Subaru kicks Wrangler's ass

Totally agree. For city/hwy driving in snowy conditions I'd pick Subaru over the Jeep. They are just really had fantastic on snow. Put winter tires on them and they are all you need in the city. I've already made up my get a used Subaru Outback if and when my Mazda dies.

They are excellent cars indeed, very reliable too!

I just laugh when people do video comparisons like this. It's like comparing a Ford F-350 to an old 4 cylinder toyota Tacoma. Two totally different vehicles with two totally different purposes. Neither of them is meant to fill the role of one another.

Same with the Jeep and the Subaru... Two completely different vehicles meant for completely different things.
 
Subaru makes a quality vehicle for road use in the states that see a white winter, especially. They seem built well for their purpose.
Still, not a Jeep! I wonder if Subaru owners look back at their cars after they park them like I do Every time I park my Wrangler, after 20 years of ownership. Damn I love this thing.
 
I bought a 2018 Crosstrek in September 2017. It was perfect for my needs (high gas mileage, inexpensive commuter car, that I can give to my daughter in 2 years).

Originally I was looking at Honda FITs, Toyota IMs, and Mazda 3s, but the Crosstrek was by far the most bang for the buck. I'm a practical person and that is why I bought the Crosstrek. After owning it for a little while, I was actually surprised that I liked it.

I never knew Subaru folks compared their rides to Jeep Wranglers, until I did a little reading. I could see the comparisons between the Cherokee (I have a 2018 Cherokee Trailhawk for a work ride and I prefer the Crosstrek over the Cherokee) and the XV. When I started reading subaruxvforum.com I was really surprised what XV owners said about their rides compared to Wranglers, kind of like a WWE fan saying their sport is on par with the UFC. Their comments on the same video are interesting.

https://www.subaruxvforum.com/forum...osstrek-vs-2018-jeep-wrangler-jl-edmonds.html
 
Totally agree. For city/hwy driving in snowy conditions I'd pick Subaru over the Jeep. They are just really areare fantas on snow. Put winter tires on them and they are all you need in the city. I've already made up my get a used Subaru Outback if and when my Mazda dies.

My wife drives a '16 Outback ... excellent kid and grocery hauler for her (all of us really), and road trip vehicle. Living in the midwest, when snow hits our 600 foot plus driveway, which is all uphill to the road, it's a lifesaver. Previously, I had an F150 4x4 which was okay in the snow....but the Subie was sooo much more fun. Was great (still is) to cruise through snow like it's not there. But a true off-road beast it ain't.

Unfortunately, no Subaru made in the last 10 years or so can be flat towed behind our motorhome...so an awesome TJ it is for me!
 
All you Subie owners need to adhere to the maintenance schedule when it come to the timing belts. If you bought a used one and have no proof of the timing belt "kit" (belt, idlers, tensioner and water pump) being done, you are taking a huge risk. And I would highly recommend you use factory parts, and not aftermarket. I've owned three Outback Legacy wagons, and two of the three had catastrophic failure...one failed twice!

My '98 jumped time and bent all 16 valves when the 3 month old aftermarket timing kit failed. I had taken the car to a shop to have the work done, not that it mattered. My '99 Jumped time and bent all 16 valves with only 50,000 miles on a Gates timing kit. Turns out the hydraulic T-belt tensioner failed. I was so pissed off that I gave the car to my nephew, who replaced the heads and installed another new Gates timing kit in it. Well, 6 months later (2,000 miles), the hydraulic tensioner (again!) failed, and sure as shit stinks, all 16 valves were bent. Btw, the valves in these things don't make contact with the pistons when they jump time, the make contact with each other. Special!
I sold my '04 before I was forced to deal with this nonsense again. I will never again have a Subaru in my stable. Loved the weight and feel of the '99 and earlier ones. Beautiful driving cars, to be sure. But that boxer motor is a clinker, in my book. Only the earlier 2.2 was not an interference motor (I'm uncertain if the 3.0 6 cylinder was, or not).
Like I stated earlier, adhere to that maintenance schedule, and stick with OEM parts.
Rant over...:rolleyes:
 
All you Subie owners need to adhere to the maintenance schedule when it come to the timing belts.

Modern Subarus no longer use timing belts. They use timing chains, which don't have the intervals that the belts used to on the older Subarus.
 
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Modern Subarus no longer use timing belts. They use timing chains, which don't have the intervals that the belts used to on the older Subarus.
That's awesome, as I have never been a fan of the timing belt. I would take a timing chain any day over a belt, and gear drive over chains. Do you happen to know when they made the transition to chains? It's a game-changer, in my book.
 
