Like a Subaru which isn't a Subaru?

[DHogg]

What is a car which is a lot like a Subaru without actually being one? I have had my fair share of issues with Subarus. Aside from maintenance and parts needing to be replaced, they suit my needs really well. AWD, yet nice to drive around town and not too bad on gas. I don't want a full 4X4 truck, but AWD is a must?

Any Subaru switchers on here? Or should I just sack up and buy another subaru?

[bfree]

Sweet, another Subaru vs. Audi thread! Lemme go grab the popcorn.

And if you think maintenance is bad on the subaru, don't buy an audi.

[skimaxpower]

AWD Toyota Matrix?

[Meathelmet]

Honda CR-V
Mitsubishi Outlander
Landrover Freelander2
Skoda Yeti
Nissan Xterra
Volvo xc70
Vw Tiguan
Lada Niva

[ulty_guy]

I've got an XC70 T5 diesel (Euroland) with snow tires that rocks pretty much anything short of 2-3 feet of snow w/out chains. I've had it 3 years and narry a blip (fingers crossed). Super comfy, easy to drive, and all the soccer mom's are jealous.

Mpg ain't that great tho, around 28 mpg in mixed driving, but I hear their gasoline engines in the states are thirsty biatches.

[verbier61]

I've got an XC70 T5 diesel (Euroland) with snow tires that rocks pretty much anything short of 2-3 feet of snow w/out chains. I've had it 3 years and narry a blip (fingers crossed). Super comfy, easy to drive, and all the soccer mom's are jealous.

Mpg ain't that great tho, around 28 mpg in mixed driving, but I hear their gasoline engines in the states are thirsty biatches.

I'm pretty happy too of my 2002 XC70, but quite honestly when there's a lot of snow in small resort streets I see subaru drivers more comfy than me. I've been told, though, that the last XC70 generation works on snow much better than mine

[ulty_guy]

Yeah when Ford owned both Land Rover and Volvo they put some of the tech together, for example my 2008 has the hill descent lifted straight from Land Rover. They also switched it to the S80 platform in 2008 I believe.....basically yours is vastly inferior

[verbier61]

Yeah when Ford owned both Land Rover and Volvo they put some of the tech together, for example my 2008 has the hill descent lifted straight from Land Rover. They also switched it to the S80 platform in 2008 I believe.....basically yours is very inferior

sure, this is why I paid 10 times less than y for it :-)

[El Chupacabra]

How about a Saab 9-2x? It's a lot like a Subaru.

[DezlWin]

I have a theory that people drive Subaru's till they start to make money then they drive Audi's.

[spencea]

I have a theory that people drive Subaru's till they start to make money then they drive Audi's.

No they drive Subaru's until they turn in to a cock. Then they buy an Audi.

Depends what you are looking for? If AWD and winter road driving is top on your list. Nothing else will compare. The only one i know to compare based on experience is the honda/ acura awd. The Honda products are good quality but you will get stuck in places where the Subaru won't hesitate. Subaru has had its fair share of issues ( see engine design fail), but every company has. It depends what is important to you and what devil you are okay to live with. Their new lineups are pretty sound, and they seem to have fixed and resolved a lot of past issues in the last 2-3 generations. If your looking for used, move up to at least 06 legacys and 07 forester and imprezzas and you will get away form a lot of the old issues form the late 1990's to early 2000's model years.

[axebiker]

Dumped our Subies for Pontiac Vibe AWDs (basically the Toyota Matrix AWD). Very happy except in deep snow where the Suby did better.

[ezski]

How about the Suzuki SX4? A friend of mine has one and it is awsome in the snow. Gets good mileage and you can get a 6spd.

[Cruiser]

Nissan Juke AWD? I sat in one at the dealership the other day and thought it was pretty nice.

[coreshot-tourettes]

Suzuki SX4 seconded.

The only reason I didn't get an SX4 was that I couldn't sleep in the back. Otherwise, it's a solid little car. It has the ability to lock into fulltime AWD, the rest of the time it's on demand so it gets better mileage (not turning the back wheels all the time). You can get it in a 6spd manual, it gets 30mpg, and it's a timing chain based I4 engine so none of the Subaru timing belt or headgasket issues.

Pontiac Vibe AWD you can't get in a manual.

Subaru definitively solved the headgasket issue starting in about 2005. But don't get a Subie turbo, they just never quite got the design right (note: Audis and Volvos and BMW have even worse turbos. The only reliable stock turbo car out there is the Mazdaspeed6, which they got from Ford.)

[jmedslc]

I've been a Subie driver for the last 250k miles or so. I've driven a lot of cars noted in the above posts, considered Audi, BMW and came back to Subaru, currently with a 05 Forester XT.

