Subaru-ing around Colorado!

September 2, 2015 By

I’ve always liked Subaru–in fact, before purchasing our Honda Pilot we test drove an Outback before we woke up and realized there was no way we’d be able to fit all of our family’s junk treasures into a crossover SUV. We needed a full-sized SUV so the dream was dead.

However, the dream has been reignited for when it comes time to replacing Jamie’s Camry. Last week, I test drove the 2015 Subaru Legacy for a few days and had a really grand time doing it. Not only was the sedan sleek and smooth, but it has boasts the largest passenger cabin in its category. This is a nice way of saying that kids in the back seat have plenty of legroom and won’t be kicking you the entire time.

It has some awesome bells and whistles like the Rear Vehicle Detection System, which includes Blind Spot Detection, Lane Change Assist, as well as Rear Cross Traffic Alert, which all helps you safely back-out of your driveway. Over at Mile High Mamas, I’ve detailed some of my favorite features. Here’s how we put our test drive to the, welp, test.

Lunching at Kneaders

To celebrate the kids (finally) back in school, I invited Jamie to lunch at Kneaders. The car had recently been dropped off at our house and I proudly took my smokin’ date for a drive in a drive in my hot car. All was going smoothly, except for the lane departure that kept broadcasting alerts.

“What is that?” I asked.

“Every time you swerve out of your lane, it alerts you.”

“Isn’t that annoying?”

“No, it’s safe. It’s gonna be like a video game alert going off every few seconds because you’re always weaving.”

Turns out, he was right. It was a tutorial of how much I swerve to the side of the road. The good news: when I put on my signal light, the notification didn’t go off. Me thinks this feature is a must for when my kids start driving.

Playing with Friends

On Day 2 of our test drive, my friends Eva and Lisa got together to celebrate my friend Jenn’s birthday. I drove my trusty Subaru to the Colorado Chautauqua National Historic Landmark in Boulder for an excellent morning of hiking, followed by lunch at Khow Thai Cafe (get the Masaman Curry with Coconut Milk, Potatoes, Onions and Peanuts), followed by Eva’s first visit to Trader Joe’s.

I felt like a kid again that night when I was discussing all the fun we’d had in the Subaru as the kids talked about school.

“I’m having more fun than you,” I boasted to my daughter.

She paused, thought about her day and shockingly said, “I think you’re right.”

There’s a first for everything.

The Road-trip

After completing our 3,000-mile road-trip to Canada this summer, the last thing I wanted to do was volunteer to drive to Aspen for Mudderella. Until I arranged my schedule to drive the Legacy and then I couldn’t wait!

There’s nothing quite like a new car on a long road-trip with no kids and girlfriends.The car was great on gas,  the new soft-touch materials and thicker cushioning on the armrests were uber comfortable and we loved the three-mode heated front seats and dual-mode heated rear seats on chilly mornings, followed by the rear seat air conditioning ducts in the afternoons for when the weather warmed up.

One of our funniest moments in the Legacy was shortly after we’d turned off I-70 onto Highway 82, the road to Aspen. We’d just passed through Glenwood Springs but were still about 45 minutes from our destination. Lunch. Could. Not. Wait. I looked for a nice place to stop by the Roaring Fork River but it didn’t happen. I finally turned off on a road teaming with grasshoppers and farmer’s fields. We ate our uninspired lunch in our Legacy.

We didn’t think anything of it until we got back on the highway and the very next exit was a gorgeous scenic picnic area and overlook of Mount Sopris, a twin-summit mountain in the northwestern Elk Mountains range.

At least our views within the Legacy weren’t half bad.

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Filed Under: Colorado