AND long trips and multiple boats, I would “Just say no” to this factory setup, as you suggest.
I saw one of those Yakima racks
I’ve always thought that an inventive person could come up with a way to attach cross-bar mounts to those big, blocky rack mounts on the Outback. The other day I saw an Outback with Yakima’s solution to the problem, and it looked convenient, but that was about all. The cross-bar spacing was still far to little. Here again, I bet a person could come up with a way to use the Yakima anchors, and with extra improvised hardware, extend the rack spacing to span the full length of the factory roof mounts. Of course at that point, it might still be better to make one’s own attachment system, connecting to those big plastic blocks.
To me, the bottom line is that it’s absolutely inconceivable that such a big, bulky rack system that occupies such a long span of the car’s roof is absolutely useless unless it’s heavily customized, and customized in a a way that few regular people would be able to do. Equally baffling is how after all these years of everyone who carries stuff on their roof saying the folks at Subaru must be idiots for coming up with this idea, and still nothing has changed.
I had a 2012 Outback
– Last Updated: Nov-15-16 12:22 PM EST –
And used the Yakima towers and fit kit to get rid of the stock bars. It was a really solid setup, the bar spread wasn't great, but would hold two 17 foot kayaks really well. The only drawback was it raised the bars another inch or two on an already tall vehicle. I think the wonky stock rack system is marketed to the recreational weekend warrior, it stows and deploys quickly and easily, it just doesn't carry anything well. Great for mpgs but not for heavy use. And Subaru seems to have gone out of their way to make sure it was difficult to swap out.
I found my 2012 Outback with a stick a completely different animal than the 2002 WRX wagon I had, and bought the car hoping there would be a little resemblance, just in a family friendly iteration. I was pretty disappointed with the new Outback, no power, terrible numb handling, dumbed down display (I like having an engine temperature gauge) and was not great in the snow the traction control seemed to get in the way. My 02 WRX was an absolute mountain goat with minimal traction control to interfere. The only benefit of the new Outback was the heated seats, and a little more room for the trunk. The Outback has become much more of a crossover than earlier generations, which were tough little efficient awd wagons, and there a lot of really great crossovers out there from more reliable and proficient manufacturers. If they still offered a low slung awd wagon (especially with a turbo) I might have given them another chance, but nothing they currently build is even tempting. I traded out the Outback for a Ford Flex (which gets better mpgs with boats on top strangely enough) after owning the outback for a year.
works fine for most
The outback racks work fine for the majority of users who only carry one boat. Also, I see lots of complaints about the span being too short, but on my 2013, there are two positions for the rear crossbar, and I carry an 18 foot canoe with no problems at all.
Nope
Certainly not for me. So far I’ve stuck with the Forester for sea kayak hauling. It has a set of bomber roof rails that allow adequate crossbar spacing. The Forester also has great tie-down points for bow/stern lines. I wouldn’t try to put a long boat on my wife’s 2015 Outback.
Fwiw, I have only seen an occasional Outback (2010-2016) carrying a kayak and they were all short rec boats. I have yet come upon one with a longer kayak, but I am sure someone out there has tried it.
I will give the Outback 2017 Touring model (with Euro rails) a long hard look next year. I need to see if it has any bow/stern tie down points on the under carriage. My wife’s Outback does not.
No problems at all
I’ve noticed that there’s a huge variation in people’s degree of satisfaction with crappy tie-down methods. I even posted about that a couple months ago, after seeing at least a hundred canoes being carried to and from the BWCA, most of which were anything but solidly connected to the car. I’m sure all those folks thought they were doing just fine, or they would have found a better method.
The thing is, when there’s any tendency of the front of the boat to be pushed sideways (or up or down), this creates stress on the on boat-to-rack connections, and the boat itself, which is many times greater when there’s such a narrow spread between the bars than is the case for a rack that gives you five feet or so. And the bars themselves on that particular Subaru rack are abysmal when it comes to strength/stiffness (I mention that because it sounds like you are using the factory bars, and not very many people who carry canoes are willing to trust those, hence all the talk about attaching aftermarket racks to the factory rack).
I’ve seen many
– Last Updated: Nov-18-16 10:28 AM EST –
I've seen many newer outbacks carrying all types of kayaks and canoes on the factory rack, and none appeared to be having a problem. If the racks were inadequate, wouldn't there be hundreds of reports of roof rack failures, and canoes flying loose on the highways all over North America?
The spread on my cross bars is 3.5', and I doubt you are getting much more than that on a Forester - the entire roof is barely over 5' long.
Tie down points also aren't a problem. Attach a set of tie down loops under the hood for the bow, and the stern gets tied to the tow hitch.
Have you seen any of these Outbacks
carrying two 17’ sea kayaks and a Thule Atlantis 1200 cargo box or a 17’ sea kayak and 16’ canoe? I can fit those on my Forester. They will not fit on an Outback.
not that I’ve noticed
but my comment above was that the factory rack was fine for most people who only carry one boat.