Why? One reason is because none of them drive like a Subaru. In my experience, the low center of gravity, AWD grip/feel and decent stock handling of the Subaru is unmatched, save for the Audi line.

The main problem with Audi, as noted above, is repair costs. Sure, Subarus are cheap looking, noisy and have their known repair issues, but they're FAR more reliable than Audi or BMW and cost FAR less to fix. Instead of dropping 25-40k on a Audi, I went with the 12k Forester turbo and couldn't be happier.

[Alpinord]

How about a Saab 9-2x? It's a lot like a Subaru.

IIRC, Subaru hooked up with Saab when this 'Impreza' came out.

I have a 2001 93 2.0T SE which is a nicer ride and the turbo makes the Subaru 'acceleration lag' really annoying. The Saab works great most of the year except when there's more than a few inches of snow and with mountain driving, the Sube feels solid on the road by comparison.

We're on our 4th Sube and still can't find a better alternative for our needs and price point. I've been round and round on alternatives to Subarus after 2 car wrecks in 3 years where my wife and son survived mostly unscathed. The Sube saved them for sure. Compare safety aspects when searching.

The last go around we test drove the newer ones and ended up with an '09 Outback. The newer '10 thru present are a nicer ride and more room, but the previous version felt more responsive.

[wren]

Had an 02' WRX Wagon for a couple years. I have since replaced it an 04' V70R. Very happy. I was seriously considering a 2.5 legacy GT or 2.5 Outback XT from 05-08 but they were almost impossible to find (in a colour that wasn't beige). Happy I went the Volvo route, they are much nicer inside, and have more power. I don't live in an area that gets a ton of snow so I don't mind that front-biased AWD isn't as good as the subie 50/50 split, but I haven't had too many problems (and I use Continental ExtremeContact DWS all seasons).

[lll100]

I got a 07 XC70 after 300,000 on 3 subarus. Got a great deal on it and it is sooo much nicer to drive. Gets around great on weekly drive to mtn and around mtn all weekend. It has a real transmission and the turbo is very nice on the two lane highway passing. Interior noise is minimal and the interior is over the top. I needed a change. Fuel mileage is so so. 20-24 mpg.

[Mannix]

El Chupacabra wins. Har. Saabaru. Stupid.

Subarus really are in a league of their own, and IME, they're pretty-to-very reliable. I just kinda hate them.

Not sure on budget, but one of my favorite cheap do-anything cars is the Jeep Cherokee, mid-90sish, maybe late 90s, they became the "Cherokee Classic" at some point, 4 liter straight 6, manual tranny, real 4WD, in-de-fkn-structable, big enough to sleep in if you need to, can tow crap, goes offroad where an Outback stops, shrug, if I had to choose ONE car to ski/bike/drag crap with motors/live with, that'd be it. Not the grand cherokee, not an automatic transmission, the boxy, ugly Cherokee with the 6cyl and a 5 speed. Nowhere near perfect, not especially "nice," but they get the job done for a long time.



Iain

[Alpinord]

El Chupacabra wins. Har. Saabaru. Stupid.

Subarus really are in a league of their own, and IME, they're pretty-to-very reliable. I just kinda hate them.

Not sure on budget, but one of my favorite cheap do-anything cars is the Jeep Cherokee, mid-90sish, maybe late 90s, they became the "Cherokee Classic" at some point, 4 liter straight 6, manual tranny, real 4WD, in-de-fkn-structable, big enough to sleep in if you need to, can tow crap, goes offroad where an Outback stops, shrug, if I had to choose ONE car to ski/bike/drag crap with motors/live with, that'd be it. Not the grand cherokee, not an automatic transmission, the boxy, ugly Cherokee with the 6cyl and a 5 speed. Nowhere near perfect, not especially "nice," but they get the job done for a long time.



Iain

I also have a '93 Cherokee Country (automatic), that I can't find a better alternative to replace it, especially since it still runs great. On heavy snow days and like you say when the Sub e gets maxed out, the Jeep is always ready in the wings.

[GeezerSteve]

I have a theory that people drive Subaru's [sic] till [sic] they start to make money then they drive Audi's [sic].

I have a theory that people have a much higher likelihood of saving money if they drive a Subaru instead of an Audi.

[billyhoyle]

Nissan Juke AWD? I sat in one at the dealership the other day and thought it was pretty nice.

Maybe nice inside, but looking at the Juke makes me want to tear my eyeballs out and eat them.

[billyhoyle]

I have a theory that people have a much higher likelihood of saving money if they drive a Subaru instead of an Audi.

This^. I drive an Audi, but would NOT be able to afford food if I couldn't do a lot of the maintenance myself. German parts are flipping expensive.

[Wooster]

Mazdaspeed 6