You don't need a big Dodge with a diesel like his either ;)
I disagree about Subarus being "under-powered" though. They have two or three times as much power nowadays as they did back when I owned mine, and mine was a very good car, nearly trouble-free until the rust made me part with it (and nearly ALL cars died of rust instead of wearing out back in those days). A modern Subaru has a much greater power-to-weight ratio than the pickup truck that I drive for work.
I can't count the number of small pickups I've seen that have lasted 250,000, 300,000, or more miles, with no serious breakdowns. Want a truly reliable car? Get a little pickup (or a big one if you can justify it).
Ask PJC how many miles he has on his Mazda 4-cylinder pickup (which is just like a Ford Ranger). A lot of you folks won't believe it.
Was thinking about Subaru until I heard some bad things about them; possibly, they are over rated. I had also been dreaming of a Volvo wagon for years, but didn’t think we’d ever be able to afford it. When our Focus wagon died, I came across a Volvo XC70, one year old, for the same general price as the new compact wagons and bought it. Almost a year later, I can say that I love this vehicle, which is excellent for carrying kayaks and gear. Our local dealer told me they are offering 2010 Volvos for $10,000 below the sticker price. You might want to check out the possibilities here. Seems like the economy may be offering an edge in this department.
Salty obviously has some preconceived notions about subaru owners. Where I live most of them are farmers and rural families driving old recycles. There are still quite a few Loyales puttering around also. I don't think these owners would agree with or appreciate the notion put out there.
It's a niche vehicle. Like most niche vehicles they're far from perfect. Yet people find redeeming factors to them.
Load plenty bulky stuff inside, out of the elements, 3-4 boats on the roof + a 4+ humans AND get 30+ MPG @ real world speeds. Shift gears right to get over the pass.
Nuff said.
O.K. So you can haul 1000+ pounds of rock, pull a stump, dumpster dive for your fuel all while looking down on people from now 'till eternity ... BFD.
Consumer Reports If you want some real data on which vehicles are likely to have which problems go to the book store and pick up a copy of Consumer Reports “Best and Worst New Cars”. Car and Driver also makes recommendations but I think Consumer Reports uses better data.
Typical EPA ratings for highway mileage range from 25 to 29, depending on the model. Posts I recall from Subie owners here typically said to expect no better than 28 mpg on the highway. I see that the new Legacy Sedan gets a rating of 31, which the company is citing as really big news. I think that is the highest mileage Subaru has achieved in several years, but that's a also much sleeker car than a Forester or Outback. Modern EPA ratings are quite accurate, and if a typical Subaru wagon is rated no higher than 29 mph on the highway, it will get significantly worse with three boats on the roof and the inside packed with people and gear. I've got nothing against Subarus, but I think yours is the first claim I've heard for getting 30+ mpg, especially when loaded.
Actually, I should re-phrase something. I DO have something against Subaru. They once made very practical cars, and they don't anymore. Trouble is, that's true of just about every other company these days. Still, I would likely own a Subaru today if they hadn't switched from part-time four-wheel drive to that ridiculous and unnecessary (not to mention less efficient) full-time system.
Oh, and here's one more thing. Duggae, who posts here now and then, has a two-wheel drive Ranger pickup that gets something like 33 or 35 mpg on a regular basis. I'm pretty sure it's a 4-cylinder, which might not be available anymore, but it's not an old truck by any means. In the 30+ mpg category, one would have a hard time finding a more capable and versatile vehicle than that!
My teen daughter will probably inherit the Subie for college use and we will likely go with the cheap repair that disables the car to standard rather than all wheel drive. In the meantime the hunt for a sensible paddling vehicle begins so any suggestions are appreciated. Here in Florida constant all wheel drive is a waste and apparently a repair liability.
My Corner of NC… Here in the foothills of NC 4WD and AWD aren’t needed, at least if you stay on the roads. If front wheel drive can’t get me there I have no business going. I’m sure the mountains are another story. If you’re in the market for a small wagon check out the Mazda 3 and the Hyundai Elantra Touring. Consumer Reports raved on 'em. If you need a little bigger they raved on the Hyundai Santa Fe.
Need to add that if you have both drain and fill plugs, it's an easy job. (I can't speak for Forester specifically, just for the vehicles I've worked on.)
The gear oil is stinky, and pumping several quarts of tranny fluid in is tedious. But it's very, very simple.
By changing the oils in my front and rear diff fluids, manual tranny, and transfer case, I save about $300 to $350 in labor charges every two years. Changing my own engine oil doesn't save a lot of money in labor or materials, but it means that is one less round trip I have to make to town. Best of all, I know how clean the oil is and whether there is any sign of trouble brewing.
It's also good to crawl around on my back under there just to see if anything else catches my eye (fishing lines wrapped around the axle, tumbleweed pieces wedged between grill and radiator, loose fittings, that kind of stuff).
A vehicle is a major purchase; it's worth taking good care of for greater peace of mind, if nothing else.
Honda Fit Transporting a kayak doesn’t really require a large vehicle. My ideal vehicle for an outdoor sportsperson would be a Honda Fit. The back seat folds down to create a lot of cargo space—you can even fit a bike in there.
There aren’t that many fits in the U.S. yet, but they’ve established a reputation in Europe for several years. Highly rated by Consumer Reports for reliability and practicality.
