Hi, has anyone compared these head to head? I like the idea that the Forester has an available manual transmission. The Mazda looks reliable and very fun to drive. The frontend/grille looks kinda stupid.
We’re in very rural northern Vermont with quite a few dirt roads, usually but not always pretty well maintained.
Car dealerships aren’t close by. The Subaru dealer is just under an hour drive, the Mazda/Volkswagen dealership just over an hour and a half each way. Locally we have Ford, GMC/Chevy, and Chrysler/Jeep/Dodge.
I’d probably buy new this time although I’ve had good luck buying ‘certified’ used cars off of leases, most recently a 2015 Audi A3 off of a 36-month lease cancelled after 24 I think? so pretty close to new - with manufacturer + dealer warranties; someone else having eaten the depreciation; low mileage, and full confidence that scheduled maintenance has been adhered to, prior to my taking ownership. Comfort and tech, of course reliability, and ease of third-party servicing and parts are all considerations for me.
Reasoned opinions very welcome; TIA for any thoughts at all. Buying is hard.
I rented a jeep about a year and half ago, and it was jerking me around on the highway, and I could not for the life of me figure out why (other than the general horrendousness of everything about it). Finally I realized it had a lane assist feature, that I was thankfully able to turn off.
That said, if something had early warning ability to help me brake if there’s a moose or deer in the road, I feel like that would be potentially valuable. I haven’t bought a new car in a very long time. Is that a currently available feature, and is it usually well-implemented?
The collision warning thing I think is now bundled with the auto breaking and it is usually done about as well as a first day driving student would do it.