Hi, has anyone compared these head to head? I like the idea that the Forester has an available manual transmission. The Mazda looks reliable and very fun to drive. The frontend/grille looks kinda stupid.
We’re in very rural northern Vermont with quite a few dirt roads, usually but not always pretty well maintained.
Car dealerships aren’t close by. The Subaru dealer is just under an hour drive, the Mazda/Volkswagen dealership just over an hour and a half each way. Locally we have Ford, GMC/Chevy, and Chrysler/Jeep/Dodge.
I’d probably buy new this time although I’ve had good luck buying ‘certified’ used cars off of leases, most recently a 2015 Audi A3 off of a 36-month lease cancelled after 24 I think? so pretty close to new - with manufacturer + dealer warranties; someone else having eaten the depreciation; low mileage, and full confidence that scheduled maintenance has been adhered to, prior to my taking ownership. Comfort and tech, of course reliability, and ease of third-party servicing and parts are all considerations for me.
Reasoned opinions very welcome; TIA for any thoughts at all. Buying is hard.
Kia/Hyundai makes some cool, high tech and well engineered cars (I daily’ed A Dual Clutch Veloster for a long time), but their cars rapidly disintegrate over time due to low quality materials.
Honda Civic is my choice over the Toyota Corolla, if you want a front wheel drive economy car (I’ve daily’ed both). The Civic has better handling, and the sedan version has independent suspension, as well as agreat delta of acceleration and fuel economy.
The Corolla will last you for far longer than you will be willing to keep it, but you can’t be rough with it.
The Crosstrek is an Impreza with a lift kit. It’s decent, and you don’t have to worry about scraping like you would with the Impreza.
Also, other than the WRX, it’s harder and harder to find a manual Subaru due to the manuals getting phased out.