The front diff on my Blazer and on the old Suburban that I "inherited" don't have drain plugs, but a skinny siphon hose works well enough, and the front diff on the Suburban has no moving parts when in 2wd so changing oil isn't often justified. For both of those cars, I built my own drain plugs for the rear diffs. For those two cars and a handful of others (owned by myself and others), I've built my own drain plugs for the automatic transmissions.
You can only drain about 50 percent of the oil in an automatic transmission, but for less than the cost of paying a shop to perform a tranny-fluid "transfusion" you can drain it five times over a hundred miles or so and accomplish about a 97-percent replacement. If you don't have an automatic transmission, all the gear-oil changes in a car's lifetime cost less than two or three tanks of gas if you do it yourself, and probably less than one tank if you push the oil-change interval to 50,000 miles. I find it odd that more people don't go to such a small expense to insure that all those really expensive components last as long as the rest of the car, but then, most people would never consider keeping a car beyond 200,000 miles either.
Easy ONNO. Not personal, I just don’t like Subaru’s after owning them and currently having one in the family. To me they are cars that have a lot of following because of all their features / abilities. They just get costly over the long haul and are not very fuel efficient.
If you are telling me you can load gear, 4 people, and four kayaks on one, climb a pass and get 30 mpg!! I’m calling BS. Empty with two people “maybe”.
BTW, I don’t care what anyone drives, just poking a bit of fun at the Subbie “cult”.
Toss out something like calling the cars POS, Obama references then backing up and stating "just poking fun."
Come on man ... Your lashing out is still insulting people you don't even know.
Oh, and nothing personal.
O.K. I drive a 98 Legacy wagon, 5 spd. ... So not a new one ... and the 4 boats are surfskis and or OC-1s but the people part and MPGs are real. We have to go up and over 4000' to get to the other side too. ... I can get THIRTY SIX unloaded on this trip if I milk it up the hills.
Edit to add:
Stab and steer wife gets 38 around town with her Honda Fit. Can't wait to apply my techniques to it.
I’ll second the Hyundai Elantra Touring Yesterday was its first trip loaded with kayaks and it handled really well. Gas mileage was definitely affected, but it’s a pretty perfect kayak hauler because of the amount of storage space in back. I looked at the Honda Fit and the Mazda 3 but found the Hyundai was simply a much better value.
Consumer Reports I have relied on Consumers Reports for car buying guidance for decades. They have the best data, with no close seconds. However, they are not infallible. CR doesn’t seem to rate issues with cars in relation to their seriousness or expense,
In the early 2000’s VW were severely downgraded for many electronic and small issues (as well as the more serious injector failures) while Subaru wasn’t severely downgraded for the very common and expensive head gasket failures that continued for at least 8 years-they may still be occurring as it takes about 5 years and 75,000 miles before happening. I experienced such a head gasket failure at the top of the Rockies. The head gasket repair was $1500 and the total repair came to $2500 because other parts were changed at the same time the engine was out.
Less one think I’m only beating on CR about expensive Subaru repairs not being stressed, Honda had many transmission failures with the V6 they used in many vehicles. They were never downgrades for this repair.
My 07 Rav4 has the better gas pedal, so I haven’t had “sudden acceleration” but two other issues have been recalled: steering half shaft replacement and oil line replacement on V6-this failure leads to major engine damage. There is commonly a transmission noise (droning sound) between 40 mph and 60 mph that Toyota calls “normal” and refuses to repair.
So, my point is that while CR is the best info available, they are not infallible and under report serious and expensive issues.
My husband has an Outback wagon with stick shift and 2.5L engine. Mostly he uses it for commuting and around town (28 mpg--more than the EPA rating of 26 highway). Should add that literally every drive (or bike ride) from home requires at least 2000 ft of climbing. The times we have taken it on longer drives with both of us and two dogs in crates, it gets 30 mpg. Which is darned good for AWD in a mountain state. But that's with a stick shift, so let's not forget that part of the equation.
With kayaks on top and 4 people, probably wouldn't get 30 mpg here. We haul kayaks on a trailer instead, using either my truck or his old Tahoe. I agree with the "get a truck" sentiment, but that's only if cargo capacity is more important than passenger-hauling. Adding a topper easily takes care of the weather-protection aspect, and then you have way more cargo room than in a car. I've owned trucks for 25 years and don't miss the car's advantage (passenger-carrying) one bit. But YMMV.
Many people don’t KNOW about these oils They don’t read the owner’s manual, or they rely on the shop to tell them what’s necessary (but then balk at paying the charges for what sound like unknown component maintenance).
A neighbor was quite proud of an old Land Rover he bought. He bought the safari roof rack, the khaki clothes and hat, etc. One day he said “the 4WD mechanism broke,” and he was puzzled why. I asked him if he’d had the transfer case and front diff fluids changed, ever, and he said, “Oh, I don’t know exactly what they did, but the shop takes care of things.”
You don’t have to DIY, but if you don’t know WHAT the shop does, you might be in for a rude surprise. The same guy assumed his replacement SUV came with a full-size spare. He said, “Of course!” when I asked him, then got a funny look on his face when he opened the trunk and saw the high-pressure donut. Now, this guy is an intelligent person, and he worked as an engineer. If he didn’t know this kind of stuff, you have to wonder what the average buyer of 4WD and AWD vehicles knows.
