Looking for new car - VW or Subuaru
 

This is mainly for my wife. (i'll be taking her old car)

We've narrowed it down to two cars. New Subaru Impreza Wagon, or VW Jetta Sport Wagon.

They are very different cars, and each have their pluses and minuses. I think my wife is leaning towards the VW, but I to the Subaru.

The main concern is reliability. I am pretty confident the Subaru will be pretty bullet proof, but am really worried about the longtime life of the VW. 5-6 years from now, how will the car be? I'd be curious to know what you previous VW owners think.

So...thoughts?

When I test drove a 2012 subaru impreza(not the wagon) I thought the steering was very weird, I really disliked it. It is kind of hard to explain but it seemed very loose, it needed more tension so it was a bit harder to turn. Probably personal preference but it was so easy to turn the wheel compared to my past cars and the rx8, which sounds good until you actually feel it.

They are nice inside, around 2012 they got an upgraded interior. The seats were comfortable and hugged you decently.

I was not really impressed with their continuously variable transmission but maybe I was expecting more than it actually offered. It says it "adjusts instantly to match your acceleration, eliminating the need to shift and preserving the vehicle's momentum often lost with conventional automatic transmissions" but it felt no different to me than any other automatic I've ever driven. When you are barely on the gas and then suddenly mash the gas there was still that wait that felt like it was shifting down and then the surge forward.

My first car was my parents 2000 Jetta automatic which was bought new... Let's just say that car had all sorts of problems mechanically and electronically. It was about 9 years old by the time I got it and it didn't last much longer. It did have a lot of miles, but it was a very problematic car.

I'm sure VW has made their cars better since then though. But that was my experience with VW.

You mention the CVT transmission, which is what was ont he model I drove. My wife can't drive stick so we're looking into the automatic. As far as feel, it didn't eel too bad to me, although I didn't really get on it. What did interest me is they told me it is mostly maintenance fee system. No need to refill oils or fluids. They just check the condition of it at 100,000 miles. I have yet to research this though.

There was nothing wrong with the transmission it felt fine and drove just fine. It is just that it didn't feel like it was different from any other automatic and their big thing was how different it is.

I didn't have a chance to really get on it either but even with some easy acceleration it felt like it was shifting down the same as any other automatic. I understand if I quickly hit the gas it should need some time to adjust but with light acceleration I figured it would be much better and smoother and it was not.

We just bought a Jetta Sportwagen TDI with a manual transmission for my wife. It's a very nice car. We're quite happy with it. Personally i think the new Impreza is a bit of a pig. It looks like the result of a Kia mating with a Chevy Sonic. I dont really know much about the car though since it doesn't really interest me.

Not sure which trim VW you're looking at but we averaged 48 mpg driving at 75-80 mph on our 1400 mile trip home with the TDI. It's got some poke too. It's surprisingly quick if you catch it at the right revs with the turbo spooled. We took a detour on the way home to hit Tail of the Dragon. It handles much better than i was expecting. Obviously its no sports car but i must say, I was impressed. The panoramic sunroof is a pretty unique option which I would recommend. It really makes the interior feel very spacious and its just a cool experience to look out through it.

Anyway, like i said. I dont know much about the Impreza but the sportwagen is a solid choice. I can't really speak for reliability since our sportwagen is almost new and still under warranty. After researching the car pretty thoroughly before buying it they sound like pretty solid cars. I know VW has had their issues in the past but i really feel like they're upping their game now. The build quality of the interior and the mechanical bits you can see and feel make me think the whole thing is made pretty well inside and out. I guess time will tell. We plan on having ours in the family until it kicks the can. Hopefully that's a very long time.

talk about a dull interior. I was looking at 06-07 WRX's before i bought my rx8. Talk about dull, it looked like my brothers honduh from back in the day.

though i hate fwd cars, so subaru gets my vote.

she doesnt like any mazdas? i would try to give as much money to mazda as i can, i want them to continue the development of the rotary engine. Im addicted to mazda for life.

