Would you still buy a Subaru if you didn't need AWD?

[SBT]

Yes - since 1976...

[RabidWombat]

Yep, I bought one and I don't need AWD.

 

Try finding a reliable non-FWD sport sedan. Guess what the option is.

Looked at several BMW's, nice cars, but a used 3-series was the same as a new LGT, and the BMW's didn't seem to hold up all that well.

[EvoFire]

IMO no one really needs AWD. If its snowing and you have to drive to work, any wheel drive with good tires will suffice.

 

If its really snowing really really hard enough for you to really really need AWD, you most likely don't have any business going out anyways. That is unless you live on a farm, which by then you'd have a truck. Though AWD is nice to have.

 

And at this rate, if I HAVE to buy a BRAND NEW car, Subaru is pretty far down the list for me. The Legacy is ugly on the outside, crappy on the inside. The Impreza is boring on the outside, and OMG WTF is this hard plastic crappy ugly low rent garbage on the inside. The Foresters is the only good looking one but I'm done with SUVs and the XT only comes in 4sp autotragic.

[Max Capacity]

IMO no one really needs AWD. If its snowing and you have to drive to work, any wheel drive with good tires will suffice.

 

If its really snowing really really hard enough for you to really really need AWD, you most likely don't have any business going out anyways. That is unless you live on a farm, which by then you'd have a truck. Though AWD is nice to have.

 

And at this rate, if I HAVE to buy a BRAND NEW car, Subaru is pretty far down the list for me. The Legacy is ugly on the outside, crappy on the inside. The Impreza is boring on the outside, and OMG WTF is this hard plastic crappy ugly low rent garbage on the inside. The Foresters is the only good looking one but I'm done with SUVs and the XT only comes in 4sp autotragic.

 

Obviously you don't ski.

 

I have no problem calling into work and say I want a vacation day becasue it's snowing to hard. But I would not think twice about driving 120 miles north on the snow storm to ski freshy's.

 

BTW I have done this more then a few times.

[BAC5.2]

I partially agree with EvoFire. You don't really NEED AWD because you COULD stay home. But, I agree with Max more. It is nice to not be limited by outside conditions, and a Subaru with snow tires means you'll always be able to go where you need to.

 

That said, if you live in a place in the south where snow is a rarity then I can't see any specific draw to Subaru, at least the newer ones. The 4th Gen, I can see why people would get them regardless of AWD.

 

As I said before, when we move south I'll probably get something european and rwd when the time comes to replace my Outback. Unless I can convince the wife to let me build my dream project. In which case, I'll try to find a second-hand Golf TDI to putt around in while I build a sleeper wagon.

[DirtyDan]

FWD is not an option.

I always prefer AWD with a turbo. Been that way for a long time. RWD is fine, I'd been driving cars that way for over 40 years. I've only been back in a Subaru a couple of months and it's been a lot of fun. It's the slowest car I've owned in years, but with today's gas prices (and every busybody with a cell phone that calls 911 if you fart loud), serious fast is always accompanied by encounters with police. All you have to do is drive fast, or corner hard and in a few blocks the local pd will be looking for a reason to check you out. That's why I've resisted the temptation to hot rod my car. It's quiet, and since it's de-badged, and that makes it hard to describe. Cops might be looking for a grey import sedan to pull over, but that is a pretty long list as long as that's all the description they get.

So, for now, the gray, AWD, semi-fast, nice, decently good gas mileage, comfortable sedan is a good choice.

[RJS5689]

The only reason I bought my Subaru was for the affordable AWD (I was also looking at a B7 S4, but that was a bit more than I wanted to spend, and I didn't want to buy a used vehicle.) Once I'm done with the Subaru it's getting sold and I won't be buying another one. I'll probably go back to a European car and get into something RWD. The e92 335i coupe is a serious contender, but we'll see what happens. I expect to keep this car for another two years anyway so who knows what my needs and the auto market will be like then.

[SubaruFanatic]

think about this... you want a sedan thats fairly priced and can kick the shit out of most other cars whyyyy?? because of AWD. I have a RWD trans am with over 400 hp my subaru will kill it in the first 3 gears because i can floor it without the tires going up in smoke. Even a fast FWD vehicle like a honda with a turbo is useless you just spin tires and get torque steer. I loved this car when I saw it and when I drove it I loved it more. I hate audi's cause I worked on them and subaru's reliability is much better IMO.

