Subaru - great car or pretentious douchemobile?

This thread is 10 years old. When it was written, the Subaru outback had a very distinctive station wagon look that set them apart from other cars on the road. Starting in 2010, the Subaru outback generation 4 looked a lot more like a small SUV. Today, you can't tell them apart from anything else on the road. I bought a 2012 Subaru outback a few months ago but I was very careful to make sure that the head gasket had been replaced with aftermarket metal head gaskets. That solves the oil burning problem. I'm told it's a newer Subarus don't have this problem.

btw, I'm neither a Karen nor a crunchy-type and I like Subarus. I'm on my second.

They did a major remodel in 2015 for the Legacy/Outback. Don't know about the other models. They always lagged behind their competitors in gas mileage, and in the new model they tuned the engine to be competitive, which they are now. They lost some of the torquey pop they had before and I miss that. I wish they had a sport mode button. You can overcome the sluggishness with the paddle shifters or just by having a heavier foot, but I still miss the old feel.

What? At no point was Subaru either of those things.

Subaru's have never been great cars or pretentious douchemobiles. They are average cars with average performance, average reliability, and shorter than average lifespans, but they generally have 4WD. I understand why people would choose a Subaru if they need 4WD for winter driving and want a low sticker price car. I don't think that overall lifetime cost pans out well, but you can get a lower upfront cost. Not exactly pretentious or great...

I'm a big Subaru fan and I don't disagree with this. They're not objectively great, I just like them. The features of the car and the whole feel and package suit me. That's it.

Pretentious? This thread (which I missed 10 years ago) is the first I've heard a Subaru being called pretentious. They're quirky, uncool cars.

So a closet Karen waiting to come out.   

Have owned them in the past. Unlike most of you, I live somewhere that gets almost 200" of snow a year. No not in the mountains nearby me, actually where I live.

They are good in the snow but I see zero reason to own one when I can get a 2022 Colorado Tacoma frontier or ranger that can get 20mph, way more towing and hauling power and better in deep snow. Basically better in every way with similar expenses and vehicle footprint.

Subarus are great cars. Actually though "eco-nuts" aren't overly fond of Subarus because they all have all-wheel drive which gives them a lower MPG.

The Crosstrek is a GREAT car, and I tried to get a 2022 one back in the fall, but due to the chip shortage, there were none available in my city, so I went with my second choice, a Hyundai Kona (AWD and 4WD at the push of a button). I am happy with that decision.

Any make of car that has great reliability should be off any "doucemobile" car brand. The only exception I know here is the Hyundai Veloster. Hyundais are great, increasing in reliability and initial quality all the time, loaded with quality features as reasonable prices, etc., but the Veloster attracts douches for some reason. I do not know why that is, but every person I have seen step out of a Veloster was a huge douche. I understand that is just anecdotal, but so far it's a 100% thing.

And, yes, I just saw this thread is 10 years old. Jeebus, who resurrects these old threads?

I was searching old posts and saw this one.  You claim douchebag owner recognition on Velosters and I noticed the personalities of Subaru owners today are very Karen.  Same difference.  

Dang, Flagpole! I thought that we were friends?

How do you like your Kona? I am thinking about getting the new Kona N to replace my Veloster Turbo.

My first new car was a 2002 Forester 5 speed. Great car. Drove it to 175,000 miles and grew tired of it. Original clutch and replaced the brakes only once. Bought another one in 2009. Drove it till 190,00. It was not as fun as the 02. However, they have changed and the CVT transmission leaves one wanting more. Plus the are so ubiquitous these days. I now drive a new GX460. The best. Eats Subarus for lunch. It has a soul and Lexus only makes a certain amount each year. A true SUV. Those who know, know.

Subaru, state car of Vermont.
They are good, practical awd, Quirky.
Lot of Toyota in there too

I'm more concerned with how many people think that you pluralize a word that ends with a vowel by adding an apostrophe to it.

SUBARUS is plural for Subaru.

Well, I did say it was anecdotal. What is true is that everyone I have seen step out of a Veloster has been a douchebag...some with clear other signs like vaping or flat brimmed hats. I haven't seen YOU step out of yours, so perhaps you are the exception.

The Kona is awesome, and the Kona N would be even better. I HIGHLY recommend it.

Some things though:

1) Trunk space is VERY small. Not a big deal for us since it's just The Lovely Mrs. Flagpole and me since the kids are out of the house, and the rear seats fold down if we need more room for big things, but just the trunk as it is designed, it's pretty small.

2) ONE of the reasons I like the Kona so much is that it has a tons of newer technology that my other cars didn't, so to be fair, MOST new cars would have them...backup camera, big screen that can show GPS, Amazon Music songs to scroll through, etc., lane assist, warning beeps and lights as you might back up or switch lanes if something is there, etc.

3) We got the AWD version, and it is 4WD at the push of a button. This is awesome, and I've benefitted from it greatly this winter. My wife loves that feature especially and the backup camera.

4) It is a very nice looking small SUV. One of the best looking mass produced cars on the road in my opinion. If I were in the market for another car (which I could be as one of my other two cars is a 2011 Honda CRV which still is great, but who knows when it will be time to get rid of that one), I would seriously consider a Hyundai Venue. Images online don't do it justice. One of my neighbors has one, and it is badass.

Anyway, I see you getting a Kona N as a BIG STEP UP from the Veloster.

Ok. That's fair.

Lexus makes some nice cars. Toyota's luxury brand, so hard to go wrong there.

Kind of like comparing apples to oranges though as Subarus aren't luxury cars. I'm not a car guy, so when I buy a car, I want reliability, function, and safety for a decent price. My 2022 Huyndai Kona AWD (so, not even the cheapest Kona) cost me less than half what your GX460 cost. I'm good with that.

Lexus, Subaru and Hyundai are in different price segments for a reason.

Lexus is premium

Subaru is rock solid

Hyundai is cheap

As always, you get what you pay for.

Subaru build solid cars which last a lot of miles. They have a huge fan base for the outdoorsy types for a reason.

I have not driven Hyundai but the Kia I had as a rental seem to fall apart already after 10,000 miles.

good solid car

the douchemobile of 2022 are rangerovers