R I C H

I put on studded Nokian Hakkapeliitta 7's. They definitely give me extra grip over a regular snow tire, but if I didn't live half way up a mountain I don't think I'd bother with the studs. They're far noisier on dry tarmac, but from mid November to March I'm mostly on snow and ice, so it's worth the trade off. I've been very impressed with them.

Yes, creaks and rattles seem to come as standard. Mine come from the trunk generally, and I've put small lengths of foam tape in strategic spots which has cured them.

Mine's a 2013 5dr, just passed 20,000 kms and it's been faultless. I added the short shift gear kit (bushings and linkage) which improves the shift feel greatly and a K&N filter which makes the engine breathe a little better.

MarkG

Yeah, I was thinking about studded tires, but probably wouldn't get them because a) we don't get ice on the roads that often, I've only had two bad experiences in the time I've been here and b) if I stop fast because of the studs, the person behind on summer tires will go into the back of me.

Dulciusexasperis

Subaru sales in the US are something like 2-3% of the market.
http://www.goodcarbadcar.net/2013/12...-rankings.html

Seem to be similar in Canada: http://www.goodcarbadcar.net/2014/03...-2014-ytd.html

So I wouldn't say they were, "so well liked in North America" Edo. One commercial, doesn't really indicate much.

While Toyota, Honda, Nissan, Subaru and Mazda have all been in N. America for decades, the surprisingly popular make now is Hyundai/Kia. Which outsells all of them except Mazda and has only been here for 15 years.
http://www.goodcarbadcar.net/2014/03...-2014-ytd.html

That's the make I would say is surprising in how much market it has captured in N. America in a relatively short period of time.

Regarding studded tires, regulations differ by province. In Ontario for example you have to live well north for them to be legal. http://www.perfecttire.com/en/tire-t...gulations.html
Regulations also differ by State in the USA. Regulations on tire chains also vary by Province/State.

AnotherBloke

Have to agree, I was really surprised at the ammount of Kia and Hyundia in Montreal. Pretty awful cars tbh

R I C H

Comparable sales to Mercedes, BMW and Mini, so a reasonable market share, and with 27% sales growth, compared to a market contraction year on year for Kia.

Relative niche brands like Subaru sell strongly in markets where AWD practicality makes sense. Locally they're very common, when I travel to the coast, they appear less so.

Simon Legree

They are also very popular in the New England states. Probably for the same AWD reason.

R I C H

I agree. When I lived in that area it appeared to be so.

The4BellsLondon

I have a kia now .. Tis fine n dandy!

MarkG

We almost bought an Elantra before we decided to get the Civic; we probably would have done if my girlfriend could see out the back of it! The Civic's interior was better, but otherwise the Elantra seemed a much better deal.

Haven't driven a Kia since the 90s, and they were certainly horrible back then.

As for sales figures, I read somewhere that Subaru now sells more cars in North America than Volkswagen does. Not that I see many VWs, but they're clearly rising up the ranks. Putting the automatic option back in the WRX seems another step toward increasing market share.

dbd33

I had a Kia Forte for a week recently. It was ill suited to use in the country. We had to be pushed to get it going on ice several times and one time I left it in reverse and only noticed when I walked toward it and saw the wheels turning. It was a rental though, it would be better on winter tyres.

printer

I just had the 40,000 service, it was new in 2012. Again no issues at all and very capable in all conditions. I have been across the Connector and Coquihalla 3 times during Jan/Feb and was impressed with the way it behaved compared to my truck i used to have. Fuel consumption isn't too bad either considering and its great to fill up at $70 a time rather than $120 for the V8 truck.
The downside with owning a nice all weather vehicle is that the paintwork suffers from all this damn winter grit they put down and you have to watch for those pot holes.

Edo

So what was Forester like on ice?

And how do we generally compare them to RAV4, CRV, Murano etc?

Gosh I didn't know I will be asking about Japanese cars one day

Dulciusexasperis

"Relative niche brands like Subaru sell strongly in markets where AWD practicality makes sense. Locally they're very common, when I travel to the coast, they appear less so."

Where I live now in small town Ontario the most common vehicles are pickup trucks. When I lived in Toronto, I didn't know anyone who owned a pickup. Nor anyone who owned a Subaru.

I still don't see any way to suggest that Subaru are 'so well liked' in N. America which was the original statement. Anything with less than say 10% market share is indeed a niche, not a 'so well liked' make unless some other definition of 'so well liked' was meant. ie. Ferrari are 'well liked' but not a lot of them are sold.

Why are you asking Edo? Are you in the market to buy a car and looking for opinions on various makes? If so, where will you be driving the car and for what uses?

R I C H

I had a 2008 Forester XT, which was a great all season car. No problems in the winter at all (I had studded snow tires). It's smaller than the current Rav and CRV, but roomier/more airy feeling than the Murano. Those three weren't really a consideration for me when I was buying - the Forester of that vintage is more wagon than SUV, and had a better turn of speed with the same engine as the Impreza WRX.

Edo

Yes I am looking to buy a car. Something that doesn't get stuck in the snow on the local roads. And plus the driving experience is also important.