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Central Kansas | Currently am driving our 3rd Subie....a 2011 Outback. This auto has a CVT transmission and the 4 cyl engine. On constant speed trips it will flirt with 30 mpg...with a couple trips near 32 mpg. Daily driving, stop/go and short trips it registers around 25 mpg. This car has 5,500 miles to day so it might do a bit better. Much more leg room in the new Outback over previous models and over the current Forester.
Have had two Foresters before, a 2001 and a 2007. None were turbocharged and the 2001 was private party purchased and has 175,000 trouble-free miles. The '07 was purchased by friends in Albuquerque and they are very well pleased with the performance and mileage. The 4 cyl Forester has a 4 speed auto, which needs some updating and the reason we went with the Outback. In 2012 the Forester will most likely get the CVT and it has 4" more rear leg room...something the Forester was a little short on until 2010.
These autos are all wheel drive, so the mileage is not equal to an auto with an engine of that size and front wheel drive. They have a good number of safety features other cars don't have...but they also have some quirky things people might not like. Cup holders are not so good....and that seems to be a big deal for lots of people. Seats are very comfortable and long hours of driving are possible. They have more ground clearance than most smaller autos so can truly handle some mud, snow and off road driving if necessary.
Overall...we have found all of our Subies to be very well built, very few mechanical problems.....and timing belt changes are at almost 100,000 miles. They do use tires a bit faster than front wheel propelled vehicles, but that is just an AWD feature I suspect.
Here in the mid west...they were pretty scarce for lots of years but currently we see more and more of them on the road. For the money, they are a very good value. They are NOT sporty cars nor are they particularly ATTRACTIVE autos...and they dang sure are not a STATUS symbol. On the other hand....they are a sturdy, adequate vehicle for daily driving and somewhat more safe than other cars in their class. You can haul a ton of stuff in a Forester or Outback.
Good luck on your decision.
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Subaru cars impreza??
