If they are made in Japan, then that may be a positive.

I lease all cars. Just turned in a Subaru and now have a Honda. I loved both of them. That tell you much but I was very please with both. I have had cars I didn’t like.

I agree. Our son purchased a used one owner Honda Accord for our granddaughter while in college and she still is driving it with 200,000 plus miles on it. After driving our Subaru Outback, she wants one!

I have a 2017 Subaru. 127K miles, just barely broken in. Usually gets 30 mpg in town, 35 on highway speeds.
Subarus ride like much heavier cars because with the horizontally opposed “Boxer” engine all of the weight is substantially down at the level of the frame. Lower center of gravity.
The full time computer controlled all wheel drive gives an exceptionally stable and controllable ride in wet or slippery conditions. The ground clearance is high, and getting in and out of the car is much easier than with a typical sedan. That is good. However, the tires must all be substantially identical in diameter, so they recommend rotation every 6K miles, and if you need to replace one tire, you need to replace all four. Bad news if you have a blowout.
The recommended oil change interval is also 6K miles, which with synthetic oil seems excessive.
“Eyesight” collision avoidance and adaptive cruise control is the best thing since canned beer. No doubt about it. The lane keeping control is helpful on crosswind days on the highway.
Subaru also has some incredibly stupid features, such as no illumination of passenger window and door lock buttons.

That’s strange. Subaru has a manufacturing plant in Indiana. What do you suppose they make there?

the EJ series engines they been using for 15 plus years kinda stink. the latest engine in 2022 plus cars fixed a lot of the EJ problems. say NO! to CVT transmissions.

Subarus have a reputation for being mechanically bullet proof and being excellent in bad weather, particularly snow. I've heard it said that they are the state car of Vermont. However, with the exception of their performance models (WRX, WRX STi) they are not known for rapid acceleration, perhaps in part due to the cvt. If highway merging is your concern, think more about horsepower than cylinder number. If you get something with at least 200 hp you should be fine.

Then these are your choices if you buy new:
Vehicles with Traditional Automatic Transmissions:
Ford F-150 –
Chevrolet Silverado –
Toyota 4Runner –
Mazda CX-5 –
Vehicles with Dual-Clutch Transmissions (DCTs):
Volkswagen Golf GTI/Golf R –
Hyundai Veloster N –
Porsche 911 –
Here are some more: Top Cars Without CVT Transmissions 2024: Non-CVT Models
Let me know if I left some out.

Subaru - Great Car
 

We have a 2023 Outback Limited and a 2024 Outback Limited. These are terrific vehicles, they are by far the nicest vehicles we've ever owned. We've had Volvos, Lexus, Fords, Buicks, and Chryslers. The Subarus are significantly better than any of them. A comfortable ride and very low maintenance.

Thank you all. I have read every post and will have Mr. Boomer read them.

Our cars spend quite a bit of time on I-75 in addition to just stop and go driving, like in TV. That is why I wanted to know about acceleration.

Also, having hydroplaned, in rain, on the interstate a couple of times back when I drove mini-vans, I never want to do that again. The hydroplaning did not become an accident but I sure hated that feeling.

Boomer

Our 2012 6 cyl outback is still running fine. 120,000 miles.

I have a 2013 Accord 4 cylinder with 94K miles; runs well; will keep driving it. Have had 2 Subaru Outback when in New Hampshire. Loved them. Reliable, go thru high, unplowed snow, 4 cylinder, stable car.

I have owned 4 Subarus over the years, loved every one of them. I own a Mazda now and love that too. But would definitely consider another Subaru next. Their handling is crisp and lively, and gas mileage is great.

WOOP DEE DO.....I love my Subaru!!

I have a 2017 Accord Hybrid. It's not as much fun to drive as the cars I have driven in the past, but it certainly the most reliable and least costly to maintain. I have 86,000 miles on it, and I have a lifetime average fuel economy of 48 mpg. It's a full size Accord. When I bought it, I thought you had to buy a Prius tin can to get that kind of fuel economy, but that is not the case. This Accord has not had one problem yet (knock on wood). I take it in every 10,000 miles for an oil change and I follow the maintenance schedule. The brakes have a half life still left. The only thing I really found negative about this car is that it had no spare tire. I was uncomfortable with the flat repair kit, so when I bought new tires at 55,000 miles, I had one of the old tires put on a rim and now it's the spare.

That being said, I drove a Subaru in my lifetime and that was a great car and I have heard nothing but positives from people I know who own one.

The Car Care Nut is a favorite of mine too.

