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2012 Impreza or 2012 Prius?

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Main Forum' started by Zanrok, Nov 22, 2011.

  1. Zanrok

    Zanrok Casual Prius Lover

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    So for the past 5 months I have been test driving cars and finally decided on waiting for the 2012 Prius. It had the technology I wanted and more importantly it had the MPGs I wanted.

    Currently I drive a 1998 grand am and its been through everything.. It was my first car and only car I have driven since I was 16..

    Well I got a letter in the mail for the subaru dealer, and they were doing one of those push/pull your trade in deals. Basically they were giving you 3,000 bucks for your trade in as long as it was in good running order. Which my grand am is.

    I decided to check the deal out and went in to test drive the new 2012 impreza. After a quick test drive in 30 degree weather I managed to get 37 mpgs at one point and was quite impressed with cars roominess and drivability.

    The big kicker for me, is when I went inside and talked with the sales manager who was straight up with me. He didn't bullshit me and say a bunch of crap about how the cars were not marked up etc etc. He showed me the dealer listings, the invoice numbers, the MSRP and what everything costed down to the penny. He said he believed this is how cars should be sold and didn't believe in playing games but getting people in the car they wanted at the price that was good and fair to them. etc.

    This through me for a loop because usually Toyota dealers think that Prii are made of gold, and treat you the paying customer like a snob. (at least here)

    The real curve-ball is when the subaru dealer said he would honor the 3,000 trade in on my grand am and take the 3k off the MSRP of the impreza. Which meant I could get a pretty loaded impreza with a moonroof and if I wanted too leather seats for very close to 20,000. This obviously set me back because I was not expecting them to honor the trade in deal nor was I expecting to like the car too much.

    I love the prius, I have a blast every time i drive one. But the price for a comparable model is about 7k more then the impreza. Granted I could downgrade and it would be around 5k more... but still is the 5,000 extra cost worth getting the Prius over an AWD Subaru Impreza?

    I know you guys are mostly Prius fans and I am too.. thats why this is a dilemma.

    And the other kicker, is I live in Reno which in the winter snow.slush. and crappy weather are abundant. So if I did end up getting a Prius I would most likely get snow tired shortly after. Which is another fee to add on to the price.


    So bottom line.... 5k price difference...

    Impreza: AWD, less expensive, moonroof, comfortable
    Prius: High MPGS!!!, technology, (entune-hybrid battery etc)

    Feedback suggestions would be appreciated... Oh and of course this "special" ends at the end of November....

    Thanks!
     
  2. cwerdna

    cwerdna Senior Member

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  3. F8L

    F8L Protecting Habitat & AG Lands

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    The Impreza is nice. $5k is a lot of cash but could be overcome with savings in fuel and resale. Subys are great but not generally as reliable as the Prius.

    Being in Reno makes this a tough choice. No doubt the Impreza is better in snow and slush.

    Your call. :)
     
  4. dustoff003

    dustoff003 Blizzard Brigade #003

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    I have to tell you get the car that you want the one you feel will make you happy. You really can't compare the Prius and the Impreza, the Prius doesn't compare with much. I have had my Prius for 10 months and driven nearly 17,000 miles. My previous car was a 2005 Saab 9-2x it was a badge engineered Subaru Impreza WRX Wagon. I had it for about 5 years and put about 80,000 miles on it. It was a good car requiring nothing but tires and routine maintenance. The Saabaru was turbocharged and had a manual XMSN and it was also AWD, averaging about 20 or so MPG. I take it the one you your looking at is a non turbo with an automatic or CVT XMSN? Being non turbocharged and not having a standard XMSN will get you decent MPG. They both are good at doing different things but I enjoy my Prius more than my previous car. It is a much calmer ride and I really don't miss shifting. Keep us posted and see what Toyota will give you for your trade in? Last time I checked Toyota owned about 16.5% of Fuji Heavy Industries the parent company of Subaru.
     
  5. bbqnosher

    bbqnosher Junior Member

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    As a past owner of three subaru's...an outback and two foresters and now a 2011 prius I can tell you that both Toyota and Subaru are excellent vehicles. I am not familiar with the Imprezza but 37mpg sounds quite high. With the Forester 2.5L I typical got 20-22 around town and maybe 25 on the highway. With the Prius I'm constantly in the low to mid 50mpg....sometimes in the high 50's. The Subaru's interior I find better but the Prius is fine. As for the all wheel drive benefit of the Subaru in the snow....I slipped and slided quite nicely so I didn't see a benefit although I'm sure there was one. The Subaru I suspect is higher of the ground....the Prius low. Don't know how the Prius will drive in the snow nor what damage I might see driving such a low to the ground car in the snow. I will soon see
     
  6. JimboPalmer

    JimboPalmer Tsar of all the Rushers

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    I owned a Forester in Elko NV and loved it there, as it snows 10 months a year.
    If you need to get to California monthly, I would go with the Subaru. If you stay in town, I am less sure.
     
