We purchased two new 2022 Subarus during the severe car shortage caused by Covid. One is a 2022 Subaru Forester Wilderness and the other is the turbocharged 2022 Subaru Outback. Pleased with both although we only drive the Forester Wilderness about 400 miles per year (all to the dealer & back for the prepaid 6 month routine maintenance. Although they cannot rotate the tires since it has such low mileage. But, the dealership does provide free coffee & snacks.)
Ford’s are not reliable from Day 1, but the discounts are great enough to buy an extended warranty (Ford only. Do not buy a third party warranty.)
P.S. We bought our Subaru’s from 2 different dealerships. Even though beautiful & modern, the dealerships service garages are nearly empty; apparently Subaru’s don’t need much repair or maintenance work.
The Outback is great for dogs as the crossover is lower than the tropical SUV so dogs can jump in-and-out of the back with relative ease. We use the Outback primarily for dog car rides. Also has very low mileage–about 7,000 miles per year. The dogs love it, but don’t fully appreciate the turbocharged engine as they prefer much slower speeds.
Reason for buying that vehicle if the only driving is to maintenance?
Rotating tires can be done at any time. But it is kind of pointless if the mileage from the last tire rotation or new tires is so low that it will not help in evening out the tire wear.
Bought it as a gift for family member who refused it as it is too nice for city street parking. We use it as a safety back-up vehicle.
However, because it is driven only once or twice every 6 months, the battery needs to be hooked up to a trickle charger to keep it fully charged. Will be unnecessary if we drive the car at least twice a month-which won’t happen.
Do you know that there is a service like AirBnB for cars called Turo? S23 used them a lot at school until he brought his car out. Might be worth doing with your vehicle if it’s never driven.
We are happy with our purchases. Actually looking for a third vehicle. Torn between a luxury mid-size SUV and a massive SUV so I can take the dogs for an ocean vacation.
We still have room in the garage for another vehicle.
lol. Have a kid who lives in an urban area with street parking. Their new Subaru is the cheapest, least nice car in their gentrified and mixed neighborhood.
I’m always amazed at the expensive cars parked in the street.
I’m also amazed at expensive cars parked on streets. Not uncommon to see Porsches and Maseratis street-parked in the town just next to ours. But Lord help those who street-park their cars where my kids live!
I am now of course looking at every SUV on the road that passes by me! Went to get a haircut yesterday and there was a Masarati SUV in the lot. Not on my list, although my late husband might have wanted to test drive it and see if he could get it up to it’s max speed of 177 with it’s 530HP. Never will I be purchasing a car with a start price of $102K
We have many SUV models in our family.
2 Subaru Crosstrek- both an older and newer plug in hybrid. Great cars but you hear the road. Fits one car seat best if you need passenger space in the back for an adult.
2 Toyota LandCruisers- one very old (20 plus years old) and the other 10 years old. Plenty of room for multiple car seats and dogs. I don’t know if the newer model is out. I think the new model is less luxury. No repairs beyond regular maintenance.
Mercedes small SUV GLK350. We fit one car seat and one adult comfortably. It would fit two car seats but it would be hard to get an adult in with the seats. It’s been reliable, model no longer made but I love this car.
Older Tahoe- bought used, plenty of room.
Previously owned a BMW X3- loved the drive but not the repair bills.
In my opinion the smaller SUV and crossovers will be tight if you want to car seats and an adult in the backseat.
Both kids (with dogs) have Subaru Foresters with no complaints. I drive a 2010 Lexus sedan that’s been good to me, but has high milage and is on its first transmission. Looking at the BMW X5 PREV, but need to do more research. Our other car is a Tesla, so we want a car for distance trips. In Southern CA. Thoughts?
Have drtiven a few different SUV’s in the last few weeks.
Mazda CX 50. Loved the Mazdas and the way they drive but personally just couldn’t stand the interior design.
Toyota Rav 4. Always thought I’d love a Toyota but seriously hated it.
Honda CRV. a contender
Chevy Equinox. No, just no
Kia Sportage. Made the Final Cut but insurance was more due to Kia theft problems. They fixed the security issues but thieves don’t know that and will break into the car before they realize it has the security features.
Ended up buying the Volkswagen Tiguan as stated above.
odd - we just bought my son a car and the insurance guy assured us Hyundai/Kia no longer an issue.
My son just had a rental car - CX50 - and hated it - said sluggish.
He drives a luxury brand though which he got used - I was pushing for a similar price new (Hyundai which he liked their souped up engine, Mazda and Subaru which he thought drove boring - was the word he used).
Had an MDX for 8 years, still own Audi Q7 for 6 years, CRV for 5 years, Outback for 2 years. CRV is great, like super great, just a little vanilla. The Audi is my fav, just a great product but a little pricey. Hate the Subaru. Just no power and feels plastic all around.
Funny, he loved the Tesla rental for acceleration. His current car is 5.3. I see a car as a way to go from point A to B. He sees otherwise. It’s always been his interest, interned for an automotive who gave him a summer car and didn’t want to drive it (I made him)…yes, a bit spoiled.
Currently driving S21’s car from HS since he didn’t need to take his car to college…:and now it looks like he may stay in DC so….what to do with his car (a sedan): sell it and replace with smthg I like.
I used to have a wonderful fully loaded Tahoe but sold it after we dropped S21 off at college bc didn’t need it for LAX travel games or NJROTC events anymore.
I loved it. I miss it. But don’t need that big of an SUV.
This thread isn’t pushing me in a particular direction but I think that reflects that once again we all have different needs and wants in vehicles (just like colleges, etc).
But drat.
I wish I knew what I wanted. (I’ll start a thread maybe this summer……).]
@123Mom123 , I was in a similar situation. One of the ideas you may want to bat around are compact or urban SUVs (which in some cases is simply another word for a hatchback.) Smaller and more maneuverable but with the ability to fold down seats and carry more cargo if necessary. Suburu CrossTrek, Lexus UX, Tesla Model Y, etc. Just an idea if your thinking is taking you in that direction. The halfway house!
we looked at a small SUV for D24 last year. Wanted a new one because new cars have the latest safety features.
Subaru Crosstrek just didnt have enough power. We live in a hilly neighborhood and it seemed to really struggle on the incline.
The Mazda CX5 was fun to drive but had bad sight vision due to smaller windows and pillars. Maybe great for experienced drivers but not for brand new driver.
It was the Volvo XC40 or BMW X1 and none of the local dealerships had the X1 so we went with the Volvo. XC40 and X1 were about the same sticker price but the XC40 had a lot of $ discounts (Costco, ABA membership, etc) so it was actually about $5k less expensive. The X1 didn’t offer any incentives (obvious since they were hard to find).
The XC40 is pretty good but it does require (or suggest) premium gas and the brakes arent as firm as I’d like but overall drives nicely.
