<p>I think we are leaning towards a Subaru (unless anyone has other ideas to share). Our requirements are:</p>
<p>1) Price reasonable (no more than $23,000 ish)
2) All wheel drive
3) IIHS safety crash record outstanding</p>
<p>We still need to be convinced of the roll-over potential of SUVs vs the ability to be up higher when driving and have greater visibility…which is why we worry that the Impreza may be too small/low to the ground.</p>
<p>Drive a forester.<br>
It’s high enough that I can see around most of the big SUVs in my neighborhood.</p>
<p>SUVs have more rollover potential than sedans/coupes but vehicles with more mass also do better in crashes with vehicles of smaller mass but sometimes do worse in crashes with concrete walls. Cars that handle better and have more power can get out of some situations poorer handling low powered cars are vulnerable to but the speedier car can sometimes get people into more problems since they might be driving faster and might take more risks on passing, curves, etc… Sitting up higher might let one see a problem and avoid it that would cause a problem for a lower car despite the lower car’s better handling. An AWD vehicle can get people out of some situations in snow/ice/wet but can also get them into some situations by encouraging to go where or when they shouldn’t. </p>
<p>In short, there are pros/cons to most vehicles. There’s no substitute for good driving abilities regardless of what one’s driving. Some bit of luck helps as well.</p>
<p>Somehow I’ve managed to drive SUVs for 27 years without rolling one over. I also traversed the USA and Europe many times as a kid without ever wearing a seat belt and survived. (But I always wear my seat belt now that cars have them)</p>
<p>In our home, we have an '06 Imprezza 5 door (mine) and an '08 Forester (hubs). Also, my parents have 2 Imprezzas, my sister a Forester, brother-in-law a Forester and nephew an ancient Outback. </p>
<p>I prefer my Imprezza because of the smaller size (I am a travelling teacher, and need to get into some teeny parallel parking spaces!) I like the handling, and it feels secure in a variety of weather conditions. Hubs likes the roomier Forester. When d was learning to drive, she at first called my Imprezza (it is NOT the WRX) the “secret race car” as it does have some quick responses, even nearing 100,000 miles, and wanted to work in dad’s workhorse of a car…then she got to the parking component of the driver’s test…and suddenly my little Imprezza was the vehicle she wanted. </p>
<p>Head to a Subaru dealer and drive them both – there are a lot of great parts of any Subaru (that boxer engine that keeps the center of gravity down, the AWD that really does good stuff on bad roads, reliability…). I am convinced I will be a Subaru owner forever…</p>
<p>We have had a Forester (12 years old), traded it in for a Impreza for my son and. Legacy for us 2010. We also own a larger SUV to tow a camper. I did not like the low ride of the Impreza or the Legacy, the only fault I have ever had with the Subaru - I am 6’ with very long legs. Just traded the Legacy in, for. 2012 Outback, and I love it. Leg room is great. So as a family who over twelve years has had four Subarus - go enjoy the test rides. We have loved ours.</p>
<p>I guess the decision is going to come to low down vs higher up vehicle…tough decision. I personally like the look of impreza better(hatchback makes it stand a bit higher off the ground) but my husband likes the forrester better because it is higher.</p>
<p>The issue too is that our teenage daughter will be driving it and , like so many, can tend to drive a bit faster than I do so I do have concern with the turn-over factor.</p>
<p>We had a bad experience with an Impreza - it only lasted slightly over 80K miles. Something broke on a highway that ruined the engine - this was after MANY repairs. To fix it the final time would have cost more than it was worth. However, my child loved the car.</p>
<p>I have been spending a lot of time on I-80 (between IL and PA) and would hate to be without my Forester. The visibility is great; it’s good in the snow. The turning radius is about the same as our Civic. It is an '06 with 90K miles, no repairs yet. I have not heard of roll-over problems with Foresters. (Explorers, maybe.) I’m afraid I have a heavy foot when I’m on a long drive.</p>
<p>FWIW, here is a local anecdote… A family was driving on a gravel road in the mountains and the driver got distracted by something and drove too far onto the shoulder. Their Subary Forester began sliding down the gravel hill and rolled over. When it came to a stop, all passengers came out of the car without a scratch (all were belted in)! The car was deemed “totalled” since the body work costs would have exceeded the book value. When the guy got a check form the insurance co., he headed straight to a local Subary dealership and bought another Forester because he was so impressed how well it did in a rather scary situation. I’m sure the car’s height had nothing to do with the accident. We’ve driven on that road in the past - judging by what I’ve seen, a sedan would have rolled over in that accident as well.</p>
<p>I was in an accident with a Suburu Forester last month. My car some decent damage. The Suburu? Hardly NOTHING! If I was buying a new car today, I’d buy a Suburu - and that was before I had the accident!</p>
<p>I guess you saw my thread about choosing between a Fit and a Forester. I’m negotiating right now for a 2012 Impreza. While I would like to be higher up, I love the smaller size of the Impreza for city driving and the gas mileage difference is big so that’s why I’m choosing the Impreza 5 door. I think it will end up being about $3000 less for similar features.</p>
<p>Let us know what you end up with! $3000 less than…???</p>
<p>I think there’s a rollover metric for vehicles you can find somewhere online. Another thing to keep in mind is that most SUVs/Crossovers now, and some cars, have electronic stability control where the vehicle’s computer does what it can to prevent maneuvers that might result in a rollover or going out of control. There’s another metric as well which is the strength of the roof structure of a vehicle so if it does turn over for some reason it gives an idea if it’ll likely crush or not. You’d probably rather have an SUV whose roof doesn’t crush than a sedan whose roof crushes on a rollover. </p>
<p>The Forester, being a sedan based crossover rather than a truck based SUV, likely wouldn’t roll as easily and is lighter in weight of the undercarriage which would mean it should hold up to roof crushing better unless they did a poor design on the structure of the roof but again, you s/b able to find relative metrics for that.</p>
<p>Bunsenburner’s anecdote may be reflecting the above.</p>
<p>Oh sorry! $3000 less than the Forester. I’m still negotiating with 2 dealers and may have to order one that takes 6 to 8 weeks to get. I’m having to get a black interior (which I didn’t want) because I wanted red or silver outside and that’s what you get inside. The dark colors have the light interiors, but I have a dark maroon car now and it only looks nice for 15 minutes after it’s washed.</p>