Quote:
Originally Posted by redpoint5
Cosmick goes too far in putting down Subaru. Sure, you won't be doing vertical rock climbing in one, but the offroad capabilities are substantial. Ground clearance is the only thing that stopped me in my 1996 Legacy. I've pulled many pickup trucks out of the ditch on snowy days. The neutral handling in slick conditions is excellent.
The head gasket issue is no joke. Just plan to loose one every 100k. To have this known problem over several decades of manufacturing seems outrageous to me. I will say that my 1996 Legacy never had a head gasket leak in over 240,000 miles. Perhaps the 2.2L engine doesn't have the problem?
The manual transmission is the way to go. The auto is just too sluggish and gets far worse fuel economy. I averaged 28 MPG in my old Legacy.
You might consider a RAV 4 or CRV, although I don't have any experience with them.
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Headgaskets can and do go longer then 100,000. Mine went 160k on a 2002 and really wasn't a problem just a small oil leak. The clutch was done and the easiest way to do the clutch is to pull the motor, so I also did timing belt and pullies, water pump, headgaskets for a grand total of $400 in parts. About an 8 hour job for me a mailman with basic tools and a harbor freight cherry picker. What kills the gaskets is the basic design. The flat 4 keeps oil and coolant pooled next to the gasket when off, also poor grounding makes that aera part of the electrical circuit. Keep the grounds good and clean, maybe add one, keep the coolant fresh and I bet the gaskets go even longer then mine did. No need to rebuild it when doing the gaskets, mine still had beautiful cylinder walls at 165k. Big deal a blazer getting 28 on the highway, I get that doing short trip, stop and go city driving. I can drive forever up to and in the mountains on that little 13 gallon tank.
Also if you do get a Forester stuck, one guy and a hi-lift jack and a tow strap will make quick work of it. When we go my Hemi full size SUV stuck this spring it too 6 guys 8 hours to get it out and even the 4wd F450 tow truck got stuck trying.