New car time. Is Subaru MPG really that bad?

AnastieByte

AnastieByte

AnastieByte

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7 Mar 2005
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Northumberland
Ok, first off I'm not jumping on the "adverse weather must have a four wheel drive bandwagon"

My reasons for needing four wheel drive:

I work in a mainly rural area of Northumberland, I do around 15-18000 miles a year and I have to drive in all weathers hence 4x4 option. I also live on a very steep and long hill and Im getting fed up of having to either leave the xtype at the bottom or not even being able to get it out of the street.

The car needs to be a reasonable size due to having a family and a large dog!

I own an xtype 2.2D estate at present.

Whatever I get needs to be reliable, not have horrendous economy and be very comfortable on long journeys and fun when I want it to be.:D

I have considered a whole range of cars but my budget keeps going up and up. However what I do find tempting is a Subaru. I have seen Impreza 2.0RX's, WXR's and Legacys and Outbacks on Auto trader and Piston heads.

What worries me is that some testers get low 20's MPG. I can live with around 30 MPG but not really under 25!

Those of you that own these cars what is the real world MPG?

Other that Subarus anything else that you guy's would recommend? My budget is up to £15000. However, the Subarus I have seen are all around £12000 which is very tempting.
 
Not the most frugal four wheel drive cars in the world. You can get better, more economical, higher ground clearance, better four wheel drive system equiped cars for less than a Subaru.

However if you want a performance car with the added bonus of being able to get up a snowy hill but not being to slow down over the other side, go for it :D
 
I hesitate to suggest it but have you considered some of these crossover type cars.

Like the Audi allroad and I think Volvo do one too. Doubt theres much love for that sort of car here.

Scoob MPG isn't that bad. My first Impreza could easily manage over 30+ on a run (350 miles taking it easy?) and I know someone with an 03 STI with a ECUTEK map that manages over 30 on a run. My Type RA was pretty bad though and only managed 250 taking it easy.

Impreza might be a bit small with a family and a big dog. Legacy would be the better choice. Work colleague had a 540i and swapped for a Legacy and was very happy - kept it for years - still has it too (for the golf clubs in his case :) )
 
My WRX is doing about 23-24MPG with my 28 mile(14 each way) commute at the mo.In the summer months it was doing 26-27MPG.That is going through Reigate.On the motorway it will do maybe 30.It works out about 260-270 per tank.
 
I get around 300-320 miles to a tank in my standard WRX normally.

That's around 45 miles a day in commuting, with about 35 of that sat on DC/motorway.
 
It doesnt sound like you either want or need the high performance a WRX gives you, so it would seem pointless to take the running cost compromises that come with owning one.
 
If you want something practical with 4wd and decent ground clearance try a Subaru Forester. However, I'm not sure there's such a thing as an economical Subaru. Even the diesels seem to be off the pace on fuel economy.
 
Ok guys, thanks for all the replies. They give a few things to consider. I really do like cars that give the fun factor. However, due to the mileage I do it would kill my wallet.
 
I moved to the Legacy R spec B and yes the fuel is shocking! 21mpg average while not booting it about.

I really like the look of that audi though.
 
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