A little history first. I fell in love with subarus after picking up a 99 forester and learned how easy and a joy they are to work on. I went ahead and put my money where my mouth was and bought a new one. Priorities change over time and i'm finding that i dont need a new car anymore plus the extra debt and i'm going to give my 2003 elantra a run as a commuter vehicle.
This vintage subaru is the last of the EJ timing belt driven vehicles. I put 14000 miles on it in about 15 months, mostly city commuting miles. I had zero reliability issues. There was one recall done within the first month for a manufacturing defect with the brake master slave cylinder which the dealership replaced.
Powertrain: The engine is very smooth from the boxer design, and has has power all along the torque band. The CVT in combination with the lazy electronic throttle however holds its back tremendously. I never felt much of a rubber band effect from what i've read on other peoples impressions of CVTs. The 4EAT in my forester is truck-like but is easier to live with. After my ownership I can certainly say I will avoid CVTs in the future.
Drivability: Having AWD is always a bonus to me, driving aggressively I couldnt really get traction control to engage very much. On the highway it is downright luxurious with a very quiet interior. Overall NVH is 10 out of 10.
Interior: The cloth seat textures always bugged me because it seems like it would rip easily, but they held up very well and stains always would come up with no issues at all. The stereo is not very good but adequate. the USB interface always confuses and mixes up tracks and would never play audiobooks or regular music in the correct track sequence. AC, Heater, and heated seats all work amazing and I will miss having a warm butt in the elantra.
Summary: I've owned several vehicles, too many perhaps. This one was an 8 out of 10, with the transmission being the big fat red exclamation point for those who are curious about CVTs. It works just fine, but expect anemic performance even against a regular auto transmission.
comments/questions/conjecture welcome
This vintage subaru is the last of the EJ timing belt driven vehicles. I put 14000 miles on it in about 15 months, mostly city commuting miles. I had zero reliability issues. There was one recall done within the first month for a manufacturing defect with the brake master slave cylinder which the dealership replaced.
Powertrain: The engine is very smooth from the boxer design, and has has power all along the torque band. The CVT in combination with the lazy electronic throttle however holds its back tremendously. I never felt much of a rubber band effect from what i've read on other peoples impressions of CVTs. The 4EAT in my forester is truck-like but is easier to live with. After my ownership I can certainly say I will avoid CVTs in the future.
Drivability: Having AWD is always a bonus to me, driving aggressively I couldnt really get traction control to engage very much. On the highway it is downright luxurious with a very quiet interior. Overall NVH is 10 out of 10.
Interior: The cloth seat textures always bugged me because it seems like it would rip easily, but they held up very well and stains always would come up with no issues at all. The stereo is not very good but adequate. the USB interface always confuses and mixes up tracks and would never play audiobooks or regular music in the correct track sequence. AC, Heater, and heated seats all work amazing and I will miss having a warm butt in the elantra.
Summary: I've owned several vehicles, too many perhaps. This one was an 8 out of 10, with the transmission being the big fat red exclamation point for those who are curious about CVTs. It works just fine, but expect anemic performance even against a regular auto transmission.
comments/questions/conjecture welcome