Recent Subaru Owner
 

I have owned a 2023 Subaru Forester Touring model since October 2023. I am all about good visibility and ease of driving. It fit both, the visibility is excellent and while it came with some 'electronics', quite a few of the controls were not that way and were easy to figure out and navigate without 'screens'. I loved GM/Chevy cars and their dashboards were so nicely designed in my opinion. We had a GMC truck and then 2 Suburbans and I loved them all, just too big for me, so sold my latest Suburban last October and went with the Subaru Forester and I've liked driving it. I haven't had it long enough to have any 'issues', but I also haven't had to bring it in for any 'warranty' stuff other than an oil change.

We are on our 3rd Subaru Forester which is almost 5 years old. I cannot recall any repairs except for our first Subaru's sunroof which was covered under original warranty. We appreciate the safety features. Our 2020 model was one of the earlier models with Eyesight and adaptive controls. It came with close to 1,000 pages of instruction. I am hopeful that our next Subaru will have friendlier driver interface. I do see lots of Subarus in The Villages.

I didn't read the 4 pages of responses, but here is my two cents (and a comment).
If you have been happy with Honda, why switch from a company that has excelled?
My comment - As I understand, Suburu has 4-wheel drive to handle snow. Not an issue...

Because the government is mandating major changes some of which are making cars less reliable.

The final reason why new cars aren’t as reliable as old cars that we’ll talk about in this blog post is the fact that car manufacturers are under immense pressure to meet fuel economy standards and emission standards.
New Cars Vs. Old Cars: Why Aren’t They As Reliable? | Shadetree Automotive.

The more complex the vehicle, the greater the odds of very expensive repairs. Some car makers will be better than others in adapting to the new regulations. Best to let others be the guinea pigs.

New cars bought in the last few years have twice as many quality problems as they had in 2010. Some well-known brands are averaging more than five issues per car – and the stats show things will probably get a lot worse before they get better.
New cars are failing at unprecedented rates, and it'''s getting worse

Honda to Hyundai
 

Moved to Hyundai because Honda refused to insulate their cars and tried to cover up road noise with white noise coming out of their crappy sound systems. I recently bought a Tuscon hybrid for a much lesser price than any Honda and got lots more vehicle. Loving it.

Porsche 911

Don't be afraid of the newer 4 cylinder turbos. Many actually make as much or more power than a V6. My wife has a 2018 Lexus NX 300. It has a Turbo four and it makes more power than the V6 in my Toyota Tacoma TRD. Plus it's super smooth and quiet.
She has 78,000 trouble free miles on it and it runs like new.

Actually I test drove a new Chevy Z71 Colorado Tuesday, it has a turbo four. I was impressed, it was quiet, smooth and had excellent power. I'll probably trade my Tacoma for one soon.

All that said, Subaru seems to make good cars. My son in Indiana has a newer Outback and loves it. Not my cup of tea, but Subaru has a very loayl customer base.

There will be lots of discounted cars for sale now.

:22yikes:

If you own a Subaru or may purchase one, I recommend "MR. Subaru". Lots of great info especially about the CVTs. He says that Subaru intentionally under states that amount of routine maintenance in order to reduce the perceived cost of ownership which leads to avoidable failures.

But otherwise they are great cars.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qtulvduQcnc

Honda to Toyota to Subaru
 

I've owned all Honda, Toyota and Subaru over many years. All three are great brands. Honda's were very reliable but a bit expensive to maintain. With Toyota, I've owned both a Prius and a Camry. Both were good reliable vehicles and the least expensive for maintenance.

However in the last 9 years I've owned a 2015 Subaru Outback and a 2021 Outback. Before buying those, I compared them to all other vehicles similar in their classification. At the time I bought each of those Outbacks, I also seriously considered the Toyota Rav4.

But, for just a little higher price, the Outback Premium model was a more solid vehicle, quieter interior, better quality interior, handled much better, was loaded with more options, and had a larger cargo area. One of the only negatives I can think of is the higher cost of normal recommended maintenance every 6K miles. I do want to mention that since 2021, I think they have greatly improved the overall quality of the Toyota Rav4, and like I said, Toyota dealer maintenance is less expensive than the Subaru.

But like others have said or hinted at, Subaru Outbacks are solid, quality, reliable, comfortable vehicles. And coming from up north, the all wheel drive was fantastic in snow or on wet roads. So, I was a little surprised to see as many Outbacks in TV, but I think that just speaks to how many love their Subaru Outbacks!

Subaru
 

We bought our first Subaru forester premium in July 2025 4 cyl none turbo. After being an 8 cyl and 6 cyl owner for the past 45 years very satisfied with the power and great handling. I would highly recommend them after the first thirty days a Subaru tech called us to set up an appointment to go over any questions we had about any of the features in the vehicle we had. They will do this need be at the dealer or your home your choice at no cost. Very satisfied with Subaru.