Considering 08 Outback....

[volfo]

One thing to remember with a direct drive is that you don't have to ski from the pylon. There's a loop on the back of the boat you can tow with, too (at least on my '01 OB LS). That's where the tubes go and where some (little kids) ski from. Also, we just added a tower, and with the wakeboarding, people can sit in the rear seat when towing from the tower.

So, while it is true that if you ski off the center pylon you can't sit behind it, that rarely presents a problem for us. The most adults I've ever skied with in our boat was 6, and that was no problem. The 3 girls were in the bow, a buddy driving and one in the observer seat. Everyone was happy. My '01 OB LS is the same hull as the OB V, but in direct drive, and I love the boat. However, if I were buying new, I'd seriously compare the Mobius LS direct drive to the OB V because from what I understand reasonably optioned they are about the same price, probably ski very similar, and the LS is just more boat - longer wider deeper, more storage, better tower, etc. Only reason to go V that I can see is the tow point behind the rear bench - but for the reasons I just stated, I don't think that's that big of an advantage.

[zegm]

Was going to get an outback V too! Test drove it, compared it to our old MasterCraft and noticed the wake was HUGE!!!! Went to the boat show to purchase an outback V and met some guys from the Georgia Tech ski team. They walked us over the the LS!!! Sure the motor is in the middle and not as nice a layout but they said it was a better ski boat and honestly it still has a ton of room in it. I can lay flat out on the rear seat and I am 6'2" tall!!!! We bought the LS, wake is still bigger than the MasterCraft but my wife and I have both been through the course and I don't notice it yet, ok it is bigger but not a problem. If you are a pure slalom course skier then go straight outback. If you are a family that wants to do everything, ski, wakeboard, kneeboard the best boat for all of these activities is the LS! I would call her the crossover boat! And she is faster than the v-drives, they loose power through the transfer case!!!!!