Subaru Outback, Forester or Rav4??

[Nephrology]

If Subaru would put a turbo and manual in a Forester it would be the Swiss army knife of vehicles.

Didn't it used to have the turbo?

[JodyH]

From the last thread you can probably see that I've become a bit of a Subaru fan.
But my first true love was and still is Toyota, I've owned a bunch of them (too many to remember) and not a single one has every disappointed me.
There's two of them in my stable right now, 2016 Tundra and a 2000 Tacoma.
While I skipped over Toyota for a Subaru commuter it wasn't a knock on Toyota at all but an acknowledgement that Subaru is a whole lot of typical Japanese quality for the money.
When it comes time to replace my wife's 2014 Volvo XC90 (surprisingly to me it's been a damn solid little SUV) we'll be looking very hard at the new RAV4 Prime XSE plug-in.
That new Prime XSE is ridiculously quick for a SUV with 302 hybrid horsepower, looks good, has 42 miles of electric only range and is a Toyota.
That's what we'll be getting as my wife's primary and the overall family truckster now that the "family" is me and my wife and very occasionally my 17 year old.

[El Cid]

Any interest in the Subaru Ascent? Or is it priced too high? Family member has one I drove for a few weeks this past winter. I was thoroughly impressed! Just a tad bigger than the options you’re discussing but not overly large. Still you get a third row of seating. This one has the middle row of captains chairs which I prefer. Fit, finish, performance was all there. For a guy who prefers large pickups and SUV’s I was surprised I liked the Ascent so much.

[BN]

I was in a similar situation. I picked up a RAV4 TRD today. The 2019-2020 version of the Rav4 is a lot more roomy and ergonomic compared to the prior versions. I just got it so I can say much more but I am happy with my choice so far.

That TRD is a sharp vehicle. My wife's Highlander is the Sport model with blacked out grill and wheels.


I could get one of the cheaper models and rattle can the grill and wheels flat black.

Might as well add a pic of the Tundra.

[JodyH]

Any interest in the Subaru Ascent? Or is it priced too high? Family member has one I drove for a few weeks this past winter. I was thoroughly impressed! Just a tad bigger than the options you’re discussing but not overly large. Still you get a third row of seating. This one has the middle row of captains chairs which I prefer. Fit, finish, performance was all there. For a guy who prefers large pickups and SUV’s I was surprised I liked the Ascent so much.

Very nice vehicle.
Sat in one and played with everything in it while waiting for them to do the final detailing of my new Crosstrek.
The captains chair middle row is very nice.
I'd have to drive one to see if the HP to size ratio is there, that Ascent is on the largish side for a SUV in that class.

[Glenn E. Meyer]

2016 Forester and 2018 Forester. First one was totaled by a $)#_$4. Liked the first and driving the second. Went cross country with it. No problems. Friend as an Outback, loves it (he's a SWAT commander, if that means anything).

Quite a few around here in WNY snow country.

[YVK]

RAV4s have been our utility cars since 2008. No complaints but two got totalled since then from what I thought a low impact collisions although the first one did get side bags to pop out. Not sure if this is how they build them now, or more a reflection of insurance companies' policies these days. 2012 was the last year Toyota put a V6 in it (I see that V6s are gone from the Outback too) so in their current lineup the Prime is the only one I would consider again. Climbing up our hills does ask for some horsepower. The Prime however has a limited availability. I don't like that they got rid of a full sized spare. I blow tires up regularly and a full sized was an awesome piece of mind for the remote travelling, but Toyota has clearly changed RAV from a general utility vehicle into urban utility vehicle.
I wouldn't hesitate to get another (Prime) RAV4 based on my worry-free experience with their previous offerings, but I would've preferred an older V6 model. That's my thing though, I find that I like older models across the board, almost all car makers included.

[randyho]

If Subaru would put a turbo and manual in a Forester it would be the Swiss army knife of vehicles.

Same. I find the cvt transmissions in the newer subarus really distracting/annoying.

[luckyman]

RAV4s have been our utility cars since 2008. No complaints but two got totalled since then from what I thought a low impact collisions although the first one did get side bags to pop out. Not sure if this is how they build them now, or more a reflection of insurance companies' policies these days. 2012 was the last year Toyota put a V6 in it (I see that V6s are gone from the Outback too) so in their current lineup the Prime is the only one I would consider again. Climbing up our hills does ask for some horsepower. The Prime however has a limited availability. I don't like that they got rid of a full sized spare. I blow tires up regularly and a full sized was an awesome piece of mind for the remote travelling, but Toyota has clearly changed RAV from a general utility vehicle into urban utility vehicle.
I wouldn't hesitate to get another (Prime) RAV4 based on my worry-free experience with their previous offerings, but I would've preferred an older V6 model. That's my thing though, I find that I like older models across the board, almost all car makers included.

Outback V6s are still there, you just have to get one of the upscale models. The V6s are nice, I would hate the 4 cylinder.

[TGS]

I'm one of the people who actually prefer the CVT to an automatic. You just press the pedal and go, it's always at the optimum ratio, no hunting/searching for gears which is really nice in some of the hills/mountains just west of here, instant power for changing lanes on the highway, the manual "shift" feature is great, so on.

I've never noticed any of the noise issues people complain about with CVTs whining...especially with my wife's 2019 Outback, which is significantly quieter than my 2013 Outback.