If my wife gets a new car, I am recommending that she look at the Crosstrek since she does not like my new bigger Forester. As seniors, getting in and out of the car is important to us. My advice is test drive all 3 to see what suits you. I had met a woman that had an Outback but traded it in for a Forester after test driving. My brother had done the same thing.
I've been driving Foresters ever since the first model and cannot compare with others.
I want to be flexible in that regard. Most of the time I will drive it alone, but I also expect to have 3-4 passengers occasionly and some cargo as well.
I am planning to test drive all 3 of them, of course. I just hope by then they have the 2019 models around, too.
If that's 3-4 passengers and cargo (e.g. luggage or camping equipment) at the same time, the Impreza wagon would likely be too small for you. The Subaru website says the cargo capacity of the Crosstrek is just a bit bigger. The Forester has 50% more capacity than those two.
I once got two people, 3-4 suitcases, and two sets of skis into an Opel GT, but if one expects such situations to occur frequently, one is better off getting a larger car. :-) At least Subies have roof racks for skis...
Patty
Test drives are often too short and don't encounter all the roads you will drive upon. With a totally new vehicle, you may not recognize some sounds that will pester you later, like how much wind noise the door mirrors generate at highway speeds after driving for 10 minutes, or more, so you can tell from where the noise originates.
Rather than a test drive, ask if you can "rent" the car for week. We've done that with Subaru dealers. They'll take down all the same info as a rental agency; however, we didn't have to put anything down. Test drives lasting only maybe an hour don't show as much interest as does renting or getting a loaner for a week. They know you're interested in their brand and perhaps a model, or two. We didn't use the car for driving to and from work but just during the mid-days or evenings to run errands. We would make up errands to drive it twice per day, plus we wanted to be driving outside of rush hour so we could focus on the car rather than on the traffic. We would change up who would drive and who would be the passenger (in the front and rear seats).
You sure you were not driving in the stop-start driving mode? When the car stops (zero or very low RPM, your foot on the brake, no wheel rotation), the engine is turned off. Yep, that's right, I'm not making this up -- the engine goes OFF at a stop. If you idle long enough at the stop, the engine periodically comes back on to recharge the battery and then the engine goes off again. At really long red lights, the engine might restart several times to prevent the battery from getting too weak. When you release the brake and start to accelerate from a stop, there is a lag until the engine restarts before you'll have power to move. Your foot comes off the brake pedal, the transmission gets re-engaged, and the engine has to rev up.
Some cities now mandate this driving mode to reduce pollution. Great for mileage but not for responsiveness from a stop and I'm not sure that all that stopping and starting of the engine has no additional wear on the engine. How can a starter used twice a day, on average, (start at home to go to work, start at work to go home) not wear and break faster when it has to also restart the car after every red light going green?
What you describe for behavior when resuming from a stop sounds more like the stop-start scheme than anything to do with the CVT.
Interesting. I hadn't heard of this technology. I just found this article from AutoWeek:
Patty
I'm not certain but think all the '19's will have the Eye Sight system as standard equipment. I would hold for them too.
I have had the start/stop feature on BMWs and Audis, so I know whereof you speak. The Escape I was given did not have this feature. Perhaps you were given a more upscale model, or a newer model that had the start/stop option.
I refer only to the fact that when I wanted to leave a stop, the engine would rev and the car began to move, but much more slowly than the engine revs would indicate. As if there was a rubber band that took some time to wind up before it delivered full power to the wheels.
As I said in my original post on this topic: I have heard that Subaru does have one of the better implementations of the CVT, including having a pseudo manual shifting mode, and I am quite willing to believe that this "rubber band" effect is not present on their vehicles.
My BMW has an option to permanently disable the start/stop function. I generally have it turned off, as it gets annoying in circumstances such as trying to make a left turn at lights, where you want to be able to move ahead as soon as there is a break in oncoming traffic which may be only a few seconds or when you arrive at a red light that turns green a few seconds later.
