Subaru owners, please pitch in...

[Jumpem]

the wrx doesnt get 30mpgs
you are either miscalcing
or straight up liying to yourself
but not in any year did it come close 2.0 or 2.5
in the 100,000 miles i put on my 3 subarus non of them touched 30
but do what u want op, u can trust actual data or u can trust absurd anecdotal evidence

I never mentioned a WRX getting 30mpg. I said it was an Outback with the CVT.

 

[spaceman]

i was referring to the other poster
still
epa est 25mpg mixed for the outback cvt
22/29

 

[spaceman]

ive never known anyone
with any subaru
to
average 30mpgs
well i knew a fat girl with a justy back in the day, maybe she did

 

[roguerower]

OP - 2500lbs isn't alot. You need to add the weight of the trailer to the weight max also.

Agreed, in the grand scheme of things, 2500# is a drop in the hat, BUT I need to be able to tow that sort of weight randomly, i.e. motorcycle to the track, moving, etc. This is not a vehicle which will be towing things on a regular basis.

and u never went back to your other thread
why so myopic about frontier ranger and tacoma?
fuel economy?
4wd models are nearly as bad as their fullsize cousins
dont buy into the fallacy that small pus are better on gas
unless u go with a stripped 2wd 4 banger they arent or the difference is so miniscule youll wonder why u did
u wanna tow, and not be limitied get a small v8 f series
or sierra/silverado

spaceman, no offense man but the way you post is really screwed up and somewhat hard to follow sometimes. I didn't abandon my previous post, I just did a little bit of thinking over the past week and rather than dredge up an old post which was about a different topic I decided to start a fresh one with a more relevant title.

I have no qualms about any of the small light duty trucks, but as gas prices rise up I'd like to ensure that the USED vehicle I'm going to purchase gets decent mileage for COMMUTING. Towing will be done on a limited basis and is just one of the factors at play in this decision. To get decent gas mileage stock I'd have to pick up a newer truck with newer technology and I don't have the money for that now. I will be buying mid 2000's tech.

It's not like he's going to be towing a boat every single day he owns this vehicle

This. See first response.

Factors involved in decision:
-Brand reputation
-Vehicle reputation
-Maintenance issues/quirks
-Fit (driver)
-Usability (everyday driving)
-MPG
-Responsiveness (acceleration, braking, steering)
-Payload/Towing (getting really tired of a 2 door coupe with a small trunk)

 

[ShawnD1]

You aren't going to tow shit with a CVT.

Why not? Nissan feels that it's appropriate. Not that I trust Nissan, but some members on this forum (jules) trust them enough to drive Nissan vehicles. Nissan Murano with a CVT is rated for 3500 pounds.

 

[EightySix Four]

Why not? Nissan feels that it's appropriate. Not that I trust Nissan, but some members on this forum (jules) trust them enough to drive Nissan vehicles. Nissan Murano with a CVT is rated for 3500 pounds.

And Subaru recommends against towing with the CVT but supplies the max as 1000 without trailer break and 3500 with. They also require you replace the CVT oil on an earlier schedule.

 

[Bignate603]

If you drive like a normal person and hammer it foot the floor from 0-70mph while pulling 2500lbs, the transmission will toyotally fail in a very short time.

I think I've figured out why your transmission failed.

 

[ballmode]

That is not driving normally.

But in a toyota corolla it can do EVERYTHING

 

[Kadarin]

Just chiming in to say that I like my '10 STi, it's a fun little car to drive. I'll be sad to see it go if I decide to get the Shelby.

 

[Doppel]

ive never known anyone
with any subaru
to
average 30mpgs
well i knew a fat girl with a justy back in the day, maybe she did

They are pretty freaking
awful on gas, basically the entire line up of Subarus. The
numbers at fueleconomy.gov
(site is partially down at this moment, though)
indicate
numbers in the base impreza
frankly not much better than a current Honda
Odyssey. I assume the AWD is substantially to blame
but even still.

