Impreza wagon WTB

Go test drive some - maybe at Carmax or a soob dealer. The legacy wagons probably have the room to sleep you're looking for, gonna be a little cramped in the Impreza. Late 90s 2.5s have increased chance of serious headgasket problems - I'd wanna know they had been changed or get a big enough discount to have them fixed should you experience a failure. Not all of them fail - but its a concern. Early '00s have a coolant 'weeping' problem with headgaskets(seems like it's more common in colder climates), treated with a soob additive they should be OK. for details about various models, check

Keep in mind that the more 'used' a car is, the more its present condition and past care determine its future reliability than the entire MODEL'S repair record. That is, a mistreated used Honda may be a worse buy than a pampered used Jaguar.

Carl

Carl

Having tried to sleep in the back of my Outback, I can say that I was damned uncomfortable and I'm

5'6". The rear surface does not go completely flat when you collapse the rear seat.

I strongly suggest you actually try lying down in the rear of the car. It's not such an outrageous request (:

thanks guys

I am of course going to get physicaL when I find what I am looking for...

BUT which SUBARU ??? I like the idea of a cross country sleeper so maybe the legacy is better but rougher on gas and not as reliable as an Impreza which seems according to a few surveys to have the edge on a Legacy for this ??

where would funds permitting draw the line going backwards 1995 96 because they still used freon or something major was finally corrected in 98 You KNOW what I mean 8) ?

thanks for everything so far

Michael

I would recommend you look at newer Subaru's, as the HG issues were resolved and there were a number of other small improvements.

As far as engine choices for post 02' Imprezas, you basically have 2:

- The naturally aspirated 2.5 liter in the RS and TS models- cheaper and more economical.

- The turbo 2.0 or 2.5(in '06) liter in the WRX - more powerful, but more expensive and obviously eats more gas.

Unless you are looking for a performance vehicle (which it doesn't sound like you are), I'd go with an RS or TS model.

As far as realiability... I would say that since all Subaru's share the same mechanical components (for the most part), reliability should be the same across all models. It's often hard to get a precise measurement of reliability from surveys, since they tend to be subjective.

A legacy won't be much different on gas, since it will have the same engine as the Impreza, and it's not that much heavier.

You might also want to look at the Forester... which is basically an Impreza with a taller (and longer?) body.

I bought my '02 WRX wagon through a cars.com private seller. You can have my black '02 WRX wagon for $16000. I live in NJ.

Does your Outback's Rear seat bottom lift up-forward? When we do that before flopping the seat backs down - we get a flat cargo area in the wife's '03 OBW (that's a Legacy Outback - not Ouback Sport OBS).

Also, I think, if you train yourself to keep your foot out of the turbo, you CAN get respectable gas mileage.

Also, the suggestion to look at Foresters is a good one.

Carl

thanks everyone again for your thoughts !!

Let me see now ...8)

Dont get a Subaru built before EARLY '99 as the HG prob didnt get fixed up until then.

All Subarus are basically the same The cargo area in an outback is the longest as well as a Forester and the 2.5 engine is less thirsty than the blowered 2.0 ...and the 2.5 "fixed" after early 99 engine is easily recognisable as the engine with a single cam engine ?

Any other caveats would be welcome lets see now cargo/ sleeping space seems to be the only issue as fuel economyis largely the same in each vehicle...?

OKEY DOKEY ...

which has the longest flat space behind the drivers seat then?

if I have missed some other vital criterion please tell me now as Iam just about ready to start looking!!

cheers

Michael