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Thread: A New Subaru

  1. #11
    I'm gooder. Phil_SS's Avatar
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    After owning a 2013 Impreza Sport for the past 2.5 years I have to agree, I still miss my 95 Tealbaru of Doom. The new car has some nice amenities but the Tealbaru was just as good at getting me back and forth to work. And I feel it was a bit more enjoyable to drive.

    The new one does get better gas mileage but it isn't anything crazy. The Tealbaru would get about 21-22mpg and the new one is around 25-26. With gas being so cheap. Meh.

    If I could buy a brand new GC8 with Bluetooth I would.

  2. #12
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    Basically, Subarus were so great back then that it's hard to improve on perfection.

  3. #13
    Subaru Unimpreza SportWagon's Avatar
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    I actually owned them together for a couple of weeks. And so drove the old one after having driven the new one for a while.

    The steering was just an appropriate bit heavier on the old one, giving a more positive feel. Of course, perhaps the new clutch must count as an improvment; the old one was cable-actuated and needed a good heavy push. Would have been bad right now with my bursitis.

    Oh, and to also be more positive, it is nice, after 30 years of driving manual, to finally have a tach!

    Oh, and to counter the apparent implication that nobody ever finds newer cars better...

    My 2000 Subaru Impreza was a vast improvement over my 1985 Toyota Tercel Station Wagon (FWD).

    The only thing I ever found worse on the Subaru was the fact the tailgate on the Tercel opened the entire rear of the car, so anything that could be contained in the car could be put into it. I once had a three-foot square of chicken wire, with pipe on its outside (i.e. a gate) that I could not get through either tailgate or side door of the Subaru. (Though I did manage to carry two-by-fours (over 8ft long) entirely inside the Subaru, with the tailgate closed; diagonally from the back, into the front passenger footwell).

    And actually, the new five-door does appear to have addressed that problem somewhat, by reducing the height of the "trunk" lip at the back. And the rear doors are larger too, and also not heavily curved at the back.
    Last edited by SportWagon; June 21st, 2016 at 08:06 AM.

  4. #14
    Member Member 21Kid's Avatar
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    Congrats on the new ride.
    Quote Originally Posted by Phil_SS View Post
    After owning a 2013 Impreza Sport for the past 2.5 years I have to agree, I still miss my 95 Tealbaru of Doom. The new car has some nice amenities but the Tealbaru was just as good at getting me back and forth to work. And I feel it was a bit more enjoyable to drive.

    The new one does get better gas mileage but it isn't anything crazy. The Tealbaru would get about 21-22mpg and the new one is around 25-26. With gas being so cheap. Meh.

    If I could buy a brand new GC8 with Bluetooth I would.
    That's an easy fix.
    You can even get a double-din DVD player for cheap. (We put that one in our '06 Saabaru).

    I don't see why unlocking all the doors & the tailgate is a problem? To do multiple things you'd need more buttons on the remote. You could just press it once to disarm the alarm and use the key on the gate, if you don't want to unlock the doors, for some reason.

  5. #15
    Corvette Enthusiast Kchrpm's Avatar
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    What did you guys cross-shop, if anything, before buying the Subarus?
    Get that weak shit off my track

  6. #16
    Subaru Unimpreza SportWagon's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by 21Kid View Post
    I don't see why unlocking all the doors & the tailgate is a problem? To do multiple things you'd need more buttons on the remote. You could just press it once to disarm the alarm and use the key on the gate, if you don't want to unlock the doors, for some reason.
    There is no keyhole on the gate. Which is another minor annoyance since that was always where I put my key when I had the tailgate open. In fact, there is a button to unlock just the tailgate. But you can't keep the tailgate locked with the doors unlocked, in general.

    My wife never was in the mood before to shop for a new car, saying the old one was perfect (which is was, but it was getting old), and had a health crisis when I finally decided we needed to move quickly. I might have looked at 4WD larger Minis, but I think they get expensive with 4WD, and my friend scowled about reliability when I suggested them as an alternative. I'd investigate Audis if I had more money. I don't think Mitsubishi sells small 4wd cars in the North American market.

    So, in all honesty, I didn't really cross-shop much at all.
    Last edited by SportWagon; June 21st, 2016 at 08:03 AM.

  7. #17
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    Your friend is/was correct, the Mini is a lease only car.

  8. #18
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    And the Countryman has no redeeming features, while Audis are overpriced. So you made the right choice.

  9. #19
    Corvette Enthusiast Kchrpm's Avatar
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    The small wagon market is not one I know anything about, so I took a quick look. It seems most of the vehicles of similar size/configuration with AWD are small crossovers rather than wagons, so it definitely limits the choices in that specific segment.
    Get that weak shit off my track

  10. #20
    Subaru Unimpreza SportWagon's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Yw-slayer View Post
    And the Countryman has no redeeming features, while Audis are overpriced. So you made the right choice.
    But if I had lots of money, I still would have seriously investigated an Audi. And the Countryman has the redeeming feature that is still looks British-Leylandy. Oh. Um. Er, yeah.

    One weird thing is that the earlier generation Imprezas were distinctively styled, even if a little utilitarian-looking. But this one is extremely similar in general shape and styling to similar Mazdas, Nissans and Toyotas.

    Perhaps I should blame the Common Market.
    Last edited by SportWagon; June 22nd, 2016 at 03:07 AM.

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