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Honda CRV v. Toyota Rav4 v. Subaru Forester

ComeBackMudPuddles

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The last generation Impreza and one of the Saab models are mechanical twins because, I think, GM owned a piece of Subaru for awhile and they own Saab.

Yes, the Saab was just a re branded Subi.



it was the Saab 9-2x that was a rebadged Imprezza....i don't think the 9-3 shares much of anything with subaru (the 9-3 shares its platform with opel):

garage2_resize.jpg


saab92x.jpg
 

Glenn

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FunFact (pointless knowledge).

Production would have been delayed by about 6 months if they wanted to engineer the traditional Saab "center consoel key start" into the Saabaru. So, they just left it in the steerting column.
 

Philpug

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The Saabaru, IMHO looked better than the "propellor" grilled Impreza. Plus you could get a sunroof in the Aero but not in the WRX (or really any of the Impreza wagons).
 

thorski

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That what I was thinking. They get yanked off of most of my cars when they start rattling. Have yet to start a field on fire

Heat shields protect wiring and hoses from heat that will cause cracking and premature failure. They are not really there to stop fires and can be taken off, as long as your not clueless and leave a wire directly on the exhaust.
 

hrstrat57

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Thanks for all the good info so far. You guys have given me some things to think about.



Unfortunately I have to go with an auto transmission. My wife will be driving this SUV on occasion and her and a standard would not work well.

extremely bad choice.

better pony up the extra dough for the turbo but then you are pouring premium into the tank....

she needs to learn to drive the 5 speed, which she will love, subie sticks are pretty struggle free....my wife loves driving mine and she is a mini van queen....
 

Warp Daddy

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it was the Saab 9-2x that was a rebadged Imprezza....i don't think the 9-3 shares much of anything with subaru (the 9-3 shares its platform with opel):

garage2_resize.jpg


saab92x.jpg

Absolutely right the 9.2 was a SAABERU or SUBERAAB -- it didn't last long totally wrong marketing concept .Why pay extra for the Saab-like skin -- made zero sense to me

On the other hand the 9.3's looking nothing at all like a Subaru they have a shared platform with Opel i do believe . I have a vintage saab 900 and a '97 Saab 9,3 sport combi . Saab's recent divorce from GM is interesting , many saabophiles have long been of the opinion that that relationship was not good for saab -- we'll see if the brand will morph into something along more traditional saab lines

Also have Toyota on my radar screen having owned a super 2000 Celica GT
 

skijay

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Thanks to all of you who replied to this thread. After looking at all that was available plus two others, a 2008 BMW X3 and a 2008 Volvo XC70 (both certified pre-owned), I decided on the 09 Forester X (premium). I was leaning towards the Forester XT, but the reason I did not want the X3 or XC70 was the premium fuel and I was not sure I wanted to go turbo. Surpisingly, I found an 08 XC70 with about 5,000 miles for $4,000 more than I paid for the Subaru. I did drive it & liked it, but honestly I liked the Subi better.

I also found an X3 - kind of the base model - if that is a word in the BMW world also with a little over 15,000 miles for $7k more than the Subi. The X3 handled incredibly and it was white, but again, I felt more comfortable in the Subi.

Both of the cars were at their respective dealers. How come so cheap? Both of these retailed around $40K new. The CPO's have a warranty that looks better than the standard warranty when buying new.
 

Philpug

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Thanks to all of you who replied to this thread. After looking at all that was available plus two others, a 2008 BMW X3 and a 2008 Volvo XC70 (both certified pre-owned), I decided on the 09 Forester X (premium). I was leaning towards the Forester XT, but the reason I did not want the X3 or XC70 was the premium fuel and I was not sure I wanted to go turbo. Surpisingly, I found an 08 XC70 with about 5,000 miles for $4,000 more than I paid for the Subaru. I did drive it & liked it, but honestly I liked the Subi better.

I also found an X3 - kind of the base model - if that is a word in the BMW world also with a little over 15,000 miles for $7k more than the Subi. The X3 handled incredibly and it was white, but again, I felt more comfortable in the Subi.

Both of the cars were at their respective dealers. How come so cheap? Both of these retailed around $40K new. The CPO's have a warranty that looks better than the standard warranty when buying new.
The CPO warranties from BMW and Volvo are very good and depending on the miles that are on the car when you get it, they can be better than the warranty on a new one. With that said, you made a better choice in getting the Forester.

 

Glenn

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The CPO warranties from BMW and Volvo are very good and depending on the miles that are on the car when you get it, they can be better than the warranty on a new one. With that said, you made a better choice in getting the Forester.


That built ZJ @ the 2minute mark is fawking sweet!!!! :-o
 

Geoff

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Thanks to all of you who replied to this thread. After looking at all that was available plus two others, a 2008 BMW X3 and a 2008 Volvo XC70 (both certified pre-owned), I decided on the 09 Forester X (premium). I was leaning towards the Forester XT, but the reason I did not want the X3 or XC70 was the premium fuel and I was not sure I wanted to go turbo. Surpisingly, I found an 08 XC70 with about 5,000 miles for $4,000 more than I paid for the Subaru. I did drive it & liked it, but honestly I liked the Subi better.

I also found an X3 - kind of the base model - if that is a word in the BMW world also with a little over 15,000 miles for $7k more than the Subi. The X3 handled incredibly and it was white, but again, I felt more comfortable in the Subi.

Both of the cars were at their respective dealers. How come so cheap? Both of these retailed around $40K new. The CPO's have a warranty that looks better than the standard warranty when buying new.

I think you would have found that an X3 would have chewed you alive in maint costs if you owned it for a half-dozen years. Premium gas only costs 20 cents more than regular. At $2.00+, it's less than 10% extra and probably not worth worrying about. It's the service costs, even with an independent mechanic, that you need to worry about in terms of long term cost of ownership. The gas might be a $ hundred or two extra per year if you're driving 20K miles. The service is likely to be way more than that. Everybody & his brother knows how to work on a Subaru since they're everywhere in north country.
 

highpeaksdrifter

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I went with a Subaru Forester 2.5X Premium 2010, picked it up last night.

I'm glad I started this thread cause you guys gave me a lot to think about, thanks or that.

A special thanks to Camp for answering the questions I pmed him and giving me good advice.
 

ComeBackMudPuddles

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I went with a Subaru Forester 2.5X Premium 2010, picked it up last night.

I'm glad I started this thread cause you guys gave me a lot to think about, thanks or that.

A special thanks to Camp for answering the questions I pmed him and giving me good advice.



CONGRATS!!! what color? pix?

love the new car smell.
 

RootDKJ

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I went with a Subaru Forester 2.5X Premium 2010, picked it up last night.

I'm glad I started this thread cause you guys gave me a lot to think about, thanks or that.

A special thanks to Camp for answering the questions I pmed him and giving me good advice.
Congrats. My brother has a Forester. He''s been happy with it.
 
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