 

Also sorry guys but a RWD or FWD vehicle with snow tires does not come anywere close to subaru AWD. My friend drove his legacy with Nankang tires which aren't even good in the rain and didn't get stuck and we got pounded with snow.

[StoplightAssassin]

AWD was not the selling point of my car.

 

I got it b/c 5 years ago it was unlike any other car out there. 4 doors, unassuming understated looks, turbocharged, MT, not FWD or FWD biased AWD, relatively inexpensive, easy to work on, decent aftermarket, it wasn't an STi or EVO

 

So if the question is would I buy a Subaru that didn't have AWD, yes I would. However, would I buy any of their current models if it didn't have AWD? Not a chance!

[Gire]

+1

 

 

I bought this wagon (my first Subaru after owning other car brands, but mainly Acura) because it was a great looking wagon, and it was turbocharged. And being a reliable Japanese brand helped out a lot.

 

AWD was a bonus which I admit is nice, but not the deal maker.

 

 

If Acura ever puts a 6 or a turbo in their new TSX Wagon offering, I'll jump ship. I won't buy an Outback just because its an AWD 'wagon'. Its almost as big as a Tribeca when you put them side by side. No thanks.

[protoballer823]

If I didn't need it sometimes going back home, I don't think I would buy anything else. Subaru FTW

[StoplightAssassin]

If Acura ever puts a 6 or a turbo in their new TSX Wagon offering, I'll jump ship. I won't buy an Outback just because its an AWD 'wagon'. Its almost as big as a Tribeca when you put them side by side. No thanks.

 

I was just telling some of my buddies who are Acura salesmen why the TSX sucks. They looked at me befuddled.

[LosAngelesLGT]

Stock? Cant believe I'm saying this...

 

Hyundai Sonata Turbo > 5th G LGT by leaps and bounds

Hyundai Sonata N/a > 5th G Legacy by leaps and bounds

...I test drove them all last week back to back...

 

my friend bought a Sonata Turbo, I would have too

/thread

[ShrinerMonkey]

If Acura ever puts a 6 or a turbo in their new TSX Wagon offering, I'll jump ship.

Ditto. I might even choose it over the BMW 328i wagon simply because of the much better reliability. Current TSX, meh.

[vr4Legacy]

If I didn't need it sometimes going back home, I don't think I would buy anything else. Subaru FTW

 

So do you REALLY NEED it to get back home, or is it a nice convienence that makes the driver better? I'm not trying to knock your decision to purchase an AWD, I did when I was living in NC, in part to make my journeys back home to WV a bit nicer, but I had made those journeys in 2wd, fwd, rwd all just fine.

 

My biggest influence was the looks of the car and the fact I had to explain to the dealer that Subaru did indeed offer a Turbo Legacy ... I like being different.

 

But I agree with the Sonata comments.... 100k mile warranty on a turbo with good looks to boot.....

[Max Capacity]

Stock? Cant believe I'm saying this...

 

Hyundai Sonata Turbo > 5th G LGT by leaps and bounds

Hyundai Sonata N/a > 5th G Legacy by leaps and bounds

...I test drove them all last week back to back...

 

my friend bought a Sonata Turbo, I would have too

/thread

 

 

Just think what would happen if they put AWD in a turbo Sonata...

 

 

I secretly have been wanting to drive one of them turbo Sonata's too.

[SpecBGuy]

i would have gotten a civic si or kept my 350z or maybe a EVO. i think subaru would not have came this far if it wasnt for AWD.

also i live in Los Angeles one place on this planet where AWD is useless haha but then the turbo got me and AWD was just icing on the cake.

[underground000]

When I wanted a car, I wanted a car with AWD and Turbo

 

I wanted AWD because I like having the grip w/ spirited driving. I dont like the RWD tail happiness too much. And of course no FWD cause of torque steer when modding.

 

Yes I have been in a 400hp SRT4 (neon) and it torque steered crazy, even with a lsd

[IanB]

The Subaru is for my wife, and replaced her Acura 1.6EL, which was a great car (we've had 3, and I still have one of them). We needed something with more room, and AWD as it would serve as our primary car for driving to work, highway trips, etc and we get a real-deal winter here. Nobody else offered a wagon with AWD, that was under $20,000 even used. I didn't want an SUV as it would burn way too much gas (not that the Legacy is great in that respect), and a sedan wouldn't provide the room we were looking for. This has been the perfect car for the job, and hopefully we get another 5 years or so out of it, before replacing it with something newer.

