Replacing the Civic

[lemming]

Originally Posted by John V

The only Forester I've ever driven was at 9,000 feet, and it was totally, completely, utterly gutless. Other than that, and not having nearly enough room in the back seat, and being really ugly, it was OK.

If I was shopping this segment I think it would be between the CX-5 and the EcoBoost Edge, but who knows.

freaking brutal.

man.

[John V]

I didn't mean it to be brutal. Just my experience.

[blee]

I personally really like the Edge with the 2.0. It's actually pleasant to drive, and with the rebates, it's actually within a few hundred bucks of the CR-V, only better equipped. The CX-5 has a slight edge in handling, but I drive a truck every day, so... Plus, the Edge is assembled right here in 'Murica.

[lupinsea]

Originally Posted by John V

I didn't mean it to be brutal. Just my experience.

It's cool. Subarus aren't exactly known for their beautiful styling. Our '11 Forester is . . . acceptable compared to most of the CUV pack but there are a number of quirks to it that one just wonders what the Subie designers were thinking.

I don't find the rear seating a problem. And the power . . . we have the base model and only test drove the base models. But I noticed that the '11 we got seemed a bit peppier than the earlier models in this generation. My understanding is that in '10 or '11 they put in a new engine. Not much difference in total HP / torque but I think the power was shifted in the RPM band. Whatever they did it's not too bad and doesn't feel as slow as the earlier years we had tested. But it's never going to be mistaken for fast.

Now, the XT Foresters have a turbo engine and their accelerations drops into the 6 second range. IIRC, they're about as fast as a BMW E46 330i. Unfortunately, the available manual transmissions are only on base-model Foresters. And their automatics are 4 spd units.

The big thing for me with the Foresters was their AWD system. Where as most CUVs are FWD-biased with power sent to rear wheels if electronic sensors detect wheel slippage, the Subaru system sends power to all four wheels equally all the time. No funky torque steel at launch, and no delays or waiting for sensors to figure out what's going on. Subaru calls it "Symetrical AWD" but I think it's just a low-tech, old school approach to AWD. Newer systems have the torque split, presumably to save a smidge on fuel economy when AWD isn't needed most of the time.

[blee]

Well, we done got us a car over the weekend. After return trips to both the Honda dealer and the Ford dealer, she decided to go with the Escape. We got the FWD SE (mid-level trim) with the convenience package, nav (yes, despite my rantings, it's the only way to get the nicer screen...), and a tow hitch that we don't need. Oh, and the 2.0L EcoBoost, which is a hoot in this vehicle.

Gotta say, I'm very happy with this decision. The CR-V feels, and is, larger inside, but that is its only advantage in this segment. Everything else, from features to build quality, goes to the Ford. Even the sales experience was better, and while I realize that you can't really choose your salesman unless you already know one, the Ford guys really had their shit together, unlike the team at the best-selling Honda dealership down the street.

One last observation -- Ford's MyTouch/SYNC/whatever platform gets panned for its interface, and I haven't played with it enough to judge, but the feature set itself is pretty smart IMO. I especially appreciate the built-in SOS feature that calls 911 on your phone when the airbags deploy. This is only available as part of a $20/mo package for OnStar subscribers, and I don't believe that even the newest GM vehicles will do it without that fee.

[bren]

A Ford and a Chevy in the driveway - when did you move to Michigan?

[JST]

Originally Posted by bren

A Ford and a Chevy in the driveway - when did you move to Michigan?

Blair's always been a mid-westerner at heart. I mean, he had a Pontiac for a while.

[blee]

Originally Posted by JST

Blair's always been a mid-westerner at heart. I mean, he had a Pontiac for a while.

And an Oldsmobile before that.

Funny, for all my bitching about Fords, I have now purchased two of them. I'm happy that this one is actually made in America (in the midwest, at that) and not in Mexico. I was sorely tempted to make a deal on the gorgeous blue GT500 they had sitting in the showroom as well, but I'm a Chevy guy. You know, having bought...uh, exactly one of them over the last 15 years of my car-purchasing life.

[JST]

Originally Posted by blee

And an Oldsmobile before that.

Funny, for all my bitching about Fords, I have now purchased two of them. I'm happy that this one is actually made in America (in the midwest, at that) and not in Mexico. I was sorely tempted to make a deal on the gorgeous blue GT500 they had sitting in the showroom as well, but I'm a Chevy guy. You know, having bought...uh, exactly one of them over the last 15 years of my car-purchasing life.

Whether one is a Ford or a Chevy guy has exactly zero to do with the amount of Fords or Chevys actually purchased.

I liked the 2.0L Ecoboost Escape my parents had for a while. Tidy, fairly trim, and pretty quick, it was reasonably like driving a Golf or Focus on stilts. The CUV is still not my preferred form-factor, but that's a nice one. Hope you're happy with it.

[blee]

Originally Posted by JST

I liked the 2.0L Ecoboost Escape my parents had for a while. Tidy, fairly trim, and pretty quick, it was reasonably like driving a Golf or Focus on stilts. The CUV is still not my preferred form-factor, but that's a nice one. Hope you're happy with it.

Mostly I'm glad that this whole car shopping process is done. It was a weird juxtaposition of fun (for me) and immense pain (also for me) and more pain (for my wife) with maybe a little enjoyment (for my wife) that ended up with a car that she really likes. Given her track record with cars, however, both of our girls might be in or about to start college when it's time for a replacement. This is a terrifying thought.

Our salesman recently bought a Focus ST for himself. My suggestion to get one for ourselves was dropped rather quickly. It was actually rather comical how quickly that happened, especially because the particular ST I saw was blue, and she really hates blue cars. In practical terms, I have to admit that the Focus was significantly tighter inside than the Escape, and the back row in particular was much more of a challenge with our booster seats.