  7. stevemcelroy

    stevemcelroy Active Member

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    It sounds like a great deal on the Impreza - the few thousand $'s that you save versus buying a Prius will buy you a whole lot of gas.

    I have an 09 and while I love the mileage and reliability of the Prius, I really wish Toyota had spent more on interior refinement. The quality of the seats and the cabin noise are my 2 big beefs and to me are more like an entry level car than one that I spent $25k on. Now I know that they improved things with the 2010, and that the 2012 will hopefully be even better, but with the Impreza you would wind up with a car that is likely more comfortable.

    You also might want to keep in mind that 2012 will be an all new Impreza - the plus is that you will have the new body style in the first year so the car will look current for as long as possible, but the flip side is that you could have all of the little minor issues that seem to happen with the first year of a new design.

    The last thing though is your location - Reno seems like the sort of place that a Subaru would be a great car. If you get out of the city and into the hills having AWD in the winter and not having to worry about the hybrid battery and limited HP on long hill climbs might be something that would be nice if you do that sort of driving at all.

    Best of luck with your decision.
     
  8. SageBrush

    SageBrush Senior Member

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    Definitely consider the snow angle. If uncleared roads with 6+ inches of snow are anticipated the Prius is going to have problems.
     
  9. F8L

    F8L Protecting Habitat & AG Lands

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    The new Impreza and Legacy are rated fairly high in Hwy mpg (36mpg) but city mpg takes a dive to about 29mpg. So I'm guessing this was just a short highway jaunt. Average mpg should drop to about 32mpg unless he lives on the freeway or hypermiles it. Still pretty cool for an agile and useful car. I like the way the hatchback looks too. :)
     
  10. Teakwood

    Teakwood Member

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    The $7,000 fifference will go a long way to buying gasoline. In fact, if you do the math, you will find that in 5 years, you are coming out ahead with the Impreza.
    Further, since you live in Nevada, I would suggest that the Impreza offers a definite advantage in the Winter.

    As to the price, you might want to check: http://www.subaru.com/vehicles/impreza/build.html?s_kpi=hero_image

    The real tipper is how you feel about the two cars. Which one makes you smile?:D
     
  11. revhigh

    revhigh MPG Enthusiast

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    Subarus are GREAT cars ... I had an 05 Outback and it was very refined. Overall I got about 24 MPG. The NEW ones with the CVT will AVERAGE around 28. Forget your 36 unless you lightfoot it on the highway all the time. Personally .. I would get the loaded Impreza ... actually I would move up to a semi-loaded Legacy ... it's the same drivetrain, so you get the same MPG's in a bigger and roomier car. Won't cost much more at all. Do yourself a favor and drive a Legacy .... they have great specials going on right now. I miss my Outback ... it was a great car, and the boxer engine is the most refined 4 cyl on the market.

    I love my Prius ... but mostly because of the mileage, and I bought mine when it was $21K brand new with all the discounts and rebates.

    REV
     
  12. Zanrok

    Zanrok Casual Prius Lover

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    You guys all bring up great points.. One way someone told me to look at it was if someone presented both cars and they were both the same color and both the same price. Which would you pick, I wouldn't hesitate to pick the Prius.

    I guess I would be happier in the Prius, but is it WORTH that extra money? And I would be happy in the subaru, at least 3 months out of the year.

    I wish I had both cars to compare side by side.. thats really what I need to do. =/
     
  13. revhigh

    revhigh MPG Enthusiast

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    Actually .... I think you'd be far happier in the Subaru and your wallet will be $5-6K happier. As far as I'm concerned ... the only thing the Prius has over the Impreza OR Legacy is MILEAGE. It loses in every single other category ... ride .... handling .... awd .... interior refinements ... mechanical refinements .... solidity .... noise vibration and harshness .... etc.

    As I said ... I love mine ... but Prii are primarily about mileage ... they're a super-economy car with a lot of high tech stuff going on. I'll tell you one thing ... if I could get even 40 MPG regularly with a car like the Subaru ... even if it cost AS MUCH AS THE PRIUS ... there would be NO QUESTION that I'd own the Subaru.

    Keep in mind that I only paid $21K for mine ... I would NEVER have paid the $24K and change that it listed at. I would have bought a different car ...

