what subaru would you recommend?

[baseketballfan]

Hi new member looking for input

I need to get a daily driver car to work.  I live in the 4 season weather + hilly area so want awd, but also good gas + safety.  I also like to sit high b/c it gives me a (probably false) sense of security.  But I dont need the utility space. 

 

Now I dont want to buy new because I have to park in a large lot every day and more than likely car will get dinged, also I dont want to go into the low $20s if possible, my range is definitely $15-16ish unless the newer car is worth the extra $$

 

 

the best choice seems like 2010 legacy: good gas, plenty available, within price range

the 2010 forester makes me feel a bit safer b/c sit higher (whether thats factually correct or not is another thing), but gas is worse

 

the 2 others Im consider is the xv crosstek (higher clearance than legacy, but better gas than forester, seems like a good compromise between the 2?), and the 2014 forester, which definitely gets better gas than older model

 

what would you guys recommend? 

 

thanks!

 

 

 

[Mugs]

If your doing normal street driving and not anything outdoorsy then a legacy will work fine. But they have the same ground clearance as a yota or a honda. If you are outdoorsy and like to head into the trails so to speak, then you need to look into outback, forester, or XV. XV will have a hybrid 40mpg option for 2014..something to think about. 

[heartless]

more food for thought - the higher you sit, the higher the center of gravity is, the more likely you are to roll the vehicle in a bad situation...

 

Sitting up high is not necessarily safer - just gives better visibility

[ivans imports]

a'm finding that the imprezas come in the least and need less repairs and hold up very well the bigger cars break more and have more problems. Any impreza or legacy with a 2.2 is a bulletproof car.

[uniberp]

You can never tell how a car has been treated or stressed. A car with less than 10k miles likely will not show any  abuse that was hurled at it. The stresses on bearings (wheel, main, rod) will not show any symptoms until much later in it's life, but that could be as low as 40k miles. Subarus are good cars, but only if you take care of them.

I think they appeal to many DIYers because they are easily user serviceable. Unfortunately the thing that makes them attractive to technically able also makes them easy to patch up and turn over for a quick buck.

 

For a commuter I liked my high mileage car, with new struts, brakes, tires solidly reliable at $4000.

As it is, I baby the nice $16000 cross my fingers that nothing goes wrong car.

 

But that's just me.

 

 

 

[Rooster2]

My preference is Legacy Outback. Just a little bigger then the Impreza product line family of Forester and XV cross over. IMHO, with the longer wheel base, the Legacy rides better, and is less of a choppy ride found with the Impreza family. Leg room is also better in the Legacy line. All Subarus are much the same technically, with motors and trannys often interchangeable, so reliability is good on both.

 

Which ever you pick, welcome to Subaru, and to happy motoring.

[gbhrps]

basketballfan,

 

I'ved owned 4 OutBack Wagons since 1997, and every one of them has been better than the last one. Other than normal maintenance, there has never been a major fix, or even close to it, that was required to any of them. I will continue to own many more before old age makes me better suited to an able walker.

 

That said, from what you describe as needing, a Forester would fill the bill with added benefits. The increased ground clearance allows it to go places the Legacy cannot, up over curbs, etc., and through much deeper snow. The increased headroom gets my vote for tall drivers. But the versatility of carrying 5 people, or by folding the rear seats down to carry gardening supplies, extra luggage, or taking bags of garbage to the dump can't be beat. And you can tie 8 foot long 2x4's to the roof rack for that project.

 

You can find all kinds of 2006's and newer for the kind of dollars you want to spend, and by that year the headgasket issues had been corrected. Don't let all of the people here asking for fixes put you off. The people who don't have problems never take the time to post on these kind of forums. Good Luck with your Subaru purchase!

[baseketballfan]

basketballfan,

 

I'ved owned 4 OutBack Wagons since 1997, and every one of them has been better than the last one. Other than normal maintenance, there has never been a major fix, or even close to it, that was required to any of them. I will continue to own many more before old age makes me better suited to an able walker.

 

That said, from what you describe as needing, a Forester would fill the bill with added benefits. The increased ground clearance allows it to go places the Legacy cannot, up over curbs, etc., and through much deeper snow. The increased headroom gets my vote for tall drivers. But the versatility of carrying 5 people, or by folding the rear seats down to carry gardening supplies, extra luggage, or taking bags of garbage to the dump can't be beat. And you can tie 8 foot long 2x4's to the roof rack for that project.

