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I was comparing your situation to his car ageMine is paid off. I paid her off early in September 2011
Any previous Subaru Impreza owners?
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mongoose221
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my car was just a baby 
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Gman_civic
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....Um, I guess I was wondering more about non-SI (LX or EX Civic) vs a reg Subaru Impreza sedan (non- STI or WRX). --> Comparisons in overal Reliability, Maintenance costs, etc
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I'll just say a few things; take them for what they are, internet comments from someone with some relevant experience.....
My '01 Impreza was solid and tank-like. I bought it from my mother in 2010 with 42k miles. I used it for about 6 months and really loved the car except for the seat wouldn't go back far enough for me. I put no money into it and the car never balked at me. The AWD (even back then) was awesome. It has gotten better since. I have had a '12 loaner Impreza for a week when my WRX was in the shop. I loved the CVT and the car was just as smooth (or more) than my '07 Civic LX was. The Civic is slightly more refined/quieter and has better ergonomics. But in the Subaru's defense, the boxer engine is just noisier, but does have a lower center of gravity which you do feel when take corners. The civic was an awesome car that I would high rev it every trip and would still get me 37 mpg at 77 mph (70 zone, I-10) on a 10 hr trip from Baton Rouge to Jacksonville.
I would put reliability and maintenance as about equal for LX & non-turbo impreza.
What would I buy now..... well, since i live in the northeast, it would be the Impreza 100% if I only had one car. If I lived in a non-snow belt region, it would be a tough decision.
mongoose221
Well-Known Member
^^ i'm going to agree with k7 here, and state that if i was buying a non SI (LX or EX) for my DD, then i would go with a regular impreza instead, most likely the hatch, since i'm in the northeast
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Gman_civic
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Well, K7 & Mongoose - this vehicle will be my DD. You REALLY have me thinking now!
Having come from a Forester (although an aged '98) I've just loved the AWD. I'm beginning to lean towards the Impreza, over the Civic. Mileage is similar apparently. Even if the Impreza is a tad lower, it's not a huge difference it seems. Need to compare insurance costs and reliability between the two. Wish I could have both an Impreza as well as a Civic, but I can only have 1.
Hmmmmmm. ???
Having come from a Forester (although an aged '98) I've just loved the AWD. I'm beginning to lean towards the Impreza, over the Civic. Mileage is similar apparently. Even if the Impreza is a tad lower, it's not a huge difference it seems. Need to compare insurance costs and reliability between the two. Wish I could have both an Impreza as well as a Civic, but I can only have 1.
Hmmmmmm. ???
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drive the Civic when the weather/roads are not 100% clear, then also drive the Impreza. The decision will be easy. Also, take a good look at the XV (SUV clearance'd Impreza). The video reviews I have seen all liked it. How cool is it to have more ground clearance than almost all of the SUVs on the market.
mongoose221
Well-Known Member
i miss the AWD, i'll give you that. base impreza vs base civic (non wrx/non si version), to me, the impreza wins 100% of the time in the snow belt/northeast... si vs wrx is a much tougher call b/c then performance, cost of ownership, reliability (NA vs turbo) comes into play
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Gman_civic
Active Member
Well, last night I did a google search on "real-world mpg...Impreza" and ended up over at NASIOC, specifically on a 2012 Impreza 2.0i thread.
To sum it up - page after page after page of '12 Impreza owners who, I'd say like 90% of whom, are Not happy with the mileage that they're getting. Figures are much lower than advertised and expected with this new engine. Only a select few are getting mileage as advertised but they are few and far between. :-( I should add however - other than the mileage, owners Love their cars!
I really started to think that I could "have my cake and eat it too" as the Impreza is a great-handling car, but that (mileage-wise) unfortunately is not the case. I absolutely Must have good mileage in my next car and can't compromise on that, as I'll be travelling a lot, not to mention appeasing my wife on that very point. If I were to get the Impreza and Not get the decent mileage as advertised (when I could have gotten the Civic), then I would Never hear the end of it from her - It's just not worth it to have that tension. Better to have peace between us, and me to drive very slow and steady in the winter.
Even if I was single, after having read many of the comments, I'd be hard-pressed now in getting the Impreza (unless money/mileage was not a main factor). Perhaps then I might "bite the bullet." I haven't checked out the insurance figures as yet. I'll continue to check into this mileage thing, but it's really Not looking good at all.
Well, back to the Civic thing! It Is a great car after all ! Just throw some good snow tires on it.
Maybe one day in the future, after years of depreciation, I'll p/u a used '12/'13 Impreza as my winter beater, and have the best of both worlds!
To sum it up - page after page after page of '12 Impreza owners who, I'd say like 90% of whom, are Not happy with the mileage that they're getting. Figures are much lower than advertised and expected with this new engine. Only a select few are getting mileage as advertised but they are few and far between. :-( I should add however - other than the mileage, owners Love their cars!