    MY question to you would be .... how important is MPG ? I drive TONS of miles and can justify it. If I drove 12K per year and got 30 vs 50 .... I'd drive the nicer car ... which would be a Subaru Legacy or something like a lower end Camry, Accord, Sonata, etc. There's a huge difference between the Legacy and the Impreza ... TRUST ME. :D Drive em both before you decide for sure ... for an extra grand you can have a REALLY NICE Legacy, and you'll still be $4K or so under the Prius.

    In my opinion ... the Prius family is getting dangerously close to pricing themselves out of the market ...

    REV
     
  14. SageBrush

    SageBrush Senior Member

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    If this was only a money question, OP can do the arithmetic himself or ask for specific help.

    Prius also offers (in no particular order):
    Reliability
    Interesting engineering
    Less Oil consumption
    Less Pollution
    Toys
    Its own aesthetic
    A hedge against future high fuel prices

    I am not against Subaru at all -- I have one in our driveway. And while I considered buying another one, I chose HSD instead because of many of the differences I listed.
     
  15. car compulsive

    car compulsive Active Member

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    When I was shopping to replace my 07 Outback last summer, I found the last generation Impreza to be too small while the new Outback and Forester were too tall for my wife to transfer into from her wheelchair. I understand the new Impreza is roomier, but don't know how it compares to the Prius.

    I think the Prius may have a leg up on reliability, especially if you get the new Subaru CVT. The current generation of Outback and Legacy also have incidents of suspension shake which is still not fixed. I don't know if this is (will be) present in the new Impreza. I thought the Subaru interiors felt cheaper than the Prius, though others may disagree with me. (Of course, I'm strange and like the Prius center console and center-mounted gages, so go figure.)

    If you spend time visiting Mt. Rose and Incline Village in the winter, I'd definitely opt for the Subaru AWD system. (My dad and brother used to live in IV. I thought about moving there in 1994. I occasionally still kick myself for not doing so.) If you drive a lot of miles on clear, paved roads (like I do), I'd opt for the Prius.
     
  16. revhigh

    revhigh MPG Enthusiast

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    Good points CC !

    In terms of reliability ... my Subaru was just as good as all my Toyotas have been, at least up to 70K miles ... which is all I had the Subaru for. I find it hard to believe how ANY car could have a WORSE interior than the Prius has. It literally is hard cold uninviting plastic EVERYWHERE. I don't know about the CURRENT Subarus, but my 06 was excellent in terms of interior 'touchability'. It felt far more 'rich' inside.

    Don't get me wrong, I love the Prius, but I'm objective about the car as well. I'm also sure it will be rock solid reliable. As much as I like the Prius ... after living with it for almost a year ... I AM growing quite tired of the interior ... just something I have to live with in order to get the MPG's.

    I also paid $21K for it ... not the current $25K+ that they list at. There is NO WAY I would have bought the Prius had it not been HEAVILY discounted.

    REV
     
  17. SageBrush

    SageBrush Senior Member

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    Heck, GM cars are good for 70k miles.

    Our '96 Impreza has been very reliable, now at ~ 150k miles. I have not read anything in CR to suggest Subaru has taken a turn for the worse, although I agree that the CVT is untested waters.
     
  18. revhigh

    revhigh MPG Enthusiast

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    Subaru's been using CVT's for years now ... at least since the current gen Outback I think ... I don't think the CVT in the Subie is any risk at all.

    REV
     
  19. revhigh

    revhigh MPG Enthusiast

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    LOL. It's a rare GM that gets much past 40K without fairly serious work being needed ... at least that's been my experience. :D

    REV
     
  20. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    Ooh that is a tough call. The 2012 Impreza is a treat with a lighter body, smaller, more fuel efficient engine and a CVT to bring mpg closer to its 2WD rivals. And to top it off, $5-7k less.

    However, a Prius is a larger vehicle and you're buying into a vehicle that is super low emissions, best mpg and high tech toys. While sports car owners talk about being one with the vehicle, to understand and to drive the vehicle like a man vs. horse relationship, I think a Prius vs. its owner is also a similar relationship. You learn the ins/outs of the HSD, you learn how to maximise its potential and you adjust your driving style. If I had the Impreza, I'd probably just drive it normally. With a Prius, I'm more entune with the road characteristics, traffic flow and vehicle mechanics, just like a sports car drive would.

    For the price I paid for my Prius, I could easily have had a Lexus or MB or even a loaded Impreza and still have $10k left over (Canadian dollars), but I love mine because it combines the best of all worlds - high mpg, low emissions, great cargo flexibility, cool toys reserved for pricier cars and all in a package that doesn't break the bank (insurance, maintenance and fuel costs)