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Subie/VW thoughts?
- Thread starter tch
- Start date
My last JSW TDI was the most reliable car I ever owned, 150K and only one glow plug going bad while out of warranty.
That's a sample size of 1 vs. CR's numbers. I'm sure their methodolgy isn't perfect, but it does have some validity.
I'm ready to purchase one and ratings be damned, but my wife isn't on board... yet
I have said it before and will say it again. German (and America) cars are not as bad as they were and Japanese cars aren't as good as they were....
I agree. However from my anecdotal experience North American steelership mechanics are just as bad as, if not worse than, they ever were.
BTW Mexican cars (e.g. 2015 Mazda 3 with 48,000 kms) are surprisingly good (touching wood).
I'm sure that's true, but VWs had a pretty poor record, so that would have to be a significant improvement...
Case in point..my 2007 Honda Civic..mass airflow sensor, 21k miles, recall upper rear control arms, 30k miles, alternator, 40k miles, cracked engine block, covered by TSB, 60k miles... Sample size of one..but that car stranded me twice in less than 30k miles...and nearly thrice in 40k miles.
I have had 16 VW's and put about 200K on them..I will go with my sample size of 1 and trust my experiences. I personally am not a CR fan for anything subjective, tehy are fine for toaster ovens or dishwashers but anything that has a tactual feel or subjectivity, I will look elsewhere. IMHO, there is nothing offered for under $30K that drives as well as a VW, if that requires a slight sacrifice in reliabilty, so be it.
Still a pretty big gap. Part of the reason is because Germans try to stuff as much as new tech into their cars while Japanese stick with what's proven to work, but part of it also plain old reliability.
Someone I know sold his X5 for a civic last year, because he was sick of fixing it. Even the dealer told him to come back when he start to have oil on the garage floor everyday instead of throwing money away right then.
Then there's the consideration of ease of repair/maintenance. I don't recall which model, but one of the MB takes 1.5 shop hours to change a headlight bulb, you can do Honda timing belt quicker than that.
In terms of subjective things like "road score", CR (and I) are in agreement with you re VWs, and the Alltrack in particular - it's one the highest scoring cars in terms of performance, features, etc. It's only bad mark is reliability.
Neither of these are Subi's but the CVT comes up pretty short here:
In Phil's Alltrack reviews, he had a pair of 180cm skis fit with the rear seats folded down. Question for Phil, who owned Subies(if any Outbacks), and other Outback owners, with one side of the rear seats folded down, would 180cm, even 184cm, skis fit in an Outback? Thanks in advance.
Yes. the Alltrack is about the size of the 99-10 Outbacks...but smaller than the 11-Current ones...not sure whuch Outback you are referring to but you should have no problem fitting in any of them.
@Sibhusky We've had a couple of RAV 4s, and after the second one, we're done. There is no doubt that the inside is very comfy, and roomier than anything else. But there are three things we really dislike about it: 1) the center of gravity has always felt a little bit high, and when it is windy, I never feel comfortable driving it. Add skis or a box on top, and it's my nightmare. I think in Montana you get a chinook like we get here? And I hate to be in that car when it's blowing. Generally, I never feel as comfortable in the RAV 4 in winter conditions like I do in my Subaru Crosstrek, and even though it's much smaller, we tend to take the Subaru when we're skiing with 2 adults, 2 kids and 4 pairs of skis; 2) it has a terrible turning radius. you may not notice this on a test drive, but it gets really annoying over time; and 3) we have had so many recalls, and have had to take both of our RAV4s in for service a couple of times a year. They're being extra cautious, and it's all paid for by Toyota, but it always seems to be an emergency recall right before we leave somewhere with the car for a few days
I've been a Crosstrek owner for a couple of years now, and I have some thoughts. Before this, I was an all Volkswagen girl, from an all-VW family. So, there are ups and downs with this car.
-Yes, I find it to be a little loud. I do wish it was a little quieter than it is.
-At first, I found the whole car to be more rigid to sit in than any car I've owned before. I had the same impression as you- where's the plush? However, I will say that it is great if you are planning any longer drives. I drove the Crosstrek up from Calgary to the Yukon-Alaska border, up to Inuvik and back to Calgary and the car had no problems (none!), and I was not stiff or in pain. I have done that drive in previous years in a RAV 4, a Dodge Ram and a Ford cargo van, and the Crosstrek was the kindest to my body - both on the paved Alaska highway, and the gravel Dempster. So, it may feel a little utlitarian, but my body feels fine after a long drive in it.
-Like my experience with VW, maintenance is very low on the Subaru. Both are very good, solid cars.
-Subaru's AWD is unlike anything else I had driven. I have never felt so confident on winter conditions in Alberta, Yukon and Alaska. Other cars are spinning out of control and in the ditch, my Crosstrek is a beast.
-I test drove both the Automatic and the Manual version, and I think the manual is much smoother and I feel much more control than in the automatic version. I initially test drove the automatic because it was going to be a 6 week wait for the manual, but I'm glad I'm waited. The manual is smoother, and feels more powerful than the automatic (especially considering that the Crosstrek has an Impreza engine). The manual is a must for mountain-y roads. I know it would be a pain though probably for Colorado.
For skiing and winter conditions, I will probably not be getting a VW anymore.
Sorry. I was talking about current OBs, 2017 and 2018.
@Sibhusky We've had a couple of RAV 4s, and after the second one, we're done. There is no doubt that the inside is very comfy, and roomier than anything else. But there are three things we really dislike about it: 1) the center of gravity has always felt a little bit high, and when it is windy, I never feel comfortable driving it. Add skis or a box on top, and it's my nightmare. I think in Montana you get a chinook like we get here? And I hate to be in that car when it's blowing. Generally, I never feel as comfortable in the RAV 4 in winter conditions like I do in my Subaru Crosstrek, and even though it's much smaller, we tend to take the Subaru when we're skiing with 2 adults, 2 kids and 4 pairs of skis; 2) it has a terrible turning radius. you may not notice this on a test drive, but it gets really annoying over time; and 3) we have had so many recalls, and have had to take both of our RAV4s in for service a couple of times a year. They're being extra cautious, and it's all paid for by Toyota, but it always seems to be an emergency recall right before we leave somewhere with the car for a few days
Too late, she bought the 2017 RAV4 Hybrid. The turning radius is fine, the specs say it is smaller than my Alltrack. I personally don't like the looks of the car, and especially the trunk, but she's happy with the hybrid stuff and really most of her driving these days is in Missoula, so the fact that it gets good city miles is nice. As a passenger, every seat is super roomy, so that's all I care about. I guess we'll hear about windy conditions, but maybe that battery will give it a lower center of gravity? She would never use a box, but is thinking kayak. I haven't driven it yet, maybe next visit? I like lower to the ground myself and think my Alltrack is close to perfect from the driving standpoint. But I didn't push it on her due to this sunroof issue, as I'd never hear the end of it.
My ma had a Rav 4. I dunno about Toyota. You can't see the buttons under the dash from the drivers seat. Weird. Not sure I'd buy one.
We almost bought a new Rav4 Hybrid, then drove an Outback. The electric only mode was cool, always wanted to try a hybrid or plug-in, but took the OB home.
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