Advice: Subaru vs Jeep

Yeah, but man, they were great Jeeps. In fact, I was SO mad at Jeep for getting rid of the Cherokee and then putting the Liberty in its place. I absolutely despised Liberties. Then I went and test drove one. Heh.

misterzero said:

Yeah, but man, they were great Jeeps. In fact, I was SO mad at Jeep for getting rid of the Cherokee and then putting the Liberty in its place. I absolutely despised Liberties. Then I went and test drove one. Heh.

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"I hated them for going from the great 4.0L inline 6 to the new V6 3.7 L..."

EXACTLY! Been there myself.

<raises hand to be recognized>... Hi. I'm from "CJ & Wrangler owners who didn't like Cherokee's and despised KJ's until they drove one anonymous"... my name is....

Luis

ps... having said all that... I do still think that there are a *few* (and I do mean a *few*) places.... no... make that "trail routes"... not places (I'd just possibly have to take a different route).... that my TJ would have gone that the Liberty probably can't... but it's so few that it's not worth mentioning, unless you're looking for a vehicle as a "trail rig" only, and not a daily driver that doubles as a weekend warrior.

I have a 2005 jeep liberty (V6) and a 2003 Subaru Baja (L4). I real like them both however they are very different vehicle. The Subaru gets around 24 mpg in my driving the Jeep has been getting around 18 mpg. However the Subaru has no real off road abilities and the Jeeps are very good. The Jeep has a 5000 pound towing capacity the Subaru only has 2400. So it is real about what you are going to use them for.

I put a couple hundred thousand miles on a Legacy and was very happy with it. Also in the NW you see one about every 3 houses. Unfortunately I had to put a couple trannies in it but that was after 150k. I got it through some pretty rough terrain on a windsurfing excursion in baja but obviously the Jeep is more capable. The power sucked but they have some more powerful engines now. Check out the B9 Tribeca? It may be more than you want to spend and I think the rear is fugly but so is the entire Forrester. And they didn't change the new Outbacks enough... just some mild styling changes.

I'd take my Liberty over my Legacy....

There are TONS of Libertys on the road and I'm sure you could find a used V6 for a reasonable price.

CR has rated the Forester as the top small SUV and the Liberty at or near the bottom of the list. One thing they mention is the small back seats of the Liberty. Anyway I went down to the local Subaru dealer the other day just to see what the Forester was like. First of all it looks like a station wagon-van. The rear seats couldn't be any more cramped then that. I'm 6'1" and 230 lbs. and feel I have plenty of room in my Libby. The Forester is just too small and cramped feeling. The only thing is it had good foot room and probably a good reliability rating. But what good is better fuel economy if your not comfortable in the vehicle you drive?

I use the consumer reports alot, but one problem with them is that, they're rated for daily driving (and unfortunately, in the Libby's case, Mom driving). For instance, CG rated the Wrangler at 2/10. Sure, but the Wrangler isn't designed to be a comfy daily driver. It's designed for off-road use and at that, it's a 10/10. That's one of the problems I do have with consumer reports about vehicles.

maureen58 said:

CR has rated the Forester as the top small SUV and the Liberty at or near the bottom of the list. One thing they mention is the small back seats of the Liberty. Anyway I went down to the local Subaru dealer the other day just to see what the Forester was like. First of all it looks like a station wagon-van. The rear seats couldn't be any more cramped then that. I'm 6'1" and 230 lbs. and feel I have plenty of room in my Libby. The Forester is just too small and cramped feeling. The only thing is it had good foot room and probably a good reliability rating. But what good is better fuel economy if your not comfortable in the vehicle you drive?

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A Jeep is just cool. Subaru's I am sure are good cars, but it's just not a Jeep.

misterzero said:

I use the consumer reports alot, but one problem with them is that, they're rated for daily driving (and unfortunately, in the Libby's case, Mom driving). For instance, CG rated the Wrangler at 2/10. Sure, but the Wrangler isn't designed to be a comfy daily driver. It's designed for off-road use and at that, it's a 10/10. That's one of the problems I do have with consumer reports about vehicles.

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The way I see it is if the KJ's can handle the rugged terrain off road, then they can handle my wife's urban driving style.

Its funny how CR can give the KJ a low rating compared to other small SUV's and still give it a recommended rating, and how MSN Auto reviewers give it a 8 out of 10 (which is good for any vehicle). I read about the pros and cons, and even some of the problems people may have with them including features they don't like, but I must say almost 100% of the people I have talked to in person that have the KJ, whether they be young, old, middle age mothers, et. they all just love their Libby.

CR is a joke I think they take big kick backs from companies to rate their cars better and not rate them fair. I never Will use them to compare a car with another.

TireSmok007 said:

CR is a joke I think they take big kick backs from companies to rate their cars better and not rate them fair. I never Will use them to compare a car with another.

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You summed it all up very well. I work at an S&S Tire #21 in Lexington, KY. Numerous people come in with the "Consumer Reports" mentality. Everyone seems to want to beat the door down with magazine in hand, wanting Yokohama, Pirelli or Continental tires.....and they actually happen to be the three worst tires in the marketplace. We're Bridgestone / Firestone's largest purchaser of tires....we sell more BSFS, Mastercraft, and Goodyear as a rule. After potential customers finish their speech based on CR info, I tell them what I see sold as the best tires for their needs....a magazine can't ask questions and provide adequate feedback one-on-one.
I personally would not take the time to even piss on a burning Consumer Reports magazine.....I'd just as soon let it dribble down my pants leg instead and deal with the mess later.
Greg

Employee Pricing and Liberty CRD

I read a posting here that seemed to say the Employee Pricing program was not available on the CRD. I purchased my CRD new about six weeks back, the very day the employee pricing became available. Whatever day that was, it was the day i got it. They gave me the Employee Pricing, and the additional rebate was $1000. I had priced CRDs at every dealer within 75 miles or so of my home here, and the CRD formerly had only a $500 rebate. The day the employee pricing came out, they finally offered me a price i could feel good about. I have a Silver Sport CRD, and like all CRDs sold this year, it means i have the 5 speed automatic trans, the Selec-Trac transfer case and 4 wheel anti-lock disk brakes. I have the 3.73 Trac-Lok axle as well. To the young man looking at Subarus and Libertys, my CRD never gets below 22 MPG, and if i am careful on highway i get 25-27. It is a very capable vehicle, and i have had no troubles with it.

just figured i would weigh into this conversation. This is my first post here, though i have read it for a good while.

thanks

Man did you get lucky. We bought an '05 rennie 2 1/2 weeks ago and didn't get the CRD because w/o employee pricing they were out of budget for us. Even the jeep website won't give you a build quote w/employee pricing on the CRD. I think the sales guys were ill-trained when you got that deal. Don't buy any lottery tickets, you snuck through on that one.

You could be right about that dnm45227 ..i really don't know. But at least one other dealership- Jacksonville Chrysler Jeep Dodge- in Jacksonville, FL, called me back after the employee pricing came through and wanted to offer me the deal on a CRD. They actually had 9 of them and would not come off of the list any more than the $500 CRD rebate the day i was there. They had some Limiteds that were totally maxed out too, super nice Libertys. Once the employee price thing began, the salesdudette called me back to offer me the employee pricing on a CRD. Her exact words were to that effect. I of course was about two days into owning the new Sport CRD i got from a dealer in south GA, 50 odd miles north of me. I feel good about the deal yes, and the more i drive it the happier i am to own it. It is a great machine i say.