The Subaru Outback 2.5i feels underpowered. Do you feel the Honda CR-V has a better engine?
You’re not going to find any barnburners with these two cars, which have similar performance with their four-cylinder engines. The Subaru does outdo the CR-V with an additional four horsepower and nine pounds-feet of torque, however.
Even though the Honda has less power, its only engine offering, a smoother five-speed automatic transmission, gives the CR-V more gears to choose from for passing power as compared to Subaru’s optional automatic in a four-speed unit.
Cars.com senior editor David Thomas and his wife had these compact SUVs on their hit list when shopping for a car, which is documented in the KickingTires blog series “When an auto writer buys a car.”
Thomas writes, “These two cars were on my wife's purchasing list last year when we were looking for a new family car.” You can read about the experience here.
“The 2.5i actually has more horsepower than the CR-V and the reason my wife did not like the Honda was because she thought it felt too underpowered. I, the auto journalist, didn't think power was the real deal breaker as they were both so similar. I didn't like Honda's folding mechanism for its rear seats, he writes.
“However, the CR-V's transmission is much smoother than the Subaru's. Noticeably so.
“I don't think you go wrong with either one and both should be on year-end sales for the 2008 models, which are not significantly different for either.”
In your area we’re currently showing a $1,500 cash-back rebate for qualified buyers on the 2008 Subaru Outback. There are no offers listed for the CR-V at the time of publishing, but check back at our incentives page for updates.
Learn more
See if your question has already been asked and answered
Your question has been successfully submitted to Ask.cars.com. It will now be reviewed by our editors and we'll answer it soon if we think it's a useful question. You will be notified via e-mail when the answer is posted. Ask.cars.com tackles your questions about new cars and the car-buying process. Unfortunately we can't answer questions regarding:
Have our experts answer any of your questions about new cars.
Don't worry — we won't publish your last name or email.
