Need an inexpensive commuter with awd. Anyone here have one?
2019 Subaru Impreza anyone?
- Thread starter sw99
- Start date
Of course you can opt for crosstrek with awd, good mpg and height clearance. Only if you like turbo engine then wrx may be suitable even though you lose the height convenience
I have no issues with the Subaru cvt system and I am very familiar with it. After driving my 109 hp Versa for 4 years the Impreza feels like a rocket so I'm not concerned with that either. I want the most fuel efficient model I can get so the Crosstrek is out. I have been doing snow tires (Full set of 4) on the Versa and I'm tired of swapping them out for the winters. The Impreza seems to fit the bill for my needs. Would love to hear from some folks that own one also. Thanks
I wanted one but the two samples I drove before I wnet and leased the VW Jetta were highly defective from factory. Sad for me.
I was looking at a tad under 17K out the door for a 5 door sportback wagon with a 5 speed manual.
Wish one of the samples I drove were good ! I'm sure I'd like it better overall than the VW Jetta; the Subaru being a more solid car - especially the front suspension. Though the turbo is fun and the ride is smooth in the VW. Handling? - Mehh.
What issues with a NEW car you may ask?!
a) 4 door loud engine knock;
b) 5 door loud engine knock,
c) 5 door front suspension was way wonky. - steering floated and didn't return to center.
Then I gave up. Much to the dismay of the young girl who was trying to make a end of year sale. And the floor sales manager who was pushing me.
Find a good one should be a good car. At least the Japanese ones have been for us.
The Crosstrek is just a jacked up tarted up 5 door Impreza for at least 4 grand more - NOT an effective value proposition
I was looking at a tad under 17K out the door for a 5 door sportback wagon with a 5 speed manual.
Wish one of the samples I drove were good ! I'm sure I'd like it better overall than the VW Jetta; the Subaru being a more solid car - especially the front suspension. Though the turbo is fun and the ride is smooth in the VW. Handling? - Mehh.
What issues with a NEW car you may ask?!
a) 4 door loud engine knock;
b) 5 door loud engine knock,
c) 5 door front suspension was way wonky. - steering floated and didn't return to center.
Then I gave up. Much to the dismay of the young girl who was trying to make a end of year sale. And the floor sales manager who was pushing me.
Find a good one should be a good car. At least the Japanese ones have been for us.
The Crosstrek is just a jacked up tarted up 5 door Impreza for at least 4 grand more - NOT an effective value proposition
I'm not in a snowy area but I thought snow tires were a given no matter the number of wheels getting power?
All season are O.K. if you take it easy. Got to watch corner entry speeds or you'll understeer off the curve.
We have a 125 foot steep hill for a drive way. Many cars with snows cant make it up.
The Subaru goes right up. And so did my Nissan Rogue.
I did prefer to drive my old Yaris 5MT with Firestone Winterforce snowtires over the Older Forester with factory Bridgestones.
We have a 125 foot steep hill for a drive way. Many cars with snows cant make it up.
The Subaru goes right up. And so did my Nissan Rogue.
I did prefer to drive my old Yaris 5MT with Firestone Winterforce snowtires over the Older Forester with factory Bridgestones.
Last edited:
Bought an Impreza hatch Sport new in 2017 it's been a good car even in the snow with the all seasons. My wife drives it most of the time and loves it. The only issue I had to fix under warranty with the blower fan started making a faint whine, other then that it's been good and the MPG is about 32 combined.
Good value.
Owned one for 5 years. Needed to get to work, 40 miles away over wind-blown country roads with big drifts.
Kinda noisy, acceleration is ok for what you actually need. Absolute highest mpg: 38, on two separate tanks. Typical summer: 34 mpg. Typical winter: 28 mpg. I drove with regard to max MPG, so very slow accel, limited top speeds, coasting to every stop sign.
CVT is a fine transmission. Please ignore the idiots who haven't driven that model, but comment on it. For max accel, put into manual mode, and rev the engine almost to redline. 0-60 in auto: 9.5 seconds measured. In manual mode: 8.5 seconds measured. I used a video cam aimed at the tach and speedo, so times would be a bit shorter if measured from actual car motion to top speed.
With great winter tires, it will plow thru fairly heavy, wet snow an inch or two above the floor pan. It's VERY stable in snow, due to a very strong Front wheel power bias. You cannot put this car in a powered drift, it will plow straight.
I still like the looks of the car. I upgraded to a CX-5 so I could tow. The Crosstrek with CVT isn't what I believe to be reliable, and had a lower tow rating, too.
Also have an Outback with CVT. Pulled 1000 lbs of snowmo. Slow as [censored]. Hate that car.
Kinda noisy, acceleration is ok for what you actually need. Absolute highest mpg: 38, on two separate tanks. Typical summer: 34 mpg. Typical winter: 28 mpg. I drove with regard to max MPG, so very slow accel, limited top speeds, coasting to every stop sign.
CVT is a fine transmission. Please ignore the idiots who haven't driven that model, but comment on it. For max accel, put into manual mode, and rev the engine almost to redline. 0-60 in auto: 9.5 seconds measured. In manual mode: 8.5 seconds measured. I used a video cam aimed at the tach and speedo, so times would be a bit shorter if measured from actual car motion to top speed.
With great winter tires, it will plow thru fairly heavy, wet snow an inch or two above the floor pan. It's VERY stable in snow, due to a very strong Front wheel power bias. You cannot put this car in a powered drift, it will plow straight.
