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Subaru

thetrailboss

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Nice looking ride. I’m all about a real wagon.

Does look nice, but I could probably never bring myself to buy a VW given the issues my family had with a Jetta that was ALWAYS in the shop or VW's emissions scam.
 

Edd

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Does look nice, but I could probably never bring myself to buy a VW given the issues my family had with a Jetta that was ALWAYS in the shop or VW's emissions scam.

Yes, I agree. I owned 4 in a row in my younger days and love how they (and Audis) perform but there are maintenance issues that I’m too cheap to deal with.
 

thetrailboss

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Yes, I agree. I owned 4 in a row in my younger days and love how they (and Audis) perform but there are maintenance issues that I’m too cheap to deal with.

Yes, my brother's A4 is another reason why I won't buy VW or Audi. The Audi was never less than $1,500 each visit!
 

deadheadskier

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Does look nice, but I could probably never bring myself to buy a VW given the issues my family had with a Jetta that was ALWAYS in the shop or VW's emissions scam.
The emissions scam was certainly disheartening, but no more so than the decades long head gasket issue Subaru refused to do right by their customers with. I dealt with it, my brother dealt with it and l couldn't even tell you how many friends. I know you have had good luck with your car, but the history of Subaru is a huge turn off to me.

There are basically five models of cars that come in the configuration we want: five doors, awd, manual transmission, decent gas mileage. Alltrack, Sportwagen, Forrester, Crosstrek and Compass. The VW driving dynamics is far superior than the others. We chose the Alltrack for the added ground clearance over the Sportwagen

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thetrailboss

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The emissions scam was certainly disheartening, but no more so than the decades long head gasket issue Subaru refused to do right by their customers with. I dealt with it, my brother dealt with it and l couldn't even tell you how many friends. I know you have had good luck with your car, but the history of Subaru is a huge turn off to me.

There are basically five models of cars that come in the configuration we want: five doors, awd, manual transmission, decent gas mileage. Alltrack, Sportwagen, Forrester, Crosstrek and Compass. The VW driving dynamics is far superior than the others. We chose the Alltrack for the added ground clearance over the Sportwagen

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So far my car only has 23k on it. I certainly am wary of this potential issue. Hope it doesn't become a problem.
 

sull1102

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So far my car only has 23k on it. I certainly am wary of this potential issue. Hope it doesn't become a problem.
It most likely will not be an issue for you. The only true way to avoid a Subaru head gasket issue is to get a turbo, they always have utilized a much higher quality material for the turbo motor's head gasket due to increased pressure. That being said, as far back as the second half of m/y 2004 they have improved. That was when they made the initial change to a new design. Then in 09 and 11 they went in and did another few changes here and there.

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Edd

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We’re at a strange decision point choosing between the Crosstrek and Outback. My wife doesn’t care for the styling of the 2018 Forester, although the 2019 looks to be interesting.

The Outbacks are going for 0% financing, to get rid of the 2018s. The Crosstreks don’t have that deal. It’s amazing how the various sized SUVs cross over in terms of prices; with the trim level being a major factor.

I test drive a Honda CRV and Nissan Rogue this week. The CRV is truly impressive, with more cargo space than the Outback, which blurs the lines since the Outback is on a more substantial platform and feels more high end. The Rogue has all of the toys, it just feels lethargic and body-rolly, which is not something I’m picky about these days. I love the many included options on the Rogue, it is just so goddamn boring to drive.


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sull1102

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Go Outback over Crosstrek if the financing is that good and the final deal is right. The Crosstrek is just an Impreza hatchback with plastic cladding and a 1.5inch lift kit, while the Outback is the top model for the brand until the 2019 model year.

The poor Nissan guys seem to really struggle to get any power out of that motor in the Rogue. A coworker just bought his second one and went in saying the one thing he hated about the first was no power, but now he's getting up there in age and the lack of any zoom zoom isn't an issue for him. He did say they made almost no improvement in that power dept in the three year jump.

One car I might strongly recommend you just go take a quick look and test drive, the Mazda CX-5/7(orginally wrote 3 which is probably too small). Those are some really fun to drive crossovers and pricing should be competitive to Subie.

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Last edited:

thetrailboss

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We’re at a strange decision point choosing between the Crosstrek and Outback. My wife doesn’t care for the styling of the 2018 Forester, although the 2019 looks to be interesting.

The Outbacks are going for 0% financing, to get rid of the 2018s. The Crosstreks don’t have that deal. It’s amazing how the various sized SUVs cross over in terms of prices; with the trim level being a major factor.

I test drive a Honda CRV and Nissan Rogue this week. The CRV is truly impressive, with more cargo space than the Outback, which blurs the lines since the Outback is on a more substantial platform and feels more high end. The Rogue has all of the toys, it just feels lethargic and body-rolly, which is not something I’m picky about these days. I love the many included options on the Rogue, it is just so goddamn boring to drive.


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The 0% was too good to turn down for us as well. We also considered the CRV but the dealer turned us off.
 

heiusa

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I have my first Subaru, an Impreza and I am on my 4th Rogue. They both are good cars you really need to drive them and see which one feels the best both in handling and how the driver seat feels. I feel like the driver seat in the Impreza doesn’t give me enough support on a long drive where I feel that the rogue is more comfortable on a long drive. They both are quality vehicles and you can’t go wrong with either one. I would definitely factor in things like the convenience of the location for service and which one feels more comfortable in the driving position and with the controls and even things like Bluetooth connection to your phone.
 

thetrailboss

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We’re at a strange decision point choosing between the Crosstrek and Outback. My wife doesn’t care for the styling of the 2018 Forester, although the 2019 looks to be interesting.

