Vehicles --- Subaru

[NYCfixie]

...Head gasket replacement is considered routine maintenance...

I disagree with this unless what you mean is: "it is an expected maintenance on a Subaru".

It is a Subaru specific problem that has been known for a very long time.
Cars/SUVs/Trucks should not blow head gaskets and especially at less than 100k.
It is at least a $2,500 service because they must take the engine out to fix it.

Porsche uses a similar style boxer engine yet it does not blow head gaskets in regular driving.

[NYCfixie]

Nobody has asked the most important question: Are they carbon wheels?

And, we already know it is a tubeless setup.

Sachs has the same version but with the regular wheels instead of this LP Aventure setup.

[j44ke]

We are 3 years into a 2010 Outback. Have put about 60K on the clock. It's been fine, but when things go, they're expensive. They drive very nicely in the rain. I hear they're fine in snow, but I don't know. As far as just driving a car goes, it's loud and the ride is not exactly refined, plus the motor is not powerful, which I never thought I cared about, but it shouldn't be a PITA to overtake another car, IMO.

We put 100K on a Jetta Sportwagen until the diesels all got recalled and I loved that thing. If I wanted a practical car (and I don't value cars, so practical is the only kind I like) I would take a hard look at the Golf All-Track - AWD in a station wagon and not insanely priced. It's basically a Sportwagen with updates, unless I am mistaken, and we loved how ours drove.

AllTrack is discontinued as of 2019.

[AngryScientist]

I’ve got a 2017 Outback 3.6R with all the bells and whistles. This thing drives for me with the lane assist and adaptive cruise.
Unfortunately it also got me a speeding ticket because it halls ass on the interstate.

I used to have the regular Impreza which was similar to the Rav4. Too small to sleep in and no balls on the highway.
The decked out version I have the only car I’ll ever get. Interior is really nice with the wood panelling and upgraded music system.

Sachs has the same version but with the regular wheels instead of this LP Aventure setup.

HA! I have those same wheels on my Jeep, mine are bronze though.

[NYCfixie]

AllTrack is discontinued as of 2019.

There are still many around. My local dealer has 12 left and 6 of them in manual.

Was/is there an issue with this model because I am amazed there are any left (although it is expensive for what you get IMHO)?

[AngryScientist]

Oh, and to the original question, good heavens - it would be a driving dynamics drag to go from a mini cooper to an outback or a forester.

[j44ke]

There are still many around. My local dealer has 12 left and 6 of them in manual.

Was/is there an issue with this model because I am amazed there are any left (although it is expensive for what you get IMHO)?

Transmission overheating/lockup problems due to people using them off-road. Sounds like they were just AWD wagons with off-road plastic. But it gave VW a car to sell all the diesel recall owners, along with the GTI.

But yeah, price too. Once we got the car set up with what we wanted on it, it was the same price as the Volvo. And the Volvo dealer was ready to sell us a car, while the VW dealer - even in the midst of all the diesel mayhem - wouldn’t budge on anything unless we bought a year old shop warn GTI.

[lumpy]

I disagree with this unless what you mean is: "it is an expected maintenance on a Subaru".

It is a Subaru specific problem that has been known for a very long time.
Cars/SUVs/Trucks should not blow head gaskets and especially at less than 100k.
It is at least a $2,500 service because they must take the engine out to fix it.

Porsche uses a similar style boxer engine yet it does not blow head gaskets in regular driving.

The FB25 engine they've been using since 2011 has separate cooling circuits for the block and heads that address this issue. Consensus seems to be that the design change was successful. Six-cylinder engines historically have not suffered from the head gasket problem. I dove pretty hard into this in 2017 before I bought a 2011 Forester to replace a 1995 XJ Jeep Cherokee.

I live on a dirt road in rural New England, it is icy in the winter and wet and soft in the spring. More than half the houses on my road have at least one Subaru. One family, who lives up the road where it is a steep hill, has three Subarus, the next one up has two, the next one above that has two. I've got studded snow tires on mine, and it is far better in wet snow, slush and mud than my Jeep was, it's relatively quiet, and it's got a terrific turning circle and visibility (both unlike an Audi). In the summer, it's super composed and forgiving on rough dirt roads. Lots of suspension travel, relatively soft spring rates. It feels like it was designed to do one thing well.

If I was commuting on a freeway at 75-80 every day, the Forester isn't the car I'd choose. I drove a new Outback for a couple of days while having warranty work done and that was a very solidly planted and secure feeling car. I liked the CVT a lot once I got used to it, too.

[NYCfixie]

The FB25 engine they've been using since 2011 has separate cooling circuits for the block and heads that address this issue. Consensus seems to be that the design change was successful. Six-cylinder engines historically have not suffered from the head gasket problem.

I have only known about the 4cyl issue. It's too bad they killed the 6cyl after 2019.

[deano]

AllTrack is discontinued as of 2019.

I forget people buy new vehicles.

[ides1056]

I disagree with this unless what you mean is: "it is an expected maintenance on a Subaru".

It is a Subaru specific problem that has been known for a very long time.
Cars/SUVs/Trucks should not blow head gaskets and especially at less than 100k.
It is at least a $2,500 service because they must take the engine out to fix it.

Porsche uses a similar style boxer engine yet it does not blow head gaskets in regular driving.

That was what I meant- it's a reason not to buy one. Not only do they have to be replaced at 100K, but doing so is made that much harder and more expensive by the design.

[ides1056]

The FB25 engine they've been using since 2011 has separate cooling circuits for the block and heads that address this issue. Consensus seems to be that the design change was successful. Six-cylinder engines historically have not suffered from the head gasket problem. I dove pretty hard into this in 2017 before I bought a 2011 Forester to replace a 1995 XJ Jeep Cherokee.

