Any Subaru drivers here?

[Sancho]

I'm thinking about getting a Subaru XV and am looking for user experiences, especially for the petrol engines.

[Twinfan]

Very reliable generally, the Impreza with the boxer turbo engine is legendary.

Non-turbos are a bit agricultural feeling and inefficient on fuel, but they're full of character if that's your thing.

[HTH AMPS]

I always think of them as charver cars...  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_bjUjJ0kJyc

[Sancho]

Very reliable generally, the Impreza with the boxer turbo engine is legendary.

Non-turbos are a bit agricultural feeling and inefficient on fuel, but they're full of character if that's your thing.

The turbo charged versions are way beyond my financial reach. The government has seen to that :?
I'd go for the non-turbocharged 2 liter petrol engine.

I want a car that'll get me through, no matter the weather. I'm missing rehearsal today (with a gig next week) because my Colt Ralliart can't cope with the snow...

[juansolo]

Had a 2005 WRX. I know it doesn't count for the one you're considering, but against mine was it was massively thirsty, very expensive to tax/insure and attracted all sorts of unwanted attention from knobheads to thieves. In it's favour, they're bulletproof if you leave them alone (all the ones that break are modded) and brilliant fun to drive. Not to mention dirt cheap for the performance on offer.

Wouldn't have another (for the reasons above), but loved it while I had it.

If you want a functional 4x4 with loads of space, silly good value, great reliability and cheap to run, nothing touches a diesel Nissan X-Trail. Not the last word in driving dynamics by any means. But it does drive like a car rather than a truck, is surprisingly comfortable and can do 35mpg no problem.

It's not a proper offroader. It's more of a car that's designed to be driven in the worst conditions that you might ever face on the road.

[Sancho]

Not too keen on the X Trail from a design point of view. And yes, that matters too :oops:
Mitsubishi ASX is in the running too, but the XV is by far the cheapest of the lot (probably because you don't see too many Subaru's round here)

[Sancho]

Went for a test drive with the 1.6 petrol XV.
What I didn't like : the lack of power from the engine.
What I did like : most everything else, really. Build quality is excellent, enjoyed the ride even with the underpowered engine, has all creature comforts I look for in a car...

The dealer gave me an amazing trade in for my three year old Colt Ralliart. My net price is 55% of the catalogue value.
I think I'm going to the dealer's on monday to seal the deal on a 2.0 petrol. No need for diesel, and that's a fairly indestructible engine.