Relationship issues

i'd agree with that.

funny thing- one of my mates (whose wife has a company car budget) was tossing up between golf mkV or impreza rs. he chose the golf because of the build quality and the room (his words).

japanese brands would have a stronger presence if their larger cars (crowns, celsiors, cimas, cedrics etc etc) were brought over here to compete in the $50-75k luxury market, and if fuel and the mass move toward hatches/smaller engines werent recieving so much media attention.

people might dismiss civics and mirage sedans as 'jap crap', but the japanese DO know how to make a damn good car.

I probably fall into this category moving from a 97 Outback Ltd (manual) to my Bora in 2001. I recall my thinking was first the basic spec of AWD and manual with more power and the Bora was a very good fit albeit smaller. Looked at the B4 etc but around this time Subaru I felt was losing its direction till the later Liberty GT. What have they done with the latest incarnation - I would not go back to the current offering.

VAG wise tho only way forward/up would be say an RS4 or S5 (manual of course). So I'm keeping the Bora :)

I didn't notice that there was a 'relationship' between the two brands but now that you mention it ...

The marketing answer makes sense - they target a similar demographic offering similar value for $.

Hell, they've both succeeded at my place.

My husband drives a Subaru Outback.

its because they bought out our beetle "flat 4" motor design......

i also have a liking to the mazda because they also bought the "wakel rotary" motor design......

dom

The only thing worse than the sound of a flat 4 VW air cooled engine, is a flat 4 Subaru water cooled engine.

Or arguably the other way around.

So these two share the worst sounding engines on the planet.

VW makes up for it with the rest of the engine range, like the V6s, but Subaru has nothing that sounds good. And lately they have nothing that looks good either.

I like Subarus but I've never owned one. I have a good friend who is a Subaru fanboy through and through and have driven most of his rides over the years. Nice enough cars but lacking in character and build quality. That said, I still have a weird itch for an 04 STi.

I too have a soft spot for Mazda. I had a 1986 626 for my first car. Velour trim and electric everything. The poor thing copped a lot of abuse from learner & p-plate Mat but it never complained. Ended up selling it to a 16yo girl who thought it was awesome coz it had a cd player & loud exhaust hahahahaha

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Originally Posted by MattyT

Ended up selling it to a 16yo girl who thought it was awesome coz it had a cd player & loud exhaust hahahahaha

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i did the exact same thing but with my 91 323, and i had chromies aswell. :)

I like subarus because they are FULLY SIC BRO!!!



other than that i dont realy see the comparison between jap and german.

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Originally Posted by SoVeReIgN

For some people, it's status.

Korean cars -> Aussie/American cars -> Most Japanese cars -> Subaru -> VW -> Other European cars (BMW/Audi/Merc).

Not saying I agree with that summary, but thats what most people think IMHO.

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Agree with that completely ..... whats more is that most VW owners don't actually go to Subaru ... its usually the other way around .....

And even if so its smaller/cheaper VW => better/faster Subaru => better/faster VW ....

and BTW Toyota is slowly taking over Subaru atm .... more than 20% shareholding and climbing ......

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Originally Posted by mikinoz

Subaru is in my opinion the most acceptable Japanese car if you are a Euro lover that wants to swing the other way. I think it is the performance/aesthetic/reliability that attracted us to buy a forester back in 04 (but sold in 06 for a TDI tee hee!).

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I agree, as Subaru seems the most 'European' of the Japanese brands.

But after having owned two Libertys that ran faultlessly for almost 300 000km, it came down to Subaru not representing decent value for money anymore.

Ideally I was after an MY01 Forester GT but insurance was a scary prospect, and anything late model was still too expensive for someone like me who doesn't drive their car so much anymore.

So to me, the switch from Subaru to VW was because VAG represented a similar reputation for reliability and performance as Subaru. I may well go back to a Liberty once chunks of depreciation have been knocked out of the MY04-07 range, as they will be a far better second-hand prospect in a year or two.

Ideally I'll shoot for a Bilstein-equipped GT Spec-B wagon. Although an '07 STi wagon sitting in my garage wouldn't be a bad thing, either! :P