RAV4 or Forester

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Torren said:
My wife just bought a '15 Tucson AWD Limited.

Got 3k discount for a '15 model since the '16's are out, but she did not like the interior of the '16 anyways, less room. We actually found the Tucson had more front seat space than the Santa Fe. Overall very pleased with it. 9L/100km so far overall average. Paid $2100 and now have 8 years 160k of bumper to bumper warranty, including roadside assistance both here and in the US.
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Great Deal! Lol! I'm guessing you missed a zero? But $21k for a new vehicle is a great deal.
I like the look of those Hyundais. I think my BIL's 2015 Sante Fe XL might make it's way over here in about 6 years.

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Oh and the reason they gave was that their pistons are intentionally oval so they expand to round as they heat up. Don't know how true that is. Some owners report that changing oil makes it go away.
 
Joe Bass said:
Great Deal! Lol! I'm guessing you missed a zero? But $21k for a new vehicle is a great deal.
I like the look of those Hyundais. I think my BIL's 2015 Sante Fe XL might make it's way over here in about 6 years.

Sent from a Samsung Galaxy far, far away using Tapatalk
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Haha I wish it was 21k for the car. It was $2,100 for the extended warranty, so the end of model discount more than covered the warranty. The car was 31k and actually has a warranty that extends past the payments for a change.

I like the looks of it. Hyundai has been making some sharp looking cars the last few years and super roomy. I'm 6' 280 and I was amazed at the space for an asian car.
 
Torren said:
Haha I wish it was 21k for the car. It was $2,100 for the extended warranty, so the end of model discount more than covered the warranty. The car was 31k and actually has a warranty that extends past the payments for a change.

I like the looks of it. Hyundai has been making some sharp looking cars the last few years and super roomy. I'm 6' 280 and I was amazed at the space for an asian car.
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My bad. I was getting really excited there! Lol

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I've read a lot of forum posts saying some 2015 Subarus consume oil... even the 2.5 in the Forester. Someone on reddit was saying their 2015 Forester consumes a pint of oil every 1500 miles -- and Subaru tells him oil consumption is normal. That worries me.

Honda has never really done much for me, and I've also heard some horror stories about the CRV consuming oil and Honda Canada being less than cooperative in trying to remedy it.

Hyundai... never looked at one and never test drove them. Mimico-Polack's transmission woes with his Elantra are still fresh in my mind, but I haven't researched any of their SUVs.

My wife loves the look of the RAV4, I thought it drove decent enough. Tons of space with the rear seats down. I've had very few to no issues with Toyota in general, and problems I did have were remedied cheaply (parts are cheap). Sure, they don't stand out, but they work.

Still thinking though. Still researching.
 
I'm sure it's been discussed on the internet, what's the word on using a good oil in the subbie? By good oil I mean anything that's LL-01, like german castrol, M1 euro formula, motul 8100, redline... etc? When I got my car it needed a few top ups, rotella needed a few top ups, but I never had to top up german castrol or motul 8100.
 
unL33T said:
I heard they resolved that a few years back. My WRX was fine while I owned it as far as head gaskets go but it definitely burned oil. They told me all their turbos burn lots of oil. A friend with an Audi A3 has the same problem.
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My 02 "consumes" oil. I never see it being burned but it goes somewhere. 230k/km later it still runs great and was detuned to put down 260awhp after being 290 from 60k/km-160k/km. It's nothing to do with the turbo as that was replaced/upgraded and the problem is still there. There's a bit of a link to using Mobil1 in subarus and oil consumption. I did use it for the first 4-5 oil changes and assume that's when the problem started.