 

[jlee]

Agreed, in the grand scheme of things, 2500# is a drop in the hat, BUT I need to be able to tow that sort of weight randomly, i.e. motorcycle to the track, moving, etc. This is not a vehicle which will be towing things on a regular basis.

That's one reason I bought my Forester - 2400lb towing capacity for the odd snowmobile trailer/etc.

 

[exar333]

They are pretty freaking
awful on gas, basically the entire line up of Subarus. The
numbers at fueleconomy.gov
(site is partially down at this moment, though)
indicate
numbers in the base impreza
frankly not much better than a current Honda
Odyssey. I assume the AWD is substantially to blame
but even still.

I believe the poster was referring to the 2012 Impreza with the new 2.0 and CVT rated at 36 MPGs. Current Subarus are definitely not that high, agreed.

 

[Kadarin]

I believe the poster was referring to the 2012 Impreza with the new 2.0 and CVT rated at 36 MPGs. Current Subarus are definitely not that high, agreed.

Yeah, STi gets about 17-20mpg or so, I think.

 

[FiLeZz]

I average between 25 and 27, and have seen 30+ easily on highway trips in my 05 wrx.

I pulled two Honda Skis with a muron with CVT did fine.

 

[FiLeZz]

Just chiming in to say that I like my '10 STi, it's a fun little car to drive. I'll be sad to see it go if I decide to get the Shelby.

I bought My STI in April of 2010, I now have 5200 miles on her.


How Many miles on your STI now?

 

[Demo24]

the wrx doesnt get 30mpgs
you are either miscalcing
or straight up liying to yourself
but not in any year did it come close 2.0 or 2.5
in the 100,000 miles i put on my 3 subarus non of them touched 30
but do what u want op, u can trust actual data or u can trust absurd anecdotal evidence

Shrug, I've calculated it enough to know what my car gets. I've averaged 22, and I've averaged ~31 before. All depends on the trip. Usually get 25-27, not really that hard. 2.0l with the 5spd, sweet spot between 2-3k.

 

[roguerower]

Here's another question...if I look at a Subaru (either a Forrester, Outback, or Baja) at what mileage should I start getting wary? 150k? 175k? 200k?

 

[spaceman]

i owned the same car for 3 yrs
(an 04 with the 2.0 5spd)
never average near 30mpg
closer to 24 mpg like the vast majority seem to get
31mpg in a wrx is certainly not "average" or even very realistic

 

[Demo24]

Here's another question...if I look at a Subaru (either a Forrester, Outback, or Baja) at what mileage should I start getting wary? 150k? 175k? 200k?

Depends on what year. I've seen a fair number over 150k, but any car in that range is going to need added maintenance.

 

[jlee]

Here's another question...if I look at a Subaru (either a Forrester, Outback, or Baja) at what mileage should I start getting wary? 150k? 175k? 200k?

The biggest service is every 105k (timing belt) - personally, I replaced timing belt, tensioner, water pump and idler pulleys. Expect to pay close to $1k if you have a dealer do that. That's really the only major thing I'd warn you about...wouldn't want to see you pick one up at 103k and run into that in a month.

I needed a turbo at 109k, so I put a used VF39 (STi turbo) in, but a stock (used) replacement would've been about $150. At 113k, my left rear wheel bearing is well on its way out. Nothing huge or unexpected, but just keep in mind that when cars get older, stuff starts to wear out.

 

[rstrohkirch]

My 07 outback 2.5i 4sp auto averages only about 23mpg expressway. It has a 29mi commute 5 days a week and 27mi of it on the expressway with the cruise set at 75mph. It averages about 25mpg if I take a different route doing the same 29mi total distance but cruise at 60mph.

 

[StrangeRanger]

Something I've not seen you mention really is comfort. Sounds like you'll be doing much more commuting than towing and depending on where you live a light truck/small pick up can suck as a commuter. They're stiffer and bumpier and harder on your bones. You might have decent roads in TX, but up here in the northeast winter/spring roads will shake the teeth out of your head.
Dood, the Baja is one ugly friggin ride. If you go Subie do the Outback. The Baja has no extra space and yer shit is outside the car.
I've got 105K on my '05 Outback (H6) and love it. Thing is a trooper and hauls a shit ton of stuff when I need it to. I've also hauled small boats, snow machines etc with no probs at all.

