Memberstoked.stokes : You make a good point and I’m keeping it in mind. Generally, I do believe there must be a legit reason for all the hype around Subarus, which is why I’m seriously considering one.
Memberpinkcorsage : My husband will occassionally half-joke that we should just get a mini van 😆 but my ego can’t let go of the “coolness” factor…
MemberLittleByLittle : Thanks for chiming in about hybrids and the Fit! That information is super helpful. Though I might not describe a $2,000 battery as “not a big deal” lol! I suppose compared to 8k it doesn’t seem so bad haha
Membermaybeee : Haha, I guess that came out wrong. I had meant that 2000 for the battery is pretty much the ONLY expensive maintainance they’ve had to do for the Prius, since 2004. And in the grand scheme of things, over a car’s lifetime of 15+ years, and over >200,000 miles, that’s pretty affordable if that’s the worst that has happened.That’s why the 2K didn’t seem like such a big deal; because the car overall has needed so little maintenance and has provided such good value.
A less reliable vehicle likely would have had a lot more problems and a lot more costs in the same timeframe with the same workload.
MemberlLittleByLittle : Yea I guess in that context it sounds more reasonable
MemberI have a 2018 Forester and I LOVE it! This was my first ever new car purchase and we researched it so much. We drove every small SUV on the market (and some of the large SUVs too). My husband also really liked the Mazda CX-5 but I liked the way the Forester handled better. I was very insistent on a AWD SUV, and we got an incredible deal on our Forester. At the time we bought, there wasn’t a better deal for AWD that we could find anywhere.
I’ll note that I was THIS close to buying a Ford Escape, until we looked up their passenger side crash test ratings. Yikes. I don’t know if they improved that in the 2019 version though.
MemberI LOVE my Forester. It has everything I want, the visibility is great and it allows me to park in the spot that’s not really a spot bc you have to drive over a curb to park in it. I come from a staunch Ford family but after my last ford lemon I will not go back. I highly recomend getting the all weather package if you do a Forester. The heated leather seats are wonderful and the plastic floor coverings are practically required for winter sports. Subaru has also come out with a full size SUV which is what I’ll get if my family every expands beyond the capacity of a Forester. Another thing to consider is they really keep their value, so many cars loose crazy value driving off the lot. I only put a 3k downpayment on mine and I’ve never been underwater on it.
MemberSo in the last 48 hours, we test drove (mind you, I’m coming from a convertible coupe and my husband has an older highlander that drives like a dream):
1) 2019 Rav4 – hugely disappointing. It feels sooooooooooo cheap and takes forever to accelerate. Older rav4s have a safety issue where if you hit passenger headlight head on at a certain speed, passenger will lose their legs (it’s called the passenger small overlap).
2) Honda Pilot – It was used with 40k miles and it felt beat to sh*t. Also didn’t like lower center console with armrests attaches to captains chair at driver/front passenger because when I drove, my funny bone would hit the arm rest. It can be raised and out of the way, but then I’m missing the center console. Also battery was dead when they went to start it for test drive. I’ve never seen that.
3) Hyundai Santa Fe – My favorite to drive and super comfortable. This was my top pick except that Hyundai dealerships are a DISASTER. The 3 I’ve been to from a sales perspective were so incompetent, never mind going in for service (I also had a sonata for 7 years previously and service was always a PITA). Second, the recent Santa Fe’s apparently have an issue where the engines catch fire 🤦🏻♀️. Found that out last night while researching.
4) Acura MDX – I really liked this one from a comfort and driving standpoint, but it was used with 30k miles and the power seat was already broken and brakes super squishy. That gives me concerns about how it’s going to hold up.
5) Acura RDX – see above concerns with MDX. Acura’s also seem to depreciate *significantly*. These are 45-50k new and with 30k miles, they were asking $25k and we wouldn’t pay that for them. Plus they didn’t test passenger small overlap on any Acura’s.
6) Mazda CX-5 – there are things we liked about these. They feel sporty when driving but in the GT, the brakes were sensitive (like) but accelerating was painful (pet peeve / hate). Top of the line CX-5 has a turbo that made accelerating easier but brake sensitivity went down. Also, it felt more like a wagon to me and I don’t like wagons.
7) Subaru Santa Fe – I am MAJORLY prejudiced against Subaru. My husband had one when we started dating and it was horrible and really ruined experiences for us. Granted, he had done a lot of modifications to it that were causing these issues but that was *after* the engine blew up because of a known head gasket issue. Why do I call it known? Because my dad’s Subaru that he had in the 70s had the same freaking problem. (And my Father-In-Law also lost his Subaru to the same issue). That being said, it doesn’t drive in a sporty way, but I did like how it drove (acceleration and braking were fine); as I miss my convertible, I really like the massive roof that you can open all the way, and there are a lot of safety features. Plus the windows are massive with a lot of head room so there’s a lot of light and high visibility. Also should add that my Brother-In-Law had to freaking have his lemon law’d BUT they really took care of him and gave him a newer car for a lower price.
So. After all that, here’s where I’m at. I really love our highlander, and want one for myself except that they have the small passenger overlap / crushed legs issue that will likely get fixed in the 2020 release (a full year away), but at the end of the day, what I’m interested in is a Tesla Model X. Which just isn’t in the budget right now. So what I’m leaning towards is getting the Subaru Forester with an extended bumper to bumper warranty (a $30/mo cost) and will get rid of it before $100k miles.
Apologies if thats long winded!
Memberhockeybee0104 : my STI was the best car I ever had for winter. I drove regularly through Quebec and remote parts of Canada and never had an issue. Thing could climb an icy hill from a standing start. It was also plenty powerful and had a very sophisticated differential that you could manually adjust to send more or less power to the front/rear. A good set of winter tires makes a huge difference in most vehicles. Canadians know winter lmao
LilliV : if you regularly see snow you should invest in proper winter tires. The rubber compound of all season tires is not designed for freezing temperatures and snow. You will have far better grip, siping, and stopping control with a winter compound tire.
I do agree the overall quality, especially the interior, is why I got rid of my STi. Surprised to hear so many had issues with winter though. Aside from Audi, my Subaru was the best winter car I’ve owned.
Memberlibellules : Hyundai makes the Santa Fe. Did you mean Subaru Forester?
MemberMembersdxz554 : you’re probably right about the winter tires but it’s frustrating that no other car has needed them. My subaru has me missing my ’93 Chevy lol. I’m in Boston so while we have a fair amount of snow depending on the year our roads are plowed to the “black and wet” standard so it’s rare that I’m actually driving on snow if that makes sense.