I love my subaru and when winter comes the awd is more than worth the extra fuel consumption.
 
unL33T said:
I heard they resolved that a few years back. My WRX was fine while I owned it as far as head gaskets go but it definitely burned oil. They told me all their turbos burn lots of oil. A friend with an Audi A3 has the same problem.
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I am not sure about the burning oil and turbo cars statement. Mine (STI) has 60,000kms on it and it doesn't burn any oil. Subarus really hold their value and the full-time AWD is amazing in the snow. Once you try it, you will have a hard time going back to a 2WD car.
 
veteq said:
I am not sure about the burning oil and turbo cars statement. Mine (STI) has 60,000kms on it and it doesn't burn any oil. Subarus really hold their value and the full-time AWD is amazing in the snow. Once you try it, you will have a hard time going back to a 2WD car.
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I had a 2011 Subaru WRX STI for a couple years... The Symmetrical AWD was f'ing amazing.


Anecdotal evidence time: My brother in law has a RAV4.... 400,000KM, no issues what-so-ever. Still gets great fuel mileage and barely uses any gas while hauling a pile of ****.

I know VW is looking shanty right now... but my parents have a new Tiguan that's AWD, great towing capacity and gets good fuel mileage.
 
Chasem said:
I had a 2011 Subaru WRX STI for a couple years... The Symmetrical AWD was f'ing amazing.


Anecdotal evidence time: My brother in law has a RAV4.... 400,000KM, no issues what-so-ever. Still gets great fuel mileage and barely uses any gas while hauling a pile of ****.

I know VW is looking shanty right now... but my parents have a new Tiguan that's AWD, great towing capacity and gets good fuel mileage.
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Tiguan is not exactly a true awd. Haldex based.
 
daught said:
Tiguan is not exactly a true awd. Haldex based.
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Oh didn't know that.... My dad never seems to get stuck though, even in really deep snow. The bastard never plows his driveway now. So I get stuck every time I go to visit my parents in the winter.
 
love my 2012 2.5l turbo forester xt. but i did blow the short block. dealer fixed it for free.(never was told why it happened, it went at 64000km) i purchased it with 60000km on it. it still had warranty. also got extended warranty in my opinion a must when you get a subaru. i choose to get a 2012 because i didn't like the look of the 2014 and i found out it uses the brz engine with a bigger turbo. if you get one always check your oil just to be safe. i have towed to ss bikes from mississauga to shannonville and it took about 45 bucks of 91 each way. thats also the **** thing you need to use 91 or higher gas. i found im about a liter low every 10000km but thats with a couple shannonville trips. if you get a 2012 model (older body) its a little bare inside , it can be a pig on gas but it also awd. oh yeah also a 4 speed auto :S

pick this over crv and rav4 becuase a like the look more and it handles better, but rav4 and crv are a bit bigger. if you want a subaru also look at the 3.6R outback its got a foot more storage then forester but you lose about half a head in head room in the outback. you will also have to get used to the engine lol. it makes a totally different noise then normal engines.

p.s. dont buy a subaru from mississauga subaru a bunch of *****. but service and parts guys are great. lol
 
veteq said:
I am not sure about the burning oil and turbo cars statement. Mine (STI) has 60,000kms on it and it doesn't burn any oil. Subarus really hold their value and the full-time AWD is amazing in the snow. Once you try it, you will have a hard time going back to a 2WD car.
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Depends what you do with it. For normal driving I don't find much difference unless it's a huge snow storm. But if I want to street park in 2 ft of snow it sure does make a difference.
 
My wife leased a '14 RAV4 last year. 2WD 4-cyl model, 'XLE' (comes with Nav and back-up camera). The 4-cyl has enough oomph for both city and highway, including carrying 4 adults.

I bought 4 steelies and winter tires for her. A curiosity is that it does not have a TPMS system, so no warning light or reprogramming when switching wheels/tires.

There is an 'ELD' function to the TRAC/ABS system, electronic locking differential, that applies brake on the slipping wheel during acceleration (but doesn't retard the throttle). With the winter tires, this feature worked well in the snow storm last December.
 
I'm not aware of any modern cars that are not highway capable...
 
Motorcycle Mike said:
Mimico-Polack's transmission woes with his Elantra are still fresh in my mind, but I haven't researched any of their SUVs.
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My car is the 2012 Elantra Touring which keeps the 4-speed auto transmission. I've read that's the weak point in the car, and I will tend to agree. Would've bought the 5-speed manual but wife doesn't drive manual....so auto it was. I would assume they got their act together with the 6-speed auto in the newer Elantras.

