Personally, I don't care for Subaru's new contrived styling, but it appears to be a hit with its customer base.

 

Neither do I. But i see every Subaru sale as a missed Jeep (or AMC Eagle which was ahead of its time) sale.

 

Meanwhile, Subaru has killed off the entry level trim for several of it's lines and pushed prices higher with no additional content added.

 

Did they hire some Jeep execs?

 

Yeah, Subarus are far from perfect, but some people still wouldn't buy anything else.

One of my direct reports at my prior employer got a 2014 WRX w/manual transmission: he complained that the transmission was missing a gear (it was only a 5-speed!), the car was missing features for the price, the interior was covered in acres of hard plastics, MPG was so-so, and I forget what else.

Still, he would buy another one in a heartbeat. Why? Because the dealer pampered him (and his wife); the car was shockingly capable and built like a tank; resale value was outstanding, and while overall reliability was not at Toyota levels, it was still better than most. All in all, a very sweet value proposition.

 

That echoes my experience with Subaru as well. It’s ridiculous that between Jeep and Subaru, I found the best value for an all weather capable vehicle came from.. wait for it.. Dodge. The AWD Durango is a much better value, to me at least, in price and features than the gravel road brands. (Insert rant about Dodge letting Durango whither on the vine here)

 

Jeep still hasn't made AWD standard except on its BOFs. Subaru has.

 

My son lives in Portland and drives a Subaru Crosstrek. He is a big time camper and hiker.

 

We have had a Forester for 8 years. Subaru fixes things after warrantee runs out if there are a lot of failures with a certain component. They extend the warrantee on that part. And they give you a loaner car. Things fixed for us no charge:
AC condenser
Start/shifter interlock
Suspension bushings
Rear hatch struts
Also got letters on the CVT & electric power steering but never had trouble with them. Imagine getting that from Stellantis. I would like a BRZ for myself…nice little rear drive sporty car 6 spd manual please….

 

I have several friends that own Subaru vehicles - both buying multiple models. They love them.

Their common theme seems to be very similar to friends that own Toyota vehicles: “The dealer takes care of us”.

One Subaru owner friend recently told a group at a dinner outing that while at the dealer for an oil change service, the service advisor told her that the technician noticed a nail in one tire. The tire had not lost enough air to trigger the TPMS warning.

The tire and wheel was removed, the tire removed and patched from the inside - and then rebalanced. The dealership did not charge my friend for the repair - simply telling her they did not want to be stranded. She did pay for the oil change service.

Good dealer service sells cars and generates enormous good will (and has customers telling others about the good service).

 

Eagle: “we'll try to get people who like imports to buy this American car.”
German Engineering: “we'll try to get German car snobs to buy this American car.”

 

Opel Grandland-Dodge Journey: [German engineered American car].

 

Subarus are for the crowd that wouldn't be caught dead driving a SUV for some reason.

One of my buddies had always insisted his Subaru could go anywhere. Was better than my Jeep. He would never buy an SUV. Too impractical. Took him in the Jeep on an icy snowy hilly road in my Tahoe neighborhood and he finally realized that this Subaru couldn't do the things I was doing.

Also every Subaru I've been in was filled with cheap plastic and uncomfortable interiors. Maybe they have finally made them better?

Most people who have them like them for on road AWD capability

 

I agree with everything you said but do you mean Subaru owners avoid the big BOF SUV’s? That’s likely true because Subaru has cultivated a more environmentally friendly image even though their gas mileage is middling at best. Even with the hard plastic interior bits, I’d still get another one but the CVT is holding me back, plus the hope of a new AWD crossover for Dodge or Chrysler.🤞

 

We have owned Subarus for 27 years and I can tell you the current level of service and warrantee and after warrantee support is far better than it was with our first one which was a '98 Outback. Basically nothing was covered after warrantee on that one and as much as we liked it, there were comparatively a LOT of problems once it passed 100,000 miles:
Head gaskets (2x, one at 109,000 and again at 186,000)
Front CV axles, 2x
Wheel bearings
gas transfer pipe rotted out and leaked fuel
coolant tranfer pipe and radiator leaked
etc...
the '17 has been good but it's only at 82,000 miles at present.
So what this shows me is that unlike FCA or Stellantis, some companies actually change how they treat customers despite costs going up.....

 

Chrysler used to cover common issues long after the warranty ended. it was a good faith thing and it kept me (and others) in the fold.

 

It certainly makes a difference!