quote:

Originally posted by ASKSmith:
Subaru sets the AWD bar for which all others measure. Just make sure you get the differential oil changed at the recommended mileage.

It’s not uncommon to see 300,000 miles out of a Subaru. Just do the routine maintenance.

I have a 2009 Legacy. It might be the last car I own. And I’m not even 50 yet. Plus it’s a stick.

Full disclosure: At only 55,000 miles (7 Western PA years/winters) I've had to do two front CV axles and two rear wheel bearings and the exhaust was welded a few times for rust. I wouldn't have mentioned it, but I ran into another Crosstrek local owner and he had the SAME story. So, that's way too coincidental. Might just be the early ones. Subaru pitched in a bit on it (I paid labor, they paid parts IIRC) even though it was waY out of warranty, so I suspect they know it's a problem.

STILL, I'd buy another Subaru. I really like the way it drives. If they added heated steering wheels as an option to the Crosstrek, I'd buy a new one tomorrow. I am considering the Outback or Forrester since they do have that option, but I like the Crosstrek better and it's cheaper, so I've been waiting them out. They now offer it in Canada, but still not in the US.

I like my 2018 Forester XT, I enjoy the little turbo 4, I wouldn't buy one without the turbo. I'm right at 30k miles, I need to take it in for the techs to look at it. When cold it stumbles after first start. Other than that no real issues.

Don"t you have to be a grey haired liberal to drive one?

Bob

Lol. A real transmission doesn’t have the word auto anywhere in it ORC. Feeling your shifts in a stick is one thing, saying you enjoy feeling the shifts in an automatic is nonsensical.

There is some serious old man thinking going on here. CVT’s are the superior automatic transmission. I’m not sure why anyone would argue that aside from the guys who claim they are maintenance hogs. My first one was the Forester so I don’t have enough experience to argue except to say so far no maintenance issue whatsoever. As for driving, well that’s a no brainer. Unless it’s in a Saturn perhaps.

Not forester but subaru cvt related.

I bought a ‘15 Legacy 3.6R with the cvt in august 2014. I put 77k miles on it in four years before i traded it in for my bmw. No issues with the cvt. Did regular maintenance on it. Only issue was the undersized battery.

I recently bought my daughter a new 2020 Subaru Impreza for her 18th birthday and she’s almost at 6k miles already and the cvt is fine. We just did a 700 mile trip last week for semperfi dog rescue and even though it’s their puny 4 cyl engine it was just fine. I don’t expect any issues with her car.

I’m probably going to buy another Subaru for myself again.

We loved our 04 Forester and had it up to @150k before some klutz arguing with her boyfriend blew through a stop sign causing us to t-bone her and total it. Both front bags went (got burns on my wrists) but it’s safety rating paid off. Nobody seriously injured.

We went to the 13 Outback 3.6, which drank excessive amounts of oil to the point that our extended warranty got us a new long block for $100. The only big expense so far was replacing all four wheel bearings at 140k which only have a service life of around 100k so we’re pretty pleased with Subaru. You can’t go wrong with a Subie overall.

My wife drives a Forester, and is adamant that it will be the only model car that she will ever drive. The mpg, comfort, size, maneuverability, visibility, safety, etc...a no-brainer for her. And I love the car. We're both 55 years old.

Our son is soon finishing college, and was in desperate need of a "new" car. So, we handed down my wife's 2017 Forester with only 60k miles on it, and picked up a 2021 Forester for her. Love it!

quote:

Don't you have to be a grey haired liberal to drive one?

I have seen grey-haired liberals drive Corvettes. I that supposed to say something about Corvettes?

I live in the hills near the AT. There are like 5 days a year where 4WD/AWD go from nice to necessary overnight. The Subaru’s are easily the most mountain goat like cars I’ve ever owned even with their marginal OEM tires. Even my wife, who hates the Crosstrek because it’s a very matchbox car colored blue, insists on the Subaru on snowy days.

