Christophe Noel
Expedition Leader
Subaru shopping is a unique dynamic. We found ourselves in the following situation twice:The Jeep.com web site shows the Patriot Sport 4x4 with Freedom Drive II off-road group and CVT with extra-low first gear would cost $20,625 before any dealer incentives. That's a decent deal for a new "trail rated" vehicle. The EPA rates mpg for this configuration to be 20 mpg city, 23 highway.
You'd have to shop for a two or three year old Forester or RAV4 to match that $20K price.
Outback "A": 2011, 3.6L, leather, loaded, ZERO miles - $34,000.
Outback "B": 2009, 3.6L, leather, loaded, 30,000 miles - $33,200
(Both cars on the exact same lot)
Not knocking anyone who buys a Subaru, but I couldn't fork over the extra bucks.