just traded my 2015 228 xdrive for a 2017 Outback last week. Surprisingly, I couldn't be happier.
228 had signs that it was gonna start nickle/diming me to death since the warranty was due to run out in December. In the last few months, I had a drivetrain malfunction, plug/coils replaced due to a misfire, the AC condenser replaced, and both sets of rotors were warped despite having them replaced around the 25k mark. Car had barely turned 37k miles. The last straw for me was going on a weekend road trip two weeks ago and bubbling a tire. I call roadside and they recommend me a dealership 90 miles away, which to their credit was the closest one. Since it was an oddball size (something like 235-40zr18 or 19), the dealership couldn't get a tire until Wednesday. The place that they source their tires from, which the service folks were nice enough to give me a number, said they couldn't get anything until Tuesday. Being 430 miles away from home and due to be at work on Monday since I was the only one from our department in office for the majority of the week, that really wasn't an option to wait 3 days for a tire. Probably not my best choice, but I limped home at 60-65 mph on my bubbled tire, swearing at every passing car. But running that slow in eco mode also allowed me to get almost 40 mpg, so there's that.
The Outback is what I needed. It's roomy, it has enough options to keep me happy, get surprisingly good mileage on long trips, and obviously is gonna save me some money. Probably close to 1000/yr after the difference in insurance, gas (not having to use 93 vs 87), the lower payment, etc. They also included gap insurance, free oil changes, and free road hazard on the wheels and tires along with bumper to bumper coverage up to 100k. Considering the car only has 8k on it, that's not a bad deal.