Why I'm going to ditch Prius for Subaru

I can only like this post once? Darn I would have liked to 3 or 4 times personally.

 

I find that on any brand/model-specific forum, the "Mine is better than yours" mentality is stupid-strong. I see a TON of that here (go find a Volt thread if you want to see some real dribble).

I've owned a lot of brands and cars over the years, each had their strengths and weaknesses. Like you, I try not to get up in the "my car" fanboi-ism.

 

Who else has a shimmy problem? Sounds like wheel alignment issues or out of spec changes made to the car like oversized tires or suspension or suspension wear.

Galaxy Nexus ? 4

 

I suspect the shimmy problem he is describing is the abs kicking in over rough terrain. Toyota is well known for this issue and it is disconcerting when it happens.

That said, the real issue here that has been alluded to but not really given adequate discussion time is that if violacdga is having traction issues in the winter, the place to look is not the car but at the tires. Standard issue Prius tires are marginally adequate on snow and ice at best. If you want better snow traction, you need better tires, not AWD. FWD with snow tires is better in nearly every situation than AWD with all-seasons. The ONLY place this doesn't generally apply is in starting traction or in deep snow. To me, that's more a matter of convenience than the life or death situations where snow tires will give you real braking or avoidance traction at speed on the road.

I've raced thousands of miles on terrible upstate NY roads winter rallying in fwd cars. Properly equipped, they are fine in the VAST majority of situations on maintained roads. Do you really want to carry around an AWD system causing you to get 1/2 the mileage for the once or twice a year you encounter serious snow?

 

Ah, the Good Old Days! I owned Plymouth Valiants,in the 1960s and while the slant-6 engine and Torque-flight transmissions would last forever, the fenders and floor pans rusted away very quickly. Disconcerting to see the road rolling by underneath your feet! Found that I could cast a layer of fiberglass across the remaining rust to keep my feet in the car and the water out of the car. They just don't make cars like they used to!

 

A physician colleague mentioned to me yesterday that he is scrapping his 273k mile* Subaru Forrester instead of investing in repairs, to be replaced by a 7 year old Forrester with 130k miles on the odometer for $6k from a dealer. The old car is going out in style though -- that last drive to the dealer is a ~ 400 mile trip.

As a testimonial for expected frugal longevity and reliability in the snow belt, I thought that one was excellent

*I had to laugh when he mentioned that the engine check light has been on for the past 100k miles.

 

I love it!

 

This is from one who just came from a ' 04 Subaru Forester and drove it for 11 yrs... While I read this thread a few days ago and do not remember the argument / statement of the OP and have not gone back to review.... I loved my Subaru, I took care of it, changed the oil, took care of repairs, changed the timing belt ( not me , but...), the whole thing. Great car - shitty gas mileage. My niece has it now, hope she cares for it like I did. Prior to the Forester I owned a Honda 1991 Civic - also a great car - had that for 10 yrs. While the Subaru is fun in snow and we get snow in Chicago...I never had a problem w/ the Civic in winter and as a matter of point, I also don't expect that I'll have any problems in winter ,sans 4WD ,with the Prius. You can't shake a stick at Toyota quality and 50 MPG's, at least I don't. The thought of my gas guzzling Subaru makes me ill; got 19-21mpg's city w/ the type of driving I do; now I get 48-50+ in same conditions. Glad I made the move I did. While I like what Subaru proposes they stand for, I too like what the Prius stands for.

thanks

 

Its a "European" thing. At least thats what the salesmen at the lexus dealership told me when i was checking out the ct200h, which was one of the reasons i got a prius instead, more cupholders, yay!


Real drivers(aka Europeans(cause they drive on the autobahn)) do not drink coffee or any other beverage while driving. The horror!
Apparently anything European is so much cooler than what we have here in the new country so even though in my or your mind it seems completely impractical, just nod and agree, if it is European inspired or styled it is a given that it is just much more awesome.