I live on a dirt road in rural New England, it is icy in the winter and wet and soft in the spring. More than half the houses on my road have at least one Subaru. One family, who lives up the road where it is a steep hill, has three Subarus, the next one up has two, the next one above that has two. I've got studded snow tires on mine, and it is far better in wet snow, slush and mud than my Jeep was, it's relatively quiet, and it's got a terrific turning circle and visibility (both unlike an Audi). In the summer, it's super composed and forgiving on rough dirt roads. Lots of suspension travel, relatively soft spring rates. It feels like it was designed to do one thing well.

If I was commuting on a freeway at 75-80 every day, the Forester isn't the car I'd choose. I drove a new Outback for a couple of days while having warranty work done and that was a very solidly planted and secure feeling car. I liked the CVT a lot once I got used to it, too.

If Lumpy has one, they have to be at least decent. But I would still opt for something else, like a VW badged Audi.

[scoobydrew]

The infamous head gasket issues plagued primarily the normally aspirated EJ25 engine (2.5L 4-cylinder), which was found in the older Outbacks, Foresters, Legacies, and non-Turbo Imprezas. These are obviously most of not all of the cars in their line-up since mid-late nineties. The issue wasn't as common on some of their other engines, such as the EJ18 (early Imprezas), EJ22 (base/lower trim Imprezas and Legacies), EJ20 (turbo 2.0L), the turbo EJ25 (WRX STi), and the 6-cylinders (EG33, EZ30, EZ36).

Subaru canned the EJ series (aside from the present-day WRX STi) for the FA/FB engines, which don't suffer from the head gasket issues mentioned. I wouldn't hesitate to buy a late model Subaru with these engines.

Disclaimer: I'm a Subaru nut and have owned a few of them.

[Mabouya]

I have a 2014 Impreza. I think I'm up to around 135k miles. In general I'd say I'm quite happy with it.

Reliability-wise, it isn't as good as my Acura Integra (Greatest Vehicle EVER Made) but that's setting the bar pretty high.

There have been two non-major, but serious enough to be annoying issues: 1) Right rear wheel bearing went about a year or two ago, and 2) The headlight bulbs don't last very long, and are enough of a pita to change that I have the dealer do it. Granted the high-beams are super-bright, but nevertheless it bothers me that they go bad every 60k miles or so. (total guess on that figure)

It did use oil a bit, especially in the first few years or so, but that seems to have decreased, and sometimes I can now make it to the next oil change without the "oil level low" light going on. (not the pressure light, the level light)

It's definitely not a high-powered vehicle, and when I first bought it, it was noticeably wimpy compared to the Integra, but I've gotten used to it. However, it does handle very well, and because a bit of my commute to work every day is on some nice twisty roads I get to enjoy that. What you pay for in lack of power you make up in gas mileage. In summer I get over 35 mpg, in winter around 32-33 mpg.

In sum, it's been a good car, but if I had to do it all over again I wonder if I should have gotten a WRX. Not sure how many points I'd have on my license if I had done that, but I wouldn't be complaining about lack of power... Finally, it is nice to have all that room in back.

[ides1056]

There are still many around. My local dealer has 12 left and 6 of them in manual.

Was/is there an issue with this model because I am amazed there are any left (although it is expensive for what you get IMHO)?

Don't get one with a sunroof. I would buy this car myself, but I'd have to get rid of my R and it's resale value isn't enough to persuade me.

[ides1056]

There are still many around. My local dealer has 12 left and 6 of them in manual.

Was/is there an issue with this model because I am amazed there are any left (although it is expensive for what you get IMHO)?

Don't get one with a sunroof. I would buy this car myself, but I'd have to get rid of my R and it's resale value isn't enough to persuade me.

[caleb]

Second the Volvo V60 recommendation. We have the FWD version, not AWD. Works fine in the winter, gets a consistent 32mpg. Ours is a 2017, last year of limited foot room in the back. The newer ones have several inches more. Drives really nicely. Very comfortable front seats and driver's side has seat elevation as well as front back etc.

We drove the Subaru but it felt loud and clumsy. We also drove the VW Alltrack which felt balky (auto transmission) and noisy. Volvo is smooth and quiet. It is more expensive, especially when you get into the AWD and sport wagon trims, but at the level we bought the difference felt like money well spent.

One thing we pretty quickly discovered while casually looking for a next car is that once you load up a Subaru with similar options to a base model Volvo, the price difference between them closes quickly. A base model Volvo is a really nice car.

[NYCfixie]

On thing we pretty quickly discovered while casually looking for a next car is that once you load up a Subaru with similar options to a base model Volvo, the price difference between them closes quickly. A base model Volvo is a really nice car.

Having owned one of the first 2012 Volvo S60 when they arrived in the states in June 2011 (and when the T5 was actually still a Turbo 5cyl.), I found it to be an exceptional car. We also had the 2009 Outback Limited. With the move to Boston 3 years later and the need to downsize to 1 car (house to apartment living), we chose to sell the S60 back to the dealer and keep the more utilitarian Outback. With 20/20 hindsight, we should have traded-in both cars for a new 2015 V60 AWD.

[ides1056]

A local outdoor legend whose name will go unmentioned rented a Volvo AWD out West and, to put it delicately, put it through it's paces in places I expect few Volvos have gone. He was impressed, and glad to turn it in after.

We had a V60 and my single complaint was that it ate brakes.

[NYCfixie]

We had a V60 and my single complaint was that it ate brakes.

What year? The S60 starting in 2012 and V60 starting in the 2014 model years are much different cars on a different platform than what came before them.

And, it can also depend on how one drives and brakes (i.e. tailgaters and two footed drivers eat brakes no matter what cars they drive).