 

You can find all kinds of 2006's and newer for the kind of dollars you want to spend, and by that year the headgasket issues had been corrected. Don't let all of the people here asking for fixes put you off. The people who don't have problems never take the time to post on these kind of forums. Good Luck with your Subaru purchase!

 

would you recommend spending the more $ for new forester or is the 2010 one good enough?

[Subaru_dude]

The hybrid does NOT get 40mpg Mugs... it gets 33 hwy, exact same as the non-hybrid. But it does get 29mpg city, which is a mild improvement over the non-hybrid. And also makes 160hp.

[idosubaru]

i'd aim for the new FB engine. it's new and i'm hesitant about platforms we don't know much about (in terms of 10 year/high mileage reliability and lots of quantitative statistically relevant examples) - but it's a seemingly great platform with no timing belt maintenance.  and Subaru hit a home run with their timing chain driven H6 engine in 2001 which is one of my favorites.

 

would you recommend spending the more $ for new forester or is the 2010 one good enough?

 

both are a great fit depending on YOU.

 

if the newer engine i just mentioned interests you, that comes in 2011 Foresters.  the 2010 EJ25 engine still has the possibility of head gasket issues which aren't a huge deal but if you haven't bought yet and there's a compelling reason to think it can be avoided - i say go for it.  i'd lean towards 2011+ Forester (or the FB25 engine instead of the EJ25 of 2010 and earlier).

 

in the end, it's mostly opinion and depends on quite a few variables/personal choices - how do you view risk, how long you plan to own the car, how you do maintenance, are you a service package person, are you an independent or dealer person, do you do any of your own maintenance, how good of a purchase can you make on a used vehicle, how you trade in or how long you plan to keep the car, what your local market is like in terms of used Subarus...there's a lot of variables. 

 

warranty is nice but not much is likely to happen before 100k or even 150k so you're also not getting much for your money. you're paying a premium for a 0.5% incidence...are you the type to mitigate every tiny bit of small risk?

 

*if you're the kind of person to say "Subaru is a big pile of junk, i hate this car, and will never buy a Subaru again" when you have an issue, don't laugh as those types of people exist in numbers and post to every Subaru (or any manufacturer) forum online, then you should probably buy new with warranty and mitigate the miniscule risk.

 

if you're the type of person to drive a car 200,000+ miles then the differences are probably minor  in terms of "cost/mile" as most Subaru's can easily do that with minimal maintenance.

Edited December 16, 2013 by grossgary

[Suzam]

The only problem I have with a pre-2014 Forester is the old style 4-speed auto. My father-in-law lives near Denver and his 2013 downshits early and stays in lower gears longer keeping the revs up, much like all the Suabrus do starting in the mid 90's models. The CVT model provides improved MPG and the style update makes it a nicer car in the interior and back storage area.

 

Even my mother-in-laws 2011 Outback with the older engine and older design CVT are and improvment over the Forester's 4-speed. My 2013 Legacy has the newer engine and improved CVT and the engine/trans is great in hilly and mountain roads and highways and a better combo than the 2011 Outback.

 

Test drive and test fit as many models that you can before you make a desicion.

[Mugs]

The hybrid does NOT get 40mpg Mugs... it gets 33 hwy, exact same as the non-hybrid. But it does get 29mpg city, which is a mild improvement over the non-hybrid. And also makes 160hp.

Yep you correct..I noticed that too when I went to "build my own" the other day. I was just going off of a report I heard the other day. Not only that but they start out at like 9k more then the stock.

 

Too bad I can't get the blue one in black interior..Yes I am purchasing a car based upon my exterior/interior options. 

 

What the HELL is with subaru and their light A$$ interior color combos. Don't they know that stuff gets dirty just looking at it. Never did understand why they have done that for so many years.

Edited December 18, 2013 by Mugs

[baseketballfan]

so we ended up buying the new forester

 

1) better gas than older model, and frankly that older 4 speed transmission was not that good

2) great safety record including passing that new insurance institute test that a lot of cars are failing

3) sit higher up

 

I dont need the util space, but I just felt so comfortable driving in it

 

we ended up buying the demo model from the dealer, and he gave us 3k off for it so I still ended up paying less than a new, but still had to go over budget

[Rooster2]

Welcome to the family of Subaru owners. Your new Forester is a great vehicle. Take care of it, and it will take care of you. Recommend you "hang out" on this USMB forum. You can learn a lot about Subies here, and lots of good people to advise if you have questions about your Forester.