I really started to think that I could "have my cake and eat it too" as the Impreza is a great-handling car, but that (mileage-wise) unfortunately is not the case. I absolutely Must have good mileage in my next car and can't compromise on that, as I'll be travelling a lot, not to mention appeasing my wife on that very point. If I were to get the Impreza and Not get the decent mileage as advertised (when I could have gotten the Civic), then I would Never hear the end of it from her - It's just not worth it to have that tension. Better to have peace between us, and me to drive very slow and steady in the winter.
Even if I was single, after having read many of the comments, I'd be hard-pressed now in getting the Impreza (unless money/mileage was not a main factor). Perhaps then I might "bite the bullet." I haven't checked out the insurance figures as yet. I'll continue to check into this mileage thing, but it's really Not looking good at all.
Well, back to the Civic thing! It Is a great car after all ! Just throw some good snow tires on it.
Maybe one day in the future, after years of depreciation, I'll p/u a used '12/'13 Impreza as my winter beater, and have the best of both worlds!
Well, if they ever release the Impreza with the FA20 engine, I'd go for it. Though Subaru would probably try to turbocharge it, however. I think the current Impreza is quite surefooted for normal driving. I like it. That, and Subaru does have a tendancy of mashing over first model year buyers, though the BRZ/FR-S publicity has forced them to be a wee bit nicer, for now.
Somehow, all of that above is what I thought in the last 2 minutes. I'm sorry for the lack of organization.
Somehow, all of that above is what I thought in the last 2 minutes. I'm sorry for the lack of organization.
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NASIOC is a place for complainers (in general). People who are happy, don't post so the thread is filled with "how awful can it get" type of crap, which sways the new-reader to thinking all is crap.
If you are in a very technical thread over there, it's worth it to listen. gas mileage threads...hahahah. People drive extra fast, jack rabbit starts, over-warming when the car is cold, tons of city driving then complain that the mileage is not as advertised. Plus in the winter (really cold out) mileage always take a hit as all engines aren't efficient when they are cold.
If you are in a very technical thread over there, it's worth it to listen. gas mileage threads...hahahah. People drive extra fast, jack rabbit starts, over-warming when the car is cold, tons of city driving then complain that the mileage is not as advertised. Plus in the winter (really cold out) mileage always take a hit as all engines aren't efficient when they are cold.
+1 to Nasioc being a place for complainers/assholes.
I still love Nasioc as it is where I spend at least 50%+ of my forum time.
I still love Nasioc as it is where I spend at least 50%+ of my forum time.
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Gman_civic
Active Member
LOL, Too Funny! Ya, I can see that happening - complainers, etc.
I'm going to be near a Subaru dealer today, so I'm going to just drop in and take a look at the Impreza 2.0i ...just to see. What can THAT hurt eh?
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mongoose221
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from what i've read, while they might not achieve the EPA numbers and are disappointed, from doing a little fuelly browsing (subjective, not the most reliable, but a good general consensus) the 2012 and 2013 impreza (new body and new engine) are sitting on about 26.5-27.5mpg combined averages, while the previous gen was around 23-24mpg combined averages. roughly a 3mpg average mixed driving increase. the all highway ones seem to be sitting in around the 30mpg bracket. well below what a civic gets on average for mostly highway, but also well above what just about any other full time AWD vehicle gets. it's a fantastic thing they did with the new impreza gas MPG, just gotta accept that it will be lower than the civic at all times currently, even lower than an SI.
AWD is very nice in inclement weather conditions (doesn't mean your invincible tho). Why would you never consider them being in the cold places?
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I just never correlated the two, until someone mentioned it. Cold = bad for fuel econ, even without the winter grade gas in most regions to mess with it.
Secretly, I'm mostly hoping for an Impreza RS (like the previous gen), to come back. Though, since the FA20 is available (and similar size), and uses Subaru parts (only the Toybaru and one of the DIT Legacy variants in Japan use the Toyota DI system), it should be an ample replacement for the old RS. If that happens, then I'm sold (now if I could only convince them to make a nicer manual gearbox, and put it on non-STi cars, too
).EDIT: ah, last gen, they called it GT o.0
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Gman_civic
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OK, so I went to a Suby dealer Sat and test drove the new Impreza - BIG MISTAKE!! I am hooked. Man oh Man do I LIKE this car!!! It really hugs the road and is firm and well planted. Power is good - not huge or anything, but it Will do what you need it to. As I said, the handling is Great! Lower centre of gravity really makes a difference. It felt a lot like my old Forester, just a LOT nicer. It's a sweet ride!
Wow! (Just gotta check insurance comparisons between the Civic, and work out if the extra fuel cost would be worth it.)
Wow! (Just gotta check insurance comparisons between the Civic, and work out if the extra fuel cost would be worth it.)
you're welcome for us making you go drive it.
The civic has less fuel cost but just by a little. The question is, when the roads are crapp (rain, icy, snow)y, do you want to worry if you are going to make it to your destination or wait for the FWD cars to get out of your way so you CAN get there.
