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• Reputation: 2589 Q&A: 52 0 4 1611 142 0 Classifieds: 0 0 what's this? Follow Following 2 Geni

  4 0 I loved my 2002 Forester long time. I would still be driving it, but they offered me a truly absurd sum of money for a trade-in. It's a great little car, very peppy. The WRX is a bit more of a go-fast; it takes premium gas, needs a bit more tinkering, just generally not quite as practical. But all the Subarus are sure-footed as goats on slippery roads. None of them are suitable for really deep snow or off-road, but that's true of pretty much any car or crossover. Don't buy the first two years of Foresters (98 and 99, I think). They were still working out some bugs at that point. The Toyota RAV4 is a nice little car, but a bit tippier overall than the Forester and does not have as much cargo space (and the older ones don't have antilock brakes standard). I haven't driven the Honda CR-V, but I imagine it's in much the same class. If you want to save money, buy a Subaru Legacy sedan (not the station wagon). They cost a lot less, but still have the great handling, reliability, and full-time AWD. Geni answered in Cars & Motorcycles 11 months ago | Report Comment on this answer Enter your comment or ask a new question preview THIS IS A PREVIEW: Click "Post" to submit it or "Edit" to make changes. edit Please wait… This could take a minute if the tubes are clogged.

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• Reputation: 831 Q&A: 25 0 0 376 45 0 Classifieds: 0 0 what's this? Follow Following 1 Jack

  2 0 Subarus are indeed the best reasonably-priced car for on-road weather conditions. However, they have some drawbacks as used cars. They're not really at the top of the heap reliability or fuel-economy wise, and the same all-wheel drive system that gives them their great winter handling can turn into an expensive liability if a previous owner abused it. They're also pricey in the used market relative to other cars. What's really more important is tires. Unless you live up a mountain or something, any ol' front wheel drive car will handle most any weather just fine with a good set of winter tires. A Corolla or a Civic with good winter tires will be safer in the snow than a Subaru with all-seasons, and be more reliable and get better mileage. I'm also of the opinion that domestic cars are really the best used car deals these days. Their quality has largely caught up with the big name Japanese brands, but the used prices have not come to reflect this yet. Something like a 5-10 year old Ford or GM product (maybe not Chrysler) will be just about as reliable as a similar-aged Honda or Toyota but cost thousands less. Or alternatively you can buy a much newer, lower mileage car for the same money. Oh, and you definitely don't want a WRX. Those are Subaru's muscle cars and they are TERRIBLE used buys because they have the same sensitive AWD system and they are much more prone to abuse by the testosterone-poisoned demographic they appeal to. Jack answered in Cars & Motorcycles 11 months ago | Report Comment on this answer Enter your comment or ask a new question preview THIS IS A PREVIEW: Click "Post" to submit it or "Edit" to make changes. edit Please wait… This could take a minute if the tubes are clogged.

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• Reputation: 51 Q&A: 2 0 0 11 0 0 Classifieds: 0 0 what's this? Follow Following 1 Lack Thereof

  1 0 General Motors' traction control system is absolutely fantastic in snow & ice, and has been an optional feature on pretty much all of their cars for the past 2 decades. It's made by Delphi, and I've had a chance to experience it in Chevys and Buicks large and small. Love it. Allows just the right amount of wheelspin to dig through snowdrifts, kicks into action fast, and gets out of the was as soon as it's not needed. A good traction control system can make a standard front-wheel-drive car just as road-worthy in the snow as a 4wd/AWD car (off-roading abilities aside). And my personal opinion is that if you need 4wd to get moving, there's no way you'll be able to turn a corner or stop. However, not all traction control systems are equal. Many manufacturers program their systems too aggressively - you end up getting stuck /because/ of the traction control, rather than in spite of it. I drove a Mercedes once where the traction control would basically stop the car at the first sign of slippage. I drove a Toyota where the traction control's reactions lagged about 2 seconds behind the road conditions - it would skitter through the icy patch and THEN cut power when it was back on dry pavement. For brute grip, though, you can't beat an all-wheel-drive system with limited slip or automatic-locking differentials. VW/Audi and Subaru are the go-to players in the car market for those systems, but practically every light SUV has such a system optional. And of course, 4 wheel ABS is mandatory. Lack Thereof answered in Cars & Motorcycles 10 months ago | Report Comment on this answer Enter your comment or ask a new question preview THIS IS A PREVIEW: Click "Post" to submit it or "Edit" to make changes. edit Please wait… This could take a minute if the tubes are clogged.

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• Reputation: 6000 Q&A: 113 0 11 4226 721 3 Classifieds: 0 0 what's this? Follow Following 6

  0 0 You should probably know that east coast winters absolutely destroy cars, and you will notice a paucity of older models around town and in the for sale ads. A ten-year-old car is fairly rare there. The bottoms rust away. You'll even see the words "California car" in the ads sometimes; whether it's true or not, it really just means "less rust than you'd expect". Fnarf answered in Cars & Motorcycles 11 months ago | Report 2 comments by Jack and Fnarf… 1 0 Ah, you have not lived in rust land lately. A miracle has occurred, which is that the car makers have seemingly cured rust! Some cars still grow some surface rust, but cars don't completely rust out in a decade or less like they once did. Jack commented 11 months ago | Report 0 0 Oh, I'm old. I didn't know. I was used to seeing 3/4 of the cars on the road with gaping holes in the side, even cars three or four years old. Fnarf commented 11 months ago | Report Enter your comment or ask a new question preview THIS IS A PREVIEW: Click "Post" to submit it or "Edit" to make changes. edit Please wait… This could take a minute if the tubes are clogged.

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