My 02 jetta 1.8t was solid. 10 years, 199,750 miles I replaced the MAF sensor twice, front drivers side wheel bearing. And the cat once. Also had to do the window falling in the door recall. Other than that, oil changes. The car was totally solid, very fun to drive (I had mods on it and it still lasted forever). It would still be mine today, but I didn't feel like replacing the ignition harness, so I gave it to purple heart. The engine and turbo never hiccuped one time in all those years. I loved that car, probably more than even the 8, all things considered.

If this was not strictly a choice among wagons I would have suggested waiting on the new Mazda 6.

Paul.

+1 to that. ;)

We own a 2006 Subaru Outback 2.5xt - absolutely bulletproof at slightly under 65,000 miles. Had a 2011 GTI - also bulletproof but only to about 12,000 when we traded for a Golf R - which has 4500 absolutley trouble free miles.

Neither. Get a CX-5 or go sport luxury elsewhere from VW and Kangaroo.

I just went thru this, but it was between a 2012 Impreza Hatch limited CVT vs. a 2012 VW GTI 5door DSG with leather.

In the end, we brought the GTi. The interior/driving experience/build quality and residue value won out.

Subaru's hold their value over VW's by far in the short and long run. So always take that into consideration when purchasing a new vehicle. VW values tank the moment you drive them away,

Thanks for the input.

Anyone know the ETA on the new Mazda 6? That does interest me, although the Mazda 3 hatches don't.

If we go with the VW I don't see us getting the TDI. For her it won't be worth the premium price for the Diesel over the gasoline. I will say, what interested me in the VW is the drive is smooth, the car is quiet, and feels 'Germanesque'. I like that. My wife isn't really hooked by the luxury feel. She likes the VW SportWagon because of the exterior styling. What was really worrying me about the VW is the reliability because I've heard so many bad things and knowing that they built in Mexico raised some concern over quality control. But it sounds like many people here are pretty happy with them.

Yes, the Subaru is a bit utilitarian inside and lacks some of the polish of the other cars in it's class. Although what it does have is good quality, and nice touch surfaces inside, it is pretty plain inside. I think everything good about the Subaru is in the engineering and small thoughtful features.

I was thinking about this too. Subarus have superb resale value. That's a big plus.

Any thought's Hyundai Elantra or Sonata?

Could be looked at in a couple of different ways. If the VW loses value right away then you can buy one that is a year old with 15k miles on it for WAY cheaper than new. The subaru wont be able to touch that price even at a year old if it holds it value so well. If they plan on keeping the car for ~10 years or a good amount of time then it should all even out in the end but they could have saved money going for the year old VW.

10 year old subaru foresters with 120k on them still sell at my auto auction for 4-5k... thats the only car ive ever seen sell like that that old with that many miles on them also one of my managers just sold his 2008 WRX for 28k with 52,xxx miles on it and he paid 38k for it. Albiet the car was MINT, showroom condition still thats some serious value right there.

BTW it took him less then a week to sell it as soon as it hit craigslist.

i've had a 2009 VW jetta since new, and its been a mixed bag. i'm actually going to sell it shortly because the warranty is out and the car has done lots of weird things since new.

sometimes i come out in the morning and a window is down, sometimes the sunroof "forgets" its position and doesn't open/close correctly, etc etc. just about everything on the car is like this, even the engine. the part that's annoying is that stuff doesn't work right, but there is nothing i can take to the dealership and have them fix without looking like i'm insane. this is an aside but the dealership has barely been able to service the car correctly too.

i've also driven it back to back with a 2010 Mazda 3, and the Mazda just walks all over the VW, it actually makes the VW feel broken. the brakes are horrible, and the headlights don't light to the side, so mountain driving at night is petrifying.

the TDI version actually does come out of a different plant in Germany, while the gas ones like mine are made in Mexico. so the TDI is actually a different car; a bit like the older US built Mazda 6 and the Japanese built Mazdaspeed 6. they look the same but aren't.

the final point with the VW is that they advertise it crashing into a wall, and the ad will usually show the most redeeming quality.

so long story short, i will not be buying another VW on purpose. i've never owned a Subaru, so i don't have any useful info there

mike

They started production last month so I think they will be at dealers by late December. That's my good guess.

Paul.