Buy with confidence. One of their engines has/had an oil consumption issue. It’s not on the Forester though (pretty sure on that I think it’s the 2.5 the older Outbacks has, somebody smarter please chime in).

So I have a friend who picked up a lightly used forester a couple of years ago. Had horrible oil consumption issues. Subaru would not stand behind it. They dumped it.
On the cvt issue. While many think it is fine. Many do not like its performance. It is not that is does not work. It is just not a great system in many people's opinion. I respect that.

I have never owned a Subaru. But I am slightly interested in a new Outback but want another model year or so of the new platform before I would buy one.

ORC the basic complaint about CVT usually boils down to two issues. Maintenance and feel. On the maintenance side I have no insights. Mine have had no issues but that doesn’t mean I won’t. The feel issue is subjective I suppose. But not really. Feeling the auto shift noticeably every time both upshifting and downshifting I struggle how anyone would like that. CVT literally by design is in basically the perfect gear all the time. There is no delay or bump as it shifts. It just delivers the power the engine has available immediately in a smooth linear fashion. Enjoying driving a stick and the associated “feel” that goes with it is understandable. Pretending that translates into wanting to feel the rough shift points on an automatic transmission make no sense. Go test drive a modern CVT and then test drive a similar car with a traditional automatic tranny side by side. I can’t speak to CVT’s made years and years ago, the new ones are phenomenal. If I’m not doing the shifting I prefer any transmission to be smooth. I suspect most do. The angst against CVT’s is silly. There is no legitimate complaint against an automatic transmission that delivers the power smoother and faster than a traditional auto transmission. To say otherwise and hide behind “feel” is stupid. It’s like my kid saying they know how to drive a std transmission because they can use the paddle levers. Uh, sure.

Now if it becomes a maintenance hog then I will admit I was wrong. Feel? Nope. Smooth and fast transfer of power beats clunky shift points which on this level of car is what you get. Today’s CVT isn’t your dads CVT.

I wish my 1 year old Toyota RAV4 had a CVT. Going up a hill you feel every shift. Still not a compliment. My sons Subaru with CVT goes up the same hill and does it without drama. As does my wife’s Toyota with CVT. I needed to get the higher priced hybrid to get it.

quote:

Originally posted by pedropcola:
ORC the basic complaint about CVT usually boils down to two issues. Maintenance and feel. On the maintenance side I have no insights. Mine have had no issues but that doesn’t mean I won’t. The feel issue is subjective I suppose. But not really. Feeling the auto shift noticeably every time both upshifting and downshifting I struggle how anyone would like that. CVT literally by design is in basically the perfect gear all the time. There is no delay or bump as it shifts. It just delivers the power the engine has available immediately in a smooth linear fashion. Enjoying driving a stick and the associated “feel” that goes with it is understandable. Pretending that translates into wanting to feel the rough shift points on an automatic transmission make no sense. Go test drive a modern CVT and then test drive a similar car with a traditional automatic tranny side by side. I can’t speak to CVT’s made years and years ago, the new ones are phenomenal. If I’m not doing the shifting I prefer ant transmission to be smooth. I suspect most do. The angst against CVT’s is silly. There is no legitimate complaint against an automatic transmission that delivers the poser smoother and faster than a traditional auto transmission. To say otherwise and hide behind “feel” is stupid. It’s like my kid saying they know how to drive a std transmission because 5hey can use the paddle levers. Uh, sure.

Now if it becomes a maintenance hog then I will admit I was wrong. Feel? Nope. Smooth and fast transfer of power beats clunky shift points which on this level of car is what you get. Today’s CVT isn’t your dads CVT.

Really? All the rigs (millions) with smooth shifting modern automatic transmissions and the millions who drive and enjoy them. compared to the number of rigs outfitted with the cvt. We're all stupid. Well gosh. Ain't that special. There are so many simpleton's driving around because we cannot comprehend the superiority of the cvt. Hmmmm.