 

I'm thinking maybe a used Audi wagon, A4 or A6 kind of thing, but that's ways off yet.

[rock2534]

I didn't need awd either, I had an 01 Acura CL Type-S for almost 7 yrs and loved it. Ran great in the snow with the blizzaks. I ideally wanted an Audi S4 but didn't feel like spending 40k+. I would have gotten the 07 TL-S if it had the SH-AWD, I had enough of the torque steer and wheel spin with the power the Acuras had and the FWD which was more like One Wheel drive. The LGT didn't do anything "the best", it just did a lot of things good, was a good compromise of what I was looking for.

[EvoFire]

Obviously you don't ski.

 

I have no problem calling into work and say I want a vacation day becasue it's snowing to hard. But I would not think twice about driving 120 miles north on the snow storm to ski freshy's.

 

BTW I have done this more then a few times.

 

I partially agree with EvoFire. You don't really NEED AWD because you COULD stay home. But, I agree with Max more. It is nice to not be limited by outside conditions, and a Subaru with snow tires means you'll always be able to go where you need to.

 

That said, if you live in a place in the south where snow is a rarity then I can't see any specific draw to Subaru, at least the newer ones. The 4th Gen, I can see why people would get them regardless of AWD.

 

As I said before, when we move south I'll probably get something european and rwd when the time comes to replace my Outback. Unless I can convince the wife to let me build my dream project. In which case, I'll try to find a second-hand Golf TDI to putt around in while I build a sleeper wagon.

 

I do ski, maybe I'm spoiled, we have 3 local ski mountains (20 to 30mins away, depending on traffic) and Whistler is only an hour and a half to 2 hours away. Most cars with snow tires will make it up the hill no problem. Half the time its well groomed a few hours after a storm.

[RJS5689]

I didn't need awd either, I had an 01 Acura CL Type-S for almost 7 yrs and loved it. Ran great in the snow with the blizzaks. I ideally wanted an Audi S4 but didn't feel like spending 40k+. I would have gotten the 07 TL-S if it had the SH-AWD, I had enough of the torque steer and wheel spin with the power the Acuras had and the FWD which was more like One Wheel drive. The LGT didn't do anything "the best", it just did a lot of things good, was a good compromise of what I was looking for.

That's what deterred me from the B7 S4 I was looking at. Even a year used it was still going to cost me a pretty penny over the Legacy (this was in 2008.)

 

My buddy drives a 2007 TL Type-S and you made a good choice not getting one. Mashing the gas in that care takes you for a bit of a back-and-forth with the torque steer. The steering also seems artificially heavy and disconnected in it. He also has the 5AT and it drives me nuts out on the road.

[bakabakablah]

That's what deterred me from the B7 S4 I was looking at. Even a year used it was still going to cost me a pretty penny over the Legacy (this was in 2008.)

 

My buddy drives a 2007 TL Type-S and you made a good choice not getting one. Mashing the gas in that care takes you for a bit of a back-and-forth with the torque steer. The steering also seems artificially heavy and disconnected in it. He also has the 5AT and it drives me nuts out on the road.

 

I believe the TL-S also had a problem with the 6MT... I forgot which gear it was specifically (I think it was 3rd?) but quite a few owners on the forums had their shifter pop out when under hard acceleration.

Even with the shifter issue, I'd love to have a TL-S... especially the 07 in black. It's a shame that they took something quite handsome and made the newer TL ugly as sin (more than the 5th gen Legacy)

[sactojesse]

I don't "need" AWD, but it is nice for those winter snowboarding trips. Not having to pull over and put on chains or cables when chain control is in effect is worth the gas mileage deficit, IMO.

 

That said, however, the amazing fuel economy that Hyundai is getting out of their new Sonata w/ direct injection or even without direct injection in the new Elantra is tempting, but both of those are sedans. I'm waiting for the next generation Elantra Touring/i30 to come out, hopefully w/ a similar 40 mpg highway rating as the 2011 Elantra sedan. Hyundai just introduced the i40 wagon in Geneva. I'm anxious to see if it makes it to the U.S. as the Sonata wagon. Also, can't wait for the 274 hp direct-injected 2.0T from the FWD Sonata to make it into the RWD Genesis coupe. That will be something!

[Rick]

Yes, even if I didn't need awd I would still own a Subaru!