iaink

Ive had a few subaru legacies over the last 15 years.

They are extremely reliable, the AWD is seamless and very effective, the ones Ive driven are relatively fun to drive with good suspension/ driving feedback (for AWD), they are relatively easy on gas compared to small SUVs (2.5l 4 cyl)

They are decently equiped at base or lower trim levels (A/c, Sunroof, fogs, 17" alloys, heated seats etc are my usual wish list.)

They lack in a few areas I dont really care about, the auto transmission is a 4 speed job from the days of the dinosaurs (but its very reliable), and the noise levels could be lower, but overall they are immensely practical vehicles for dealing with what Canada can throw at you. Just a shame they dont do a Legacy wagon anymore.

Having said that my usual daily driver is a 2012 civic, and with winter tires on the stability control does an excellent job in the winter. Not quite a Subaru levels in the worst of it, but still very good, and its a lot cheaper to run. The Subaru is a lot cheaper to insure though, one of the cheapest I believe in so far as a vehicle makes much difference here?

Steve_

They're not, it's a marketing trick, can't remember the name of it now but you use it when you're dominant in the market.

People tend to narrow choices down to two choices and the Honda Civic is the best selling car in Canada and very popular in the US.

So instead of comparing against a car that someone would be considering, they compare against a well-respected but less known brand that is likely not being considered by the would-be purchaser.

So instead of being Honda v. Ford or Honda v. Toyota or Honda v. Nissan, etc. it becomes Honda v. Subaru.

Now this indirectly leads to more people wanting to buy a Subaru, but if you can get people to compare against a smaller competitor the bulk of the decisions usually go in your favour. Instead of being a 50/50 split it's a 90/10 split. Why go with the lesser-known and therefore riskier brand when you can go with the better-known and less risky brand? Instead of losing half the sales you lose 10% of them. I bet in that ad they were also comparing against a Subaru model with a higher MSRP.

It enables you to maintain market share.

SchnookoLoly

I'm a bit late to the party... I used to have a 1993 Subaru Legacy station wagon. It was bought brand new. I sold it in 2005 with 280,000km on it. That car was a workhorse. Ran well, drove well, and made it to that ridiculously high mileage. I certainly would get another Subaru again, subject to reviews etc. My family does drive their cars to that kind of mileage though. The roster since then:

1999 Volvo S80, sold in 2011 with 265,000km
2002 Honda CRV, currently still running happily, mileage 286,000 at last check.

The other cars we have are newer models so still running but the view is to keep them that long. (That roster is a 2012 Lexus ES350, a 2012 VW Jetta Diesel, and a 2013 Hyundai Elantra.)

Husband and I have the Subaru Forester on our short list of potential SUVs for the future. Husband's cousins just bought one last year and adore it.

iaink

Forester and CRV are obvious direct competitors I would have said. Throw the Rav 4 in the mix as far as popular import Small SUVs go,

SchnookoLoly

Yep, agreed. Add in as well the Hyundai Tuscon and the VW Tiguan for other smaller SUVs.

MarkG

I'm not sure there are any Subarus that are cheaper than a Civic? The Impreza isn't much more expensive, but the money that goes into the AWD system can't go into the interior or other convenience features.

Steve_

Yeah so it's a perfect choice for this marketing trick. They know you can't find it anywhere cheaper than a Civic so it creates a false choice in the mind of the consumer. You cease to consider a viable alternative.

Edo

This is very interesting. Never heard it before but kinda makes sense.

ppaauull0

I have had 2 Subaru's while in Canada and I can honestly say they were both crap, ok they were good in the snow but the build quality and reliability was very poor, I also had a Volkswagen Jetta, that too was badly built as is the case with most American built cars, Hondas, Toyotas and Hyundai's are popular here because people are realising that to get a decent car you need to buy something not build over here.

iaink

Most North American market Jettas are Mexican made.
Depending on the Subaru model it was most likely made in Japan (Legacy/ Outback is US made)

Many many Hondas and Toyotas are in fact US made.
Many cheap "domestics" are in fact from Korea, like the Hyundais are, but there was a Hyundai plant in Canada at one point in the dim and distant past, back when the product was pretty crap.

Based on JD power and the like, Hyundai are not quite at Toyota/ Honda levels yet, no matter how much they would like people to think they are. They do have a decent warranty coverage though.

From what Ive read with Subaru the ownership experience is somewhat dependent on the local dealership. My local guy has gone above and beyond expectation on more than one occasion for me, and that probably explains my favourable impression over the years. Not all dealers are equal though.

MarkG

Civics are built in Canada. Imprezas, I believe, are still built in Japan.

jwtimmon

I had a forester St/b turbo 220bhp if memory serves, went like the clappers, neither snow, ice or mud stopped it and it was pretty fun to drive and went round bends like it was on rails.

Only downside was it drank fuel like it was going out of fashion and if you got excited with the right foot you got from petrol station to petrol station very quickly

But mechanically rock solid, it had running gear a full size 4x4 would be proud of.

R I C H

Subarus have never been frugal, especially the turbos, but I've noticed my STI isn't noticeably worse than the WRX or Forester turbo I had previously. Being able to choose a soft engine map when cruising helps. It'll return 9.4l/100kms on a run, or around 10.5 during daily driving. Heavy throttle makes it plummet towards the low teens.

A point of order - Subarus have permanent AWD, 4x4's don't

jwtimmon

It was the size or beefiness of everything under the car I was referring to, huge in relation to the size of car it was carrying.

iaink

I get that from a regular 2.5 legacy

But at least its not "premium"

Mind you, over the winter my civic is neared 8.5 than the 7ish I get when its warmer.