Well reading skills matter. At the price we are talking about (Forester) you get what you get. If you drive the Forester equivalent traditional auto to the Forester CVT the CVT is smoother. It’s just a fact. A fact that if you decided to actually go test drive instead of talking out your ass you could figure out.

Tell me the two cars of similar price and age with a CVT and a traditional auto that you think the CVT is worse? Good luck. CVT’s are a better design. They aren’t taking over because they are cheaper they are taking over because they are more efficient and smoother linearly while power is applied. It’s a tough combo to beat. Can you build a better traditional one? Not at the same price point.


I have given you 4 specific examples of cars in the same price range of modern ilk. What car CVT has got you on the edge? Let me guess, an older one. Ok boomer. lol

I literally struggle to understand your logic. The biggest point of the CVT is that it is smooth. There are NO shift points but now your argument is how much smoother a traditional auto tranny is. It’s nonsensical. Auto transmissions are smooth or not based on the shift points. CVT has zero shift points and somehow you think it’s not as smooth? That’s just silly. In one post you opine about how you enjoy the “feel” of shift points and then in this last one you argue how smooth they are. Which is it? Whichever it is it won’t be smoother than a tranny that has no shift points.

Right, all based on your logic. And demeaning folks with more experience than you (a guess) because of your perception of what their age might be is special.

I never said an automatic conventional transmission is smoother than a cvt version. I personally like a conventional auto vs a cvt. Sorry you cannot comprehend that. My wife has a Lexus RX330 that has a cvt and it is a really good rig.

quote:

Originally posted by rbert0005:
Don"t you have to be a grey haired liberal to drive one?

Bob

I thought it was only lesbian couples

We bought a 2020 Forester Touring model in mid September. My wife has driven it to Georgia and back and so far no complaints. I did the first oil change on it this past weekend (Yes I have the oil and filter receipts saved) and it was simple to do. Before this, my wife had an Acadia, Yukon XL, and a Suburban. It is small compared to the others she has owned but it fits her well.

“smooth shifting modern automatic transmissions”

“Some of us can appreciate the feel of a real transmission shifting”

So do you appreciate smooth shifting or the feel of a real transmission shifting? Which is it? If you want to feel a transmission shift buy a stick. If you get an automatic you want smooth shifting. You apparently want both. Nonsensical.

I’m sure you are waaaaaay more experienced than me. I suspect based on your statements you haven’t driven any recent model CVT from a quality manufacturer. Feel free to tell us the recent car with a CVT and how awful it was because it was either too smooth or it wasn’t shifty enough for you. At this point I’m not sure which you prefer since your statements oppose each other.

What about a conventional auto transmission is better? The worse gas mileage? The time it takes fir the traditional to shift as opposed to the instantaneous power of the CVT? Teflon of the shift itself? If that’s it then you are literally the first person ever who thinks feeling the automatic transmission shift is a good thing. The day of the traditional auto transmission is coming to an end. Sorry. 10 years they will be hard to find on 5he majority of cars.

You sir, are a self absorbed idiot with a head like an anvil. Surely that is not the first time you have heard similar. Outside of that I am sure you are a great guy. There is no reason to continue on with this discussion. You win. Happy?

Sorry Oat Action Man for the thread drift/hijack

I dislike the lack of a coolant temperature gauge on many Subaru models. Ditch the useless mpg gauge (on some models) and put a temp gauge in there. It is possible to have a chronic overheating condition without triggering the red light. By the time you see the light on it has already boiled over.

We replaced my wife's 2013 Honda CRV AWD with a 2020 Forester Premium last January, after a teenage girl hit and totalled our CRV. I wanted another CRV, but the Honda dealer wasn't as negotiable as the Subaru dealer. We're glad we made the choice of the Subaru. Overall, it gets about 10-15% better mileage. It sits high enough to see traffic well, and is small enough to fit even tight parking spaces. The CVT is actually not too bad, from a "seat of the pants" feel IMHO. 13K miles on it now.