wanneroo wrote:I know those cars well, spent a lot of time with them when new. Overall pretty solid cars with good ground clearance and all wheel drive. However the 3.6L six had some oil consumption issues and the 2.5 motors were ok but the CVT transmissions don't last. They are a "sealed" unit and typically go bang by 120k miles. If one can work around those issues, again they are pretty solid machines and safe as well with the multi ring cage supporting the roof.
I'll pass this onto him. I know nothing about them other than from when I replaced a head gasket on my brother-in-law's Leone over twenty years ago. That one impressed with it's towing ability and grunt but was horrendous on fuel. This 2010 looks like the same basic engine but with more junk packed in around it, doesn't look like it'd be much fun doing a head on this one, the Leone was pretty easy to get to.
I did notice the heavy crash cage around the car when we were doing the struts, about two-inch tube all the way around it. His second Subaru is a '92 sedan which I personally think is the much nicer vehicle of the two, it's a manual for a start, but it has some sort of gadget in the transfer case that automatically alters the ratio of engine power going to front and rear axles apparently?