We actually own two Outbacks, a 2011 and a 2019. Both my wife and I hate the touchscreen system in the 2019, it is full of irritating bugs and even the physical climate controls (which IIRC were going away for the 2020 model year) have horrible indicators of their status compared to the older one.
I'd say the backup camera is a welcome addition for the newer one but if the roads are even remotely dirty the camera almost immediately becomes totally obscured rendering it useless, which around here occurs at least half the year.
Combined with the battery drain issue I will probably not buy another one. At the most I'll give them a test drive to see if the control system has been returned to some semblance of sanity. Unfortunately all new cars seem to be privacy nightmares so I'm not sure how I'll avoid that.
The 2024/2025 Ascent is what I had as a loaner that had the skeumorphic UI on the screen that looked exactly like an older Subaru's physical climate control layout.
I'd say the backup camera is a welcome addition for the newer one but if the roads are even remotely dirty the camera almost immediately becomes totally obscured rendering it useless, which around here occurs at least half the year.
Combined with the battery drain issue I will probably not buy another one. At the most I'll give them a test drive to see if the control system has been returned to some semblance of sanity. Unfortunately all new cars seem to be privacy nightmares so I'm not sure how I'll avoid that.