 

[roguerower]

Something I've not seen you mention really is comfort. Sounds like you'll be doing much more commuting than towing and depending on where you live a light truck/small pick up can suck as a commuter. They're stiffer and bumpier and harder on your bones. You might have decent roads in TX, but up here in the northeast winter/spring roads will shake the teeth out of your head.
Dood, the Baja is one ugly friggin ride. If you go Subie do the Outback. The Baja has no extra space and yer shit is outside the car.
I've got 105K on my '05 Outback (H6) and love it. Thing is a trooper and hauls a shit ton of stuff when I need it to. I've also hauled small boats, snow machines etc with no probs at all.

You are right in that I will be doing a lot of commuting and I don't have sufficient time in a light truck to know how they handle as a commuter. The highways in TX are a dream but the city roads (at least in San Antonio) are massive pieces of shit and the 5mi commute to work every day is horrible in my civic.

I know the Baja is one fucked up looking car but that's kind of the appeal...the big problem I see with it is that the "bed" is big enough for small shit but not really big enough for anything worthwhile. That said, I think my interest in the Baja is fading after seeing a few more and thinking about it from a practical standpoint.

After doing a little bit more reading I've turned my attention to the Impreza WRX Wagon. From what I understand (and please correct me if I'm wrong) the base model is almost the exact same (besides some tuneup and safety features)as the rally cars that have won glowing reviews. It looks like it's rated for about 2,000# towing which would be more than enough for my needs (moving or towing sportbike), the performance is pretty damn good (based on reviews) so I can be satisfied that as a 23yo I'm not settling into a 4-door wagon that handles like a turd, and I like the sleek look of it. The only question is manual or automatic?

Thoughts...?

EDIT: It looks like I'll also lose about 2.5" of ground clearance moving from the outback to the impreza. Not a big deal but it is a difference. I'm also not a big fan of the Forester. IMO it looks worse than the Baja. Looks like a wagon with an extra couple of inches on top.

 

[jlee]

You are right in that I will be doing a lot of commuting and I don't have sufficient time in a light truck to know how they handle as a commuter. The highways in TX are a dream but the city roads (at least in San Antonio) are massive pieces of shit and the 5mi commute to work every day is horrible in my civic.

I know the Baja is one fucked up looking car but that's kind of the appeal...the big problem I see with it is that the "bed" is big enough for small shit but not really big enough for anything worthwhile. That said, I think my interest in the Baja is fading after seeing a few more and thinking about it from a practical standpoint.

After doing a little bit more reading I've turned my attention to the Impreza WRX Wagon. From what I understand (and please correct me if I'm wrong) the base model is almost the exact same (besides some tuneup and safety features)as the rally cars that have won glowing reviews. It looks like it's rated for about 2,000# towing which would be more than enough for my needs (moving or towing sportbike), the performance is pretty damn good (based on reviews) so I can be satisfied that as a 23yo I'm not settling into a 4-door wagon that handles like a turd, and I like the sleek look of it. The only question is manual or automatic?

Thoughts...?

EDIT: It looks like I'll also lose about 2.5" of ground clearance moving from the outback to the impreza. Not a big deal but it is a difference. I'm also not a big fan of the Forester. IMO it looks worse than the Baja. Looks like a wagon with an extra couple of inches on top.

And underneath. And the XT has a real engine, not a pansy 2 liter.

 

[BurnItDwn]

I got a Forester here (non turbo, automatic)

I've towed a steel snowmobile trailer with 2 snowmobiles a couple of times... total weight of both sleds and the trailer is under 1500 pounds, had no problems at all. I've also purchased 2 x 24inch wide lower kitchen cabinets and they both fit in the back of the wagon just fine with plenty of room for all the other crap I got at menards. I can also fit my bike in the back so I don't have to use one of those bike carrier things. I average about 25mpg mixed city/highway, and really have no complaints about the car. Can't speak on account of baha or outback though...