I still like the looks of the car. I upgraded to a CX-5 so I could tow. The Crosstrek with CVT isn't what I believe to be reliable, and had a lower tow rating, too.
Also have an Outback with CVT. Pulled 1000 lbs of snowmo. Slow as [censored]. Hate that car.
Originally Posted by sw99
..I'm tired of swapping them out for the winters. The Impreza seems to fit the bill for my needs. Would love to hear from some folks that own one also. Thanks
Unless you can find a true summer/winter tire that works for you, you are still going to have to do this with an Impreza.
I've owned 3 later model Subarus. 2012 Legacy, 2014 Crosstrek and a 2016 Forester. All of them needed snow tires to be decent in winter conditions.
..I'm tired of swapping them out for the winters. The Impreza seems to fit the bill for my needs. Would love to hear from some folks that own one also. Thanks
Unless you can find a true summer/winter tire that works for you, you are still going to have to do this with an Impreza.
I've owned 3 later model Subarus. 2012 Legacy, 2014 Crosstrek and a 2016 Forester. All of them needed snow tires to be decent in winter conditions.
Originally Posted by DaRider34
use all weather tires instead of the all seasons
All seasons are safer/better for many people. I tried the all-weather deal, and the car was dangerous for 98% of the year (because it rained), and theoretically would have been safer 2% of the year (when it may have snowed), but I never found out as I was back on allseasons by the time it snowed because all-weathers wear out before the year is up and I missed ever seeing much more than a bit of compacted snow with them...which they slid on just like an all-season.
use all weather tires instead of the all seasons
All seasons are safer/better for many people. I tried the all-weather deal, and the car was dangerous for 98% of the year (because it rained), and theoretically would have been safer 2% of the year (when it may have snowed), but I never found out as I was back on allseasons by the time it snowed because all-weathers wear out before the year is up and I missed ever seeing much more than a bit of compacted snow with them...which they slid on just like an all-season.
Last edited:
Never had any problems with all season tires on previous Subaru's. On our second set on the OB and it does fantastic in the snow.
Originally Posted by sw99
Never had any problems with all season tires on previous Subaru's. On our second set on the OB and it does fantastic in the snow.
You must have completely different winter weather than I do in the Buffalo NY area or, you are talking Subarus from a decade or more ago, when they came with better factory rubber.
Most of the vehicles I've owned in 30+ years of driving have not been AWD or 4x4. The late model Subarus I mentioned above were absolutely horrible in the snow with the factory all seasons. These tires were so bad, they completely negated any of Subaru's AWD awesomeness. They weren't even good in the rain. The only one of the 3 that was marginal in factory form was the 2014 Crosstrek. It had Yokohama geolanders and a 5spd MT. The worst was the 2012 Legacy with Bridgestone Turanza EL400s. I forget with the Forester had, but it was a beast with Firestone Winterforce snows on it.
On top of that, if you do wind up with 2 sets of tires and wheels, Subarus TPMS will only store 4 sensor IDs at a time, so every wheel/tire swap requires a re-program that you cannot do yourself unless you buy the hardware to do so or you want to live with the TPMS light flashing at you non stop.
Never had any problems with all season tires on previous Subaru's. On our second set on the OB and it does fantastic in the snow.
You must have completely different winter weather than I do in the Buffalo NY area or, you are talking Subarus from a decade or more ago, when they came with better factory rubber.
Most of the vehicles I've owned in 30+ years of driving have not been AWD or 4x4. The late model Subarus I mentioned above were absolutely horrible in the snow with the factory all seasons. These tires were so bad, they completely negated any of Subaru's AWD awesomeness. They weren't even good in the rain. The only one of the 3 that was marginal in factory form was the 2014 Crosstrek. It had Yokohama geolanders and a 5spd MT. The worst was the 2012 Legacy with Bridgestone Turanza EL400s. I forget with the Forester had, but it was a beast with Firestone Winterforce snows on it.
On top of that, if you do wind up with 2 sets of tires and wheels, Subarus TPMS will only store 4 sensor IDs at a time, so every wheel/tire swap requires a re-program that you cannot do yourself unless you buy the hardware to do so or you want to live with the TPMS light flashing at you non stop.
Last edited:
"All seasons are safer/better for many people."
Yeah, no one actually needs to stop at a red light, just slide right on thru. That's real safety.
Yeah, no one actually needs to stop at a red light, just slide right on thru. That's real safety.
No. That's ABS! NHTSA - Your Government in action.
I rarely post about our 2019 Subaru Impreza hatch but wanted to say this car is quite nice for what it is. It's definitely underpowered and you'll find yourself flooring it many times just so the car can get out of its own way. Other than that it's been solid. Handles very well and the AWD system really is great. On wet roads this car doesn't slip no matter how hard you try. It only has 8k miles on it after 2 years. It feels well built. I do find there is a slack type feel within the CVT, but I'm told that is normal. Car has only seen dealer bulk oil. For around town driving in my area which is heavily populated, I love driving this car. Small, well handling cars are great in densely populated areas.
Its only doggy if you don't use the whole pedal. Put your foot into it and let it to upshift at 6K rpms. The engine likes to rev.
I had a '15 Impreza 5 door. It was a solidly built car that handled well. I was okay with the CVT and did not have any complaints about it.
I traded it in earlier this year @85k miles. Had zero reliability issues and only performed scheduled maintenance.
The '19 is a newer generation and should be an improvement over my '15.
I traded it in earlier this year @85k miles. Had zero reliability issues and only performed scheduled maintenance.
The '19 is a newer generation and should be an improvement over my '15.
