What about a Subaru?

[Delthefunky]

Originally Posted by GoFlamesGo89

pretty much ditto to everything here-- have a '10 Outback, and absolutely love it. My wife drives it more often than I do, because she feels much safer and it handles really well. The only complaint is that it sucks noticeably more gas than our civic (not a fair comparison, but still...). Would buy another Subaru any day.

On the servicing-- Allmakes Auto Repairs are Subaru certified specialists in an industrial area of the NE, and are much cheaper (and friendlier in my experience) than dealing with the dealerships. They can do all maintenance without impacting your warranty, but can't do any warranty work in and of itself. I had a Subaru in the late '90's and dealt with them, and still do, they've been around for a long time.

I've never met a more honest and nice man then Shirrazz @ All Makes. Ive taken a car there before and he'd call me back saying "there's nothing wrong with your car, it's just old"

[STeeLy]

Also, if you wanna check out reviews on Subarus, look up Western Subaru Club. There is a wealth of information on there.

[chid]

I have driven Subarus my entire driving life, as well as my parents and siblings. We have outbacks and a legacy. I just sold my 1990 Legacy for a 2001 Outback and love the limited slip diff and riding over the curb with no problems, I haven't felt safer in the Winter than with this car.

Also as mentioned Shiraz and Din at All Makes are great, he is honest and my dad used him as a mechanic for 20 years (until he moved to Ontario).

Also yes check out the WSC - they often have wing nights where you can go check out all their cars and meet them and hear them rave about their cars.

[bluejays]

Hey, if you're going to get a new one, make sure to go in with a carcostcanada report. It'll save you a ton of time and money, and it's basically the dealerships bargaining power in your hands. Good luck!

[TylerSVT]

Legacy GT=DROOL

[bossy22]

if you have an x5, the interior and comfort is going to be a huge step down. When I bought my latest vehicle, I seriously considered a subaru. I had owned an outback 12 years ago, and was looking at a new outback or tribeca. I also tried out a lexus, audi q5, acura mdx and rdx, and the honda pilot. The subaru was the most uncomfortable out of all of them. It drove great, and was a lot of fun to drive around the city. My old outback, when I had it, ran great. It did seem to have a lot of minor (non-mechanical) issues, but I'm sure those would be straightened out in todays versions.

[username]

To be honest I'm not that worried about comfort and I don't expect the Subaru to match the X5. I would hardly consider a Subaru to be a luxury vehical whereas that's what BMW promotes. The only other complaint people seem to have is the amount of gas Subaru's consume but I expect that the gas consumption of any Subaru will be significantly less than what I'm getting out of my X5's V8.

fluery - this carcostcanada report looks like a great idea but does it actually work? I'm just shocked that I've never heard of it before???

[edmontonice]

I've been driving my 2008 WRX for about a week in Edmonton. Worst roads I've ever seen here and this thing just chews them all up.

I got about 10.8L/100 km on the highway and probably 13 in the city...not bad, but I'm not driving slowly either.

[burn_this_city]

Originally Posted by edmontonice

I've been driving my 2008 WRX for about a week in Edmonton. Worst roads I've ever seen here and this thing just chews them all up.

I got about 10.8L/100 km on the highway and probably 13 in the city...not bad, but I'm not driving slowly either.

Thats V8 like mileage.

[North East Goon]

I had no idea Subaru has been around this long in Canada. I must be confusing it with Mitsubishi. Has the original Poster looked at any recent Ford models, which seem greatly improved.

[CRXguy]

Originally Posted by burn_this_city

Thats V8 like mileage.

I used to get about 450km on a 50-52L fill if I drove like a d-bag. Normally, I woud get 500-550km and close to 600km on the highway.

I miss the sound of the turbo spooling.

[hatty]

I had the 08 impreza sport and i drove a forester, both amazing vehicles, would definitely go back to them as a second car. chose a pickup for work reasons, but you cannot go wrong with a subaru. I never put winter tires on them and they still handled the roads great in winter.

Safety in terms of collision....amazing. i was in an accident that ended up being 11,000 in damages, but i walked away without an injury. very well built vehicle.
(i did rear end a vehicle mainly because he cut me off and decided to put on his brakes when i honked and well the rest is history)

[username]

Originally Posted by North East Goon

I had no idea Subaru has been around this long in Canada. I must be confusing it with Mitsubishi. Has the original Poster looked at any recent Ford models, which seem greatly improved.

I have thought about that but there's nothing that Ford offers right now that appeals to me. I looked at the AWD Edge a little but if I'm going to spend that kind of money on an SUV then I might as well buy one that's capable of pulling my boat. I don't really want to go to a much larger SUV than that.

My plan right now is to get a great AWD car and then buy a peice of junk truck that can tow a boat. I don't really see anything ford offers that falls into either of those catagories.

[automaton 3]

Originally Posted by username

Well unfortunately I'm driving an X5 right now and I can assure you that it's ridiculous how exepensive it is to replace anything. I'm scared to sneeze in that POS in case I break something. As an example I replaced the battery myself by buying it at Napa and the battery was 370 dollars alone. So yes, a Subaru will certainly save me money on parts.

I was asking around about the X5's and heard the same horror stories. Apparently a new alternator will run you in the neighbourhood of $2K...ridiculous.

[Fozzie_DeBear]

Slightly off topic...but what about a SAAB?

I test drove a 9-3 SportCombi (their wierdo name for wagon) and it was fast, handled great and gets waaaay better milage than the Subaru.

Since they are the freaks of the auto world used ones are pretty cheap...especially in the states

[VladtheImpaler]

I still drive an '04 Impreza and will until it dies. I don't bother with winter tires, and have not had any issues with ice or snow. The only problem I had was with the slush last year (or 2 years ago?) which was so thick and deep at Anderson & 24th that my car was floating like a boat. I get about 12-13km/L on the Hwy and about 10 in the city. Not a car to impress anyone with, but I don't care about cars (style-wise), and it gets me wherever I want to go, regardless of weather...

[Traditional_Ale]

This thread makes me want an Impreza...

[username]

Originally Posted by Traditional_Ale

This thread makes me want an Impreza...

Ha, me too.

[STeeLy]

Originally Posted by username

Ha, me too.

The 04 Impreza (at least the WRX) isn't the roomiest... if you want room, Legacy Wagon, Forester or Outback (Unless you want to move into SUV range and get a Tribeca)

And I'll probably drive my WRX until it dies... bought in Sept with 149k on it, I'm closing on 160k. My buddy in Calgary (That works at Calgary Subaru) drives an 02 WRX with 330k+ on it... still runs like a champ!

[username]

Originally Posted by STeeLy

The 04 Impreza (at least the WRX) isn't the roomiest... if you want room, Legacy Wagon, Forester or Outback (Unless you want to move into SUV range and get a Tribeca)

And I'll probably drive my WRX until it dies... bought in Sept with 149k on it, I'm closing on 160k. My buddy in Calgary (That works at Calgary Subaru) drives an 02 WRX with 330k+ on it... still runs like a champ!

Oh I know. I'm just saying I want a WRX but I know it's not going to suit my situation. It would just be fun/nice to have one right?

I'm going to test drive both the Outback and Legacy Wagon and see how each feels.

Thanks again for your input.