I want that 11 minutes back I wasted on that video. Comparing a Subaru and a Wrangler on a simple mostly flat dirt road where 4x4 wasn't even needed was something only a non-offroader would come up with. Then again the couple little undulations on that dirt road might have really scared those guys. They probably shifted into 4x4 as soon as their tires touched dirt as beginners tend to do lol.
 
FWIW I took my 2011 BMW on similar "trails" (dirt roads). If you want a car for 99% on-road driving and a few laps to a trailhead for hiking/biking/etc or a smaller trail just to get some dirt time, sure - get a sedan. If you want to get to spots most people may never see, you'll need something bigger.
 
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My wife and I were driving a Subaru with 48K on the clock 2 weeks ago in Santa Fe as my wife is considering trading in her POS Compass and I have to tell you that I was not impressed with the driveability of it with 48K, the suspension sounded like it was done with.
 
That's awesome, as I have never been a fan of the timing belt. I would take a timing chain any day over a belt, and gear drive over chains. Do you happen to know when they made the transition to chains? It's a game-changer, in my book.

It is a game changer, I agree. On the older Subarus you had to change the head gaskets and timing belts usually around every 70-80k miles.

They switched to chains in in 2011 I believe it was.

The chains are supposedly "life time" if I remember correctly, but you and I both know that's b.s.

I guess what they are getting at though is that the chains will last most people the life of the vehicle.
 
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They are excellent cars indeed, very reliable too!

My experience has never aligned with this. For the first 100k, sure they're fine (but almost any car is). When I look around the road for "cars that age well", a Subaru is very low on the list. I see more TJs than Outbacks + Foresters combined, and Colorado is big into Toyotas and Subarus (with Jeeps being a close 3rd). I've owned several and by 100k you'll likely want to offload them by then (the heads wear unevenly and they burn oil pretty rapidly).

They do have one of the better AWD systems though.
 
My experience has never aligned with this. For the first 100k, sure they're fine (but almost any car is). When I look around the road for "cars that age well", a Subaru is very low on the list. I see more TJs than Outbacks + Foresters combined, and Colorado is big into Toyotas and Subarus (with Jeeps being a close 3rd). I've owned several and by 100k you'll likely want to offload them by then (the heads wear unevenly and they burn oil pretty rapidly).

They do have one of the better AWD systems though.

Interesting! I've had a number of Subarus all with over 150k miles and none of them ever let me down. Definitely one of the most reliable vehicles I've ever owned. Hell, the one I had in my early twenties had 300k miles on it.
 
The '99 I had was purchased with only 45,000 miles on the clock when it needed head gaskets. It had the timing kit done at the same time as having the head gaskets replaced. 50,000 miles later, and we're doing a timing kit again, as well as a valve job. I dunno...just seems like there's more of a cult following that is based on something other actual reliability.
I truly enjoyed the comfort of the '99. Leather, power/heated everything, dual sunroofs. The damn hood on that car weighed more than the entire front clip of my Mazda Protege. But the H4 engine was never known for being as smooth of an engine as an inline 4. Gas mileage was always less, as well (both of these issues are heavily discussed in the Subaru forums). I always felt they were powerful enough, and the cars themselves are extremely sure-footed in the snow. After the '99 model year, the cars were redesigned, and felt lighter, both physically and in the steering. I never liked my '04 as much as I did the '99.
Everyone has different results with different auto manufacturers, so for those who love their little Subarus, more power to you. I would still own the '99 if I could have located a V8 conversion kit (yes, I actually looked for one!). But I still can say that the likelihood of me ever owning another one is about nil. I would, however, own a Subaru Rabbit...
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We had a 1999 Forester. It was the best car in snow that I have ever driven and it was a good DD in general. We tried a little bit of mild off-roading with it and broke a rear control arm pretty quick. We had all sorts of trouble with it including the head gaskets (which is pretty much a given with Subarus), noisy piston slap, high oil consumption, and some other things. We junked it after only 130k. Not acceptable in today’s world.

Have you seen that Utube video where they try some rock crawling with a Subaru? It was easy to get it into a situation where the CVT would just slip while getting red hot, unable to turn the wheels. The CVT may be great for mileage but not for off-road.
 
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Interesting! I've had a number of Subarus all with over 150k miles and none of them ever let me down. Definitely one of the most reliable vehicles I've ever owned. Hell, the one I had in my early twenties had 300k miles on it.

That’s awesome to hear! I definitely try to care for my cars, but those got out of hand fast. As others mentioned the head gasket, elongated cylinders, burning oil were all just too much. Pre 2008 they also sounded like a tin can, my LJR with a soft top was almost as good :lol:
 
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