Quote:
Originally Posted by stein_325i
Definitely loyalty. The owners are kind of like the mainstream Volvo in a way, well before Volvo's were beautiful at least. They have the image of safety, at least that's my view. I personally have never understood it, I find Subaru's overhyped.
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I've owned an STI and my wife is driving an Outback today. To me the brand has a reputation today that far exceeds the reality. They can't build a decent engine. Probably the worst engines in the industry and to make matters worse they have followed the blueprint of Nissan going all CVT. For some reason Nissan get a lot of flack for this but Subaru's doesn't. That said if you get one with an engine that lasts they are somewhat dependable and handle all weather conditions like a champ.
I'm not bullish on their future though as their claim to fame is symmetrical AWD and boxer engines. Once the industry goes AWD every automaker will be on the same playing field of offering a single motor 2WD or dual motor AWD. Subaru could stick to AWD but won't be able to hide the costs of the additional motor like they can with their cheap AWD systems today. They will have nothing to separate them from Nissan or any other brand.