Hello everyone, I have been scanning the posts in this NG for the past three hours and I am confident the questions I have will get answered (at least give me some food for thought) by some knowledgeable Subaru and Audi fans...
I am moving to the Vancouver area after several years abroad and will be looking for a new car as well. I will be living and working in the city during the week, but I forsee many weekend jaunts into the great outdoors and communte to Whistler EVERY weekend during the Ski/Snowboard season.
At the moment, I am considering the following options (in no particular order)
- Audi A3
- Audi A3 Quattro
- Subaru Outback
- Subaru Legacy
- Subaru Legacy Wagon
- Subaru Impreza Wagon
- Audi A4 Sedan
- Audi A4 Wagon
- Audi A4 Quattro Sedan
- Audi A4 Quatto Wagon
- VW GTI
Becuase I plan on driving in some adverse mountian weather, AWD is a feature I require. I have not had a chance to try ANY of these cars yet, as I am still on the road, but I would like to get some feedback on these choices. Basically, I have kind of grouped these choices into groups along these lines.
- GTI-A3-Impreza Wagon
- Legacy-A4
- Outback-Legacy Wagon-A4 Wagon
I am espcially looking forward to hearing people's thought on the Outback Vs. Legacy Wagon. What are some of the major differences? Also, does anyone else consider the Impreza Wagon to be able to compete with the A3? I would LOVE it if the VW came with an AWD system, but after hearing some pretty bad things about VW reliability, I might have to rethink it.
What are the qualitative differences between Audi's Quattro system and Subaru AWD?
What about Navi systems? Does anyone have any experience using them? I have been living in Japan for the past four years and most cars on the road (including taxis) come equipped with them. They are IMMENSELY useful, and to be honest I don't think I would drive in Japan in a car without one. What is the perception of them in North America? Useful or just "show-off" toys?
Thanks for ANY help anyone can give!