This is my second Hyundai. The first being the 2010 Genesis Coupe 3.8, manual...zero issues. The ET has had 4 issues...2 transmissions, and 2 steering wheels for the pleather pealing at the top of the wheel where it's most exposed to the sun.

Mind you I heard something recently about the Sonatas having engine issues...but haven't looked further into it. Overall I'm happy with Hyundai.

Topic at hand...my buddy has a 2010 or so RAV4 2WD with 4 cylinder motor and is extremely happy with it. His lease just came up and he ended up buying the car out because the new ones didn't do anything for him, and he felt that his 4 cylinder drove way better than the new one.
 
Motorcycle Mike said:
I've read a lot of forum posts saying some 2015 Subarus consume oil... even the 2.5 in the Forester. Someone on reddit was saying their 2015 Forester consumes a pint of oil every 1500 miles -- and Subaru tells him oil consumption is normal. That worries me.

Honda has never really done much for me, and I've also heard some horror stories about the CRV consuming oil and Honda Canada being less than cooperative in trying to remedy it.

Hyundai... never looked at one and never test drove them. Mimico-Polack's transmission woes with his Elantra are still fresh in my mind, but I haven't researched any of their SUVs.

My wife loves the look of the RAV4, I thought it drove decent enough. Tons of space with the rear seats down. I've had very few to no issues with Toyota in general, and problems I did have were remedied cheaply (parts are cheap). Sure, they don't stand out, but they work.

Still thinking though. Still researching.
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Ask any Mercedes owner about oil consumption... Oil consumption is not uncommen. My current 2010 Forrester uses less than .5 L over 5000 kms. I have owned many Subaru's and Toyota's and honestly it doesn't matter which one you pick. They are both good.

Subaru: timing belt is a maintenance item every 120,000 kms. the kit that includes a new water pump costs like $500 and can be completed in less than 2 hours (book on the job is 2.5 if I remember correctly). Up side with the Subaru is that almost every tech likes working on them, because they are easy. I can replace the alternator in the dark on the side of the road with one wrench in less than 20 minutes.

Toyota: my grandmother and mother in law own RAV4's, and my wife has a Yaris. Half a million kilometers between them and no issues other than regular maintenance. Only downside is the V6 RAV's are a little more thirsty than I feel they should be, and you will need the V6 if you want to tow anything other than a little-tikes and feel safe. But I have towed with both 4 cylinders and they can do it when necessary.

Buy the one that has the colours you like...
 
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@Domon... you gotta keep in mind that's its the XT version which is more performance oriented so yes, it will be more of a pig on gas :)
I'm not saying the naturally aspirated version will be tons better but it will be better when it comes to gas mileage.
 
LPakkala said:
Ask any Mercedes owner about oil consumption... Oil consumption is not uncommen. My current 2010 Forrester uses less than .5 L over 5000 kms. I have owned many Subaru's and Toyota's and honestly it doesn't matter which one you pick. They are both good.

Subaru: timing belt is a maintenance item every 120,000 kms. the kit that includes a new water pump costs like $500 and can be completed in less than 2 hours (book on the job is 2.5 if I remember correctly). Up side with the Subaru is that almost every tech likes working on them, because they are easy. I can replace the alternator in the dark on the side of the road with one wrench in less than 20 minutes.

Toyota: my grandmother and mother in law own RAV4's, and my wife has a Yaris. Half a million kilometers between them and no issues other than regular maintenance. Only downside is the V6 RAV's are a little more thirsty than I feel they should be, and you will need the V6 if you want to tow anything other than a little-tikes and feel safe. But I have towed with both 4 cylinders and they can do it when necessary.

Buy the one that has the colours you like...
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About the Subaru's maintenance... on my WRX there was a $1400 scheduled maintenance. I was told this is mostly because it includes changing the spark plugs and the engine has to be removed from the car to access them. Pretty ridiculous IMO. A clutch job on my 944, which is known as being one of the worst jobs you can do on a car, cost me almost the same.
 
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