I'm recommending a Subaru Impreza for a fren's daughter (do you agree?)

KCJeep said:
I've not owned a Subie but have been next to plenty of first hand experience with them and .... well meh. I simply do not understand the small but fanatical following they have. Different strokes for different folks I guess. My guess is the 20 yoa female is going to boycott it on looks alone anyway (I raised two daughters). :p

What about a Mitsubishi Outlander Sport? Just as reliable if not more so, still AWD if you want it, costs the same or less with a better warranty IIRC and most importantly it's an SUV which all young women absolutely MUST HAVE. :unsure:
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Mine checked a lot of boxes
- Longitudinal drivetrain
- Manual Trans
- Base Model
- Excellent Visibility
- Ease of service (unit bearings vs press-in for example, can change starter from the top with hood open)

But the AC that never worked. Was a buzzkill
 
Zee09 said:
Resale value is stout too...
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The Critic said:
Maybe if you resold it in New England...
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I just looked at KBB for my '21 Crosstrek with 14,000 miles on it. Still worth WAY more than I paid for it in June '21. Heck, trade in value right now is right around what I paid for it.....maybe a little more. I could sell it right now and make $4-5K on it.


I paid $27.5 for it. Ordered it in June '21 and took delivery of it in August '21.

What KBB says it's worth now if I were to trade it in. LOL


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Private Party:

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lizpat said:
A fren has come to me seeking advice for a new car for his just-turned-20 daughter. He's been out of the loop (he was never in the loop) when it comes to cars, so they will take my advice seriously.

Naturally, he's leaning towards the Honda Civic and the Toyota Corolla as people generally do because it's become something of a 'default' choice.

I'm pushing them away from these choices and steering them towards a Subaru Impreza because this car is what I would choose if I were to buy a brand new sedan (or hatchback based on a sedan chassis) today.


Their reasons for the Civic/Corolla are the usual reasons: reliability, low insurance cost, low cost of ownership which includes the fact that many 100's of 1000's will be produced which means aftermarket parts and factory parts will be easy to source and will be affordable. Some other benefits are that these cars will have a large online community, which definitely helps too. Aftermarket performance parts like 'coilovers' will be available soon too.

I'm recommending the Impreza because the Subaru is only new sedan that still has good VISIBILITY: it has visibility that is about as good as a vehicle manufactured over a decade ago, it's forward visibility is about as good as my 2007 Corolla, and the side visibility is even a little better, but the rear visibility is definitely not as good. It has good driving dynamics and the CVT is at least as good as the Civic and Corolla. However, there are some potential downsides to owning a Subaru as well such as the possibility that this low volume seller might be discontinued. Insurance cost appears to be slightly higher, and parts availability is a little worse. It also appears to be harder to work on. Frankly speaking, the Subaru is not as attractive as the Civic, it's downright ugly on the outside whereas the Civic is very attractive and elegant looking (but horrible rear visibility.)

I find the driving dynamics of the Impreza to be superior to both the current Corolla AND the current Civic (11th generation) though it is not as good as the 10th generation Civic. My reference point is the 2023 Impreza, but there's a new one coming out with the expectation that it will be even better.


Do you think I am serving them well?
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We must like Subies since we've had four of them, but also a bunch of Hondas over the years.
Wife loves her Forester just as she loved the '09 she had before, which is now in the hands of our DIL.
In our experience, the old Subarus were true gas pigs, but the more recent cars, like our '17 Forester, are pretty decent.
The Subarus we've had required a bit more TLC over the years than the Hondas did, but nothing too awful.
Subarus do offer really excellent AWD and generally better outward visibility than most cars do these days and Subarus typically excel in crash testing.
If this young lady is willing to think outside the box a little, an Impreza might be a good pick for her. These cars do represent good value for what you get.
Finally, on the tire mismatch thing, I know for a fact that son replaced one tire on the '09 Forester after maybe 25K on the installed set and nothing bad happened. No bad noises or evidence of binding. Also, it isn't hard to find a shop that can shave tires and bring a new replacement down to the same tread depth as the other three tires on the car.
 
19 Impreza has been a tank. No problems at all and it's not very well taken care of. AWD is fantastic in rain/snow.

I'd probably lean towards the Civic though personally. The Impreza was her choice.
 
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Katmeat said:
I drive a Golf R (my 3rd) and my 19 yr old drives a Jetta. I selected the Jetta for him when he turned 16 because it is very safe and performs well, and was an excellent value. It has been a great purchase.
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See but if it was a Subaru it wouldn't be your 3rd it would still be your first :) lol i'm just joking around.
 
super20dan said:
they went tru great lenghts to deney the head gasket issues for at least a decade
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True indeed; however, my old ‘97 lost its HG at well over 100k miles; replaced. I gave it away with over 200k miles. So…

I honestly don’t recall many recent HG issues. I also don’t recall many older HG issues < 100k miles.

Now, I’m not saying Subaru is perfect - far from it! I’m just saying that the HG issue isn’t really a concern for a modern Subie.
 
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