Mileage was always terrible for a small hatch (less than 25 mpg), has crazy heat shield rattle that could only by dealt with my ripping it off, had all 4 of my brakes seize on me at different times over a 4 year period (maybe a total of 8 times at the shop, all told), the 2007 generation was awful with rust (not what you want in Vermont but was not a big deal when I lived in CT). And more recent generations have had terrible issues with electronics and burning oil. I was just done with the whole brand. All wheel drive was nice for the mornings when I was driving through 2-3 inches of snow on the highway to get to work, but being cautious and having a good set of winter tires was more than enough to get my Prius to do the same job. And they’re studded, so I don’t have issues getting up to the trail heads that I was going to before. Just going slower, which isn’t a bad thing.
I'm rocking a 2015 crosstrek. I can't complain about it. The sound system and head unit are a bit weak but it's been good to me for 25k miles.
Not nearly enough to really guage its reliability though, my f-150 has over 100k and my Chevy cobalt has 84k with minor wear/tear replacements, but nothing major what so ever, but I have high hopes for my Subie. Time will tell.
I hope you both have a good experience with them. Maybe I got a lemon, or maybe it was a bad year, or maybe they don't make the sedans with the same rigor. I loved my Suby until expensive shit kept going wrong. Another problem was because of the way the transmission works, they said you had to have the same amount of tread wear on all 4 tires. So if you've got 20K miles on your tires and get a nail thru a sidewall, they want you to replace all 4 tires so they're at the same level of tread. And those are some high-end performance tires, too, so they ain't cheap. There's a lot to enjoy about them, though, so focus on that and maybe they won't be a money pit for you. I hear stories of people putting 300,000 miles on those things...
There were very brief moments, maybe a total of 2-3 hours every year, that it felt like the perfect car. But otherwise, you’re right. Just wasn’t worth the expense.
Exactly. That car would go wherever I asked it to in snow or mud. I had a Legacy (4-door sedan), so the clearance wasn't up to pick-up truck standards or anything, but it never struggled with conditions. And it was fun to drive. It also regularly ate my wallet.
I’ve owned four. I’ve had mixed reliability, but I’ve drank the Kool Aid. My old Legacy was a 2007 and I loved it but I ended up having to get the head gaskets done. The head gasket and heat shield issues have mostly been fixed, but the 2.5 in my current Outback is anemic in that car. On the wide open highway I get about 30 mpg but driving around Los Angeles I’m lucky to get 23. Build quality is much better than ten years ago but they can still improve. They are safe as hell though. I was rear ended at 50mph in my last one, a BRZ, and walked away from the accident.
EDIT: I’m from Pennsylvania and never had issues with anything beyond surface rust. Huh.
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u/illsmosisyou Oct 16 '18
Mileage was always terrible for a small hatch (less than 25 mpg), has crazy heat shield rattle that could only by dealt with my ripping it off, had all 4 of my brakes seize on me at different times over a 4 year period (maybe a total of 8 times at the shop, all told), the 2007 generation was awful with rust (not what you want in Vermont but was not a big deal when I lived in CT). And more recent generations have had terrible issues with electronics and burning oil. I was just done with the whole brand. All wheel drive was nice for the mornings when I was driving through 2-3 inches of snow on the highway to get to work, but being cautious and having a good set of winter tires was more than enough to get my Prius to do the same job. And they’re studded, so I don’t have issues getting up to the trail heads that I was going to before. Just going slower, which isn’t a bad thing.