Perhaps Subaru uses the "European inspired interior" line as well? Makes for great marketing speak to increase the cool factor.

Personally I was disappointed my Prius v only has 10 cupholders! Why couldn't they put a couple more in that flip down armrest thingy in the rear seat area? Maybe a project for when the warranty expires..

 

you will only gain .25 ground clearance. half of the increase goes to the top half of the tire.

 

Odd my Subaru had cup holders

 

Fortunately there are lots of vehicles to choose from. You should pick one which meets your driving needs. We have several because no one fills all our needs. I am 6'2" and weigh 290 lbs. We frequently drive to and from San Diego from San Francisco. I find the seating very comfortable. We average 52 M/G and are extremely happy with almost every aspect of out '11 Prius. Good luck with your next vehicle.

 

Um, the thought of drinking anything whilst driving 200 mph on a German Autobahn makes me kind of ill as I have seen the debris field left when those high speed accidents occur--it's kind of hard to avoid all the bits and pieces being scattered around.

Now here in Virginia if you are over 18 you can text whilst driving. You can also have open alcoholic beverage containers in those cupholders in the car wile driving. If you own a pickup truck, you can throw your kids unrestrained in the pickup bed and still drive legally. Consider someone who does all of these at once. Is Virginia a great state or what? Did I mention the guy driving along waving a pistol out of the driver's side window? Turned out according to the police THAT was illegal--having the gun was ok but waving it around whilst driving not so much, but maybe that law has since been rescinded as restricting 2nd amendment rights. Are other states as nutty as this?

 

The "sound of rust" makes for a funny line and Subies used to be *the worst* in that department but they're pretty good now.
By 14 years old we were starting to see some rust just behind the rear doors on our '97 but even that progressed slowly for the last two years that we kept it.

 

I had never considered moving to Virginia until this post. Sounds like my kind of state.

Making everything under the sun illegal doesn't prevent bad things from happening. Usually it only serves to restrict those that follow the rules and act sensibly.

Recently I found myself stopped in traffic for 2 hours due to a collision between a truck that was pulling a boat, and a semi. When I finally made it through, I phoned home to let them know what my new arrival time would be... and I got a citation for it. A $110 fine for having a conversation with an electronic device instead of a passenger. Both equally distracting, but strangely one was illegal.

We deserve to be abused by a system that we allow to run our lives.

 

Not equal, read the studies.

As for the 'freedom to be stupid' laws (or absence thereof) in VA, I have a question for you: how should the state handle people that end up harmed but not killed ? State responsibility to provide healthcare or long term care (e.g., for brain damaged), or freedom to be dumped by the side of a road to await disposal if no private citizen cares to pick up the bill ?

You see, I'm happy to let you live ANYWAY you want, so long as my tax dollars do not have to pay for the consequences.

 

Back in the 70s Subaru made the best car. Is the quality still there?

 

I believe it is. I just drove an '04 Forester for 11 yrs. No rust, no major mechanical issues, quite a versatile car minus the poor gas mileage. I could have kept it and kept driving it, but I got the " new car bug" that I couldn't shake...

 

Subaru was a mixed bag for me. I drove a 1979 ,1600cc, 2 wheel drive 4 speed manual Subaru that gave me 6 years of great service and mileage in the mid 40`s highway, and no mechanical issues. My 2000 Forester, well I loved the drive but too many mechanical issues made me give it up after 80,000 miles. Prius has been good so far, but I may purchase a quieter more refined ride in the future, but defiantly a hybrid vehicle.

 

For the time being we have one of each. There really is no car/truck that is perfect for all conditions. Check out the forums if you want to learn more about Subaru. Not much new for the 2014 models but 2015 will see some changes. I have been watching for used Outbacks and they are holding their value. The issues mentioned do require that you have a mechanic that knows them, preferably in the town where you live but that is true for the Prius as well, isn't it?