The Outbacks are going for 0% financing, to get rid of the 2018s. The Crosstreks don’t have that deal. It’s amazing how the various sized SUVs cross over in terms of prices; with the trim level being a major factor.

I test drive a Honda CRV and Nissan Rogue this week. The CRV is truly impressive, with more cargo space than the Outback, which blurs the lines since the Outback is on a more substantial platform and feels more high end. The Rogue has all of the toys, it just feels lethargic and body-rolly, which is not something I’m picky about these days. I love the many included options on the Rogue, it is just so goddamn boring to drive.


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What trim Outback are you looking at? That makes a big difference. I have the 2.5 Premium and it is perfect for me. The EyeSight, Lane Assist, Blind Spot Monitors, and other safety features work great and were big selling points. As one persons said it is about fit and style. I liked the controls, phone connection, audio system, and other bells and whistles. I did have a hard time not looking further at the CRV, but the Outback had everything I wanted and pretty much was almost built for me. And it is still getting over 27 mpg average.
 

deadheadskier

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Go Outback over Crosstrek if the financing is that good and the final deal is right. The Crosstrek is just an Impreza hatchback with plastic cladding and a 1.5inch lift kit, while the Outback is the top model for the brand until the 2019 model year.

The poor Nissan guys seem to really struggle to get any power out of that motor in the Rogue. A coworker just bought his second one and went in saying the one thing he hated about the first was no power, but now he's getting up there in age and the lack of any zoom zoom isn't an issue for him. He did say they made almost no improvement in that power dept in the three year jump.

One car I might strongly recommend you just go take a quick look and test drive, the Mazda CX-5/7(orginally wrote 3 which is probably too small). Those are some really fun to drive crossovers and pricing should be competitive to Subie.

Sent from my Pixel using AlpineZone mobile app
Yeah, I think Mazda makes more compelling cars than Subaru, Honda or Nissan. Our last three purchases were Mazdas. Only made the switch to the VW Alltrack for the most recent purchase because you can get it with MT. Unfortunately, Mazda never released the CX5 with MT in the states.

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benski

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Go Outback over Crosstrek if the financing is that good and the final deal is right. The Crosstrek is just an Impreza hatchback with plastic cladding and a 1.5inch lift kit, while the Outback is the top model for the brand until the 2019 model year.

The poor Nissan guys seem to really struggle to get any power out of that motor in the Rogue. A coworker just bought his second one and went in saying the one thing he hated about the first was no power, but now he's getting up there in age and the lack of any zoom zoom isn't an issue for him. He did say they made almost no improvement in that power dept in the three year jump.

One car I might strongly recommend you just go take a quick look and test drive, the Mazda CX-5/7(orginally wrote 3 which is probably too small). Those are some really fun to drive crossovers and pricing should be competitive to Subie.

Sent from my Pixel using AlpineZone mobile app

Just be aware Mazda is still holding out from Andriod auto and Apple Carplay. There is a big diffrence in the usability of Carplay and Andriod Auto and whatever any car manufacture or Blackberry puts out.
 

Edd

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What trim Outback are you looking at? That makes a big difference. I have the 2.5 Premium and it is perfect for me. The EyeSight, Lane Assist, Blind Spot Monitors, and other safety features work great and were big selling points. As one persons said it is about fit and style. I liked the controls, phone connection, audio system, and other bells and whistles. I did have a hard time not looking further at the CRV, but the Outback had everything I wanted and pretty much was almost built for me. And it is still getting over 27 mpg average.

We were checking out a premium with a moonroof. No eyesight was on it but I do want that. I’m hoping to identify a car on Friday and make an offer. One tiny bummer is that you have to move up to limited trim to get push button start. I had a loaner Honda HRV last week and enjoyed that feature. It’s standard in the Honda and Nissan cars.

I could live with the Crosstrek since we’ll still have a Forester kicking around to haul a bunch of stuff/people if needed. The Outback was very nice to drive, though.
 

Edd

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The 0% was too good to turn down for us as well. We also considered the CRV but the dealer turned us off.

Years ago when I was car shopping I got a don’t-give-a-shit vibe from the Honda dealer so I didn’t even test drive. This time I did and I liked the salesman fine. He told me there’s no incentives offered because “Honda doesn’t have to offer them”. I suspect that’s true but it dampens my enthusiasm somewhat.

I’ve never owned a Honda but they really have a distinct feel/design that I respect. I feel similar about Subaru. Nissan is a bit harder to pin down. The Rogue I checked out had a hell of a panoramic sunroof though. It’s part of a “sun and sound” package, which includes a 9 speaker Bose stereo.
 

Edd

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Yeah, I think Mazda makes more compelling cars than Subaru, Honda or Nissan. Our last three purchases were Mazdas. Only made the switch to the VW Alltrack for the most recent purchase because you can get it with MT. Unfortunately, Mazda never released the CX5 with MT in the states.

Sent from my XT1635-01 using AlpineZone mobile app

Just be aware Mazda is still holding out from Andriod auto and Apple Carplay. There is a big diffrence in the usability of Carplay and Andriod Auto and whatever any car manufacture or Blackberry puts out.

The Mazda CX-5 is hands down the best looking option in the compact SUV segment IMO. Additionally, along with the Rogue, it has a 40-20-40 rear seat drop down configuration, and that is huge for a ski car carrying 4 people and all of their gear without a rooftop box. You’d think that would be a no-brainer standard feature on every Subaru.

Unfortunately, the Mazda also gets the worst MPG, along with lacking CarPlay.


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