My Audi does not allow for turning the function off permanently, but there is a button that turns it off. Unfortunately, the system resets every time the car is started, so disabling the start/stop function has become part of my start routine, like fastening my seatbelt.
And, to your last point: yes, the battery and starting system have been significantly upgraded to withstand the more frequent use.
I've only seen an announcement for universal EyeSight for the 2019 Forester although it may be there for the other models too. See:
I think I saw it for the Crosstrek and Ascent too.
The CVTs in Nissans have had a long history of complaints.
If you're looking at off-the-line fast starts, quick 0-60 acceleration with not hesitation, or otherwise gulping down the gas, and you must have an automatic instead of a manual, maybe get a car with a DCT: 2 clutches, one for odd gears, one for even gears, for smooth acceleration (no manual jerking) since there is no interruption of torque to the wheels. Just don't use that car for commuting in the city or stalled in rush-hour highway driving that moves slower than the frontage road. It's your play car.
You might find this humorous:
One thing about Subaru is that they will deny problems despite mountains of evidence. Instead of putting in the sportier gasket that has ribs to fit inside grooves in the engine block, they denied the problem until forced and their solution was to use an engine leak in their "special" coolant to plug the holes. I had to do that on my 2002 Subie Legacy. Once the oil is noticed on the block, you need to get the gasket replaced before coolant gets inside to ruin the pistons and cylinders. Rather than retool their assembly line to use the better gasket, they hid the truth and then went to a stopleak solution (rolls eyes). Subaru is not immune to the antics evidenced by every auto maker to cover their mistakes. While I like Subies, I didn't want to present a blind fantasy view that they do no evil.
Now go do the same level of research on CVTs in other brands and you'll find problems there, too. Nothing is perfect.
Ahh MRT Performance, great video!
I've heard a long time ago that the six cylinder Subarus have a strengthened CVT that can handle the big torque of the 3.6 liter engine.
I own two Subarus- live in a location were they are very popular (Sierra Nevada) and had some friends ask me if Subarus are reliable and should they buy one. I try to explain that "yes" they are very reliable, in a sense that nothing breaks because of poor quality, poor workmanship. Quality-wise components are on par with Toyota, Honda, Nissan but some specific areas have under-engineering issues,
...are prone to give trouble or fail such as wheel bearings, gaskets on old 2.5 EJ engines, piston rings on high powered turbo cars. These problematic areas can give trouble and frequently do, but overall Subaru's are very and good quality-wise.
A lot of failures are related to modifications made by owners or abuse. Subarus particularly WRX'es are very frequently modified and abuses by their enthusiast owners.
Very frequently Subarus encounter severe service, such as high speed mountainous driving, and that can also take a toll on the drivetrain. I've personally replaced wheel bearings on my Impreza six times in 18 years, but it is not Subarus fault but normal wear given my driving style. I drive fast on curvy mountainous roads. To stay within speed limits, avoid speeding tickets I tend to accelerate, try to maintain high speed on steep inclines, that puts a lot of stress on drivetrain.
If I where to buy a CVT I am sure I would encounter some problems. My regular Auto with is equipped with an oversized transmission cooler, has cooling fins put on trannsmission fitler and so it has been coping splendidly with my demands. Has more that
125k miles of tortuous driving. Speaks very well of Subaru quality.Basia
Do Subarus have a disable function for that start-stop function? I wouldn't like to drive with it.
Why can't Subarus make the wheel bearings the way Honda does. My '94 Accord never needed bearing change.
What month are expected the next year models in showrooms?
Subaru doesn't have start-stop so I guess you could say it is permanently disabled from the factory.
Every so often, my 2013 Outback seems a big sluggish coming out of a stop. I'll pay more attention and try to determine under what conditions that happens.
Hah, that guy is funny.
For those who just want the CVT part, it starts here:
Patty
Back in 1994 when I got my first Subaru, I spent a couple of weeks in Truckee. Even back then, when Subies weren't nearly as popular in the U.S. as they are now, the Safeway parking lot in Truckee looked like a Subaru dealership. :-)
Patty
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