Me, I went with a Mercedes Benz ML320 than again I was looking used. Bought one Pat new in fall and I could have bought another but every used one for the price I was looking to spend was selling for more money, had double the miles, more cosmetic issues, rust, and usually a 2008.

 

The most expensive jeep I can find around these parts is $24k... loaded with every option, if you drop a few options, most are under $20k for a lot of the options, I would have saved the 8-9k (as you save the taxe increase as well) and suabrus are notorious for oil consuption, leaking valve and head cover gaskets that are crazy expensive to fix (because of the boxer engine).

Subarus are not my first choice, but good luck with your vehicle!

 

X2

Only subaru I would get would be an older STI:Racing:

I would buy a Tacoma myself.. I may be trading the Patriot in for one in a few months.

Tacoma's are awesome. I had a stripped single cab manual 2009 4 cyl and it was my most favorite vehicle

 

I've heard the newer subaru's have been having a lot of problems with leaking valves and gaskets like around in circles described. I also highly doubt the 4wd system in the subaru's is any better than the patriot. They are probably almost exactly the same.

If I didn't get a patriot I would have gotten a subaru back in the day. Now, after offroading a bit and getting some more experience of off road, I am leaning towards a wrangler/cherokee/grand cherokee/xterra. Anything less than these seem to really struggle on some on the trails that I want to be able to do. I am also not a fan of the cvt transmission so the fd2 would be out of the question.

 

Really look at the xterra's my boss has one and drives it like its a baby, has never taken it off road, and it has been a repair nightmare... everything on it has broken, and with just over 20k miles it has an engine tick that doesn't sound healthy....

not saying they are all bad, I haven't done the research, but his has been not good.


Edit: of course my XJ hasn't been a cream puff either... but it was cheap at only $500...

 

Really look at the xterra's my boss has one and drives it like its a baby, has never taken it off road, and it has been a repair nightmare... everything on it has broken, and with just over 20k miles it has an engine tick that doesn't sound healthy....

What year is the xterra?

 

I would buy a Tacoma myself.. I may be trading the Patriot in for one in a few months.

 

Congratulations on your Subaru purchase, hope you don't have as many problems as you've had with your Patriot. www.subaruforester.org

 

I like Subaru's but how can you be sure the AWD system works better than the patriot's if you haven't had it offroad or in the snow, on dry pavement you aren't going to see a difference, FDII and FDI patriot's AWD system's are the same, obviously i'm partial to the MK's but I need some video proof your subi has a better AWD system=)

 

There are lots of videos on YouTube of Subarus with 3 tires on the roller ramps and one on the ground. The later models seem directly comparable to the FDI system. No low range though. The Subaru crosstrek forums have that as their biggest complaint.

 

STI's are ugly
Yea never heard much bad about Subaru's as stated above.

 

I looked at the Subies, but couldn't get past the "Tree Hugger" feel good marketing.

Also worried about head gaskets/valve train problems. Much happier with the Jeep.

Best of luck.

 

The best Subaru engine was the 16 valve sohc 2.2 litre for the fact that the timing chain only worked one cam on each side of the engine. The twin cam config. is too much for one timing chain. Twin cam chain looks like a serpentine belt on drugs.

 

Answered my "What would you buy instead of a Patriot" Question

I looked really closely at Subarus before I got my Patriot and cannot fault the choice. If I could have managed it I would have bought a brand new Crosstrek, which is such a good idea that both Honda and Mazda have now copied it. It wouldn't even surprise me if the MK replacement was along the same lines - more muscular hatchback then SUV shaped. The only problem now is that where I live Subarus are very common. There are so many Foresters, Outbacks, and Crosstreks around here that my desire to be different is kicking in when I consider my next car! Same thing applies to the Cherokee.

My biggest disappointment with the Cherokee is its relatively poor fuel economy. Renegade barely pulls it off, but Jeep really needs another 30 mpg highway offering. The MK replacement better have that.


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My last Subaru was a 1996 outback with the 2.4. I got sick of timing belt/water pump changes, and head gasket leaks. I know they have moved to chains, and they now use a metal head gasket that is much better, but Just the name makes me cringe after my experience. I also had major issue after getting a flat tire on the highway. I installed the factory donut spare on the right rear. I got back on the road and the car kept making a horific grinding noise. I pulled over and read the manual and it talked about fuse under the hood that disabled the AWD drive. I pulled it and got back on the road. Got to a tire shop and replaced the tire. Too late.... Clutch in the center differential was toasted. 1200 bucks to replace and all I did was use the spare that was supplied with the vehicle by Subaru.

 

I looked at the Forester too and ended up buying my Jeep Patriot Sport with a couple option packages, with the rebates and sale price from the dealer, a little under $19,000. The Subaru equipped the same way was $23,500. No brainer.

I hope you like it, they are good vehicles if you do the maintenance.

 

I also considered a used Forester before getting my 2007 Patriot last month. The interior of the Subaru was better but the Patriot just looks more rugged, rather than a pumped up family Estate. Discounted the Volvo XC-70 I drove for the same reason.

Considered another Cherokee but the MPG put me off as the Patriot is a second car because my main one is impractical/has poor economy so I needed to be reasonably sensible to justify owning two vehicles!

Also looked at the facelifted Land Rover Freelander (2006+) and the Freelander 2. May have gone for the Freelander 2 if I could have found one with a decent mileage at the right price, but that's pretty much impossible still.