l work in chicago suburbs and l have to drive 75-100 miles one way to work and 75 -100 miles to get home so l put a lot of miles on my cars. l need awd for winter time. l have 96 and 98 nissan maxima and 03 infiniti qx4 4wd. it was nice driving qx4 last winter but l dont wanna put a lot of miles on it and it gets horrible gas mileage. any help or input would be appreciated. l know a lot about nissan is and work on my own cars but l dont know much about subaru's. should l go turbo or NA? wagon or sedan? please help! thank you
my 96 maxima is manual tranny with a bunch of mods
my 98 maxima is auto tranny

if u can drive a manual u should look for one of those. Save u a little on gas & repairs. Subarus useualy do fine with automatic transmissions but they do even better with manual. The best place to start would be a 96 out back this would have dule front air bags & will be all wheel drive u could find one of these for 6-8k$ l sugjest 96 becase that was the last year u could get the 2.2 liter engine had less problems than the 2.5 when it first came out in 97 & 98. If u do find a 96 & like them its actulay a little cheeper then ur looking to spend. 100k miles to about 140k should be safe make shure the seals the engine have been replace the 2.2 is will leak oil if not (thats not as bad as the head gasget problems with the early 2.5 engins) if the seals in the 2.2s r replaced these engins can go 250k miles or more. If u have to get a newer one l recomend going with 2002 or newer most of the bugs in the 2.5 were worked out by then & u could get 180k miles or more with a newer 2.5 the 2.5 has more power this is more fun & will get the same milage. in this case l would recomend a forester or impresa these r lighter & smaller then the outback (better mpg) more responsive & more fun to drive. not sure about chicago but here in oregon these r rare but if u could find a 97 or 98 impresa u might get one of those with a 2.2 liter engine also. u may find the 2.5 leaking oil too ist comon with all subarus. not a big deal if u keep enough oil in them sorry about misspelled wourds this answer will take too long to check

In that price range, u should probably be wary of 2.5 liter Legacies. The late 90s & early 2000s had head gasket problems. l know this applied to the Legacy, l do not think it affected the WRX. 2.2 liter engines never had this issue & should run forever.

I've seen a lot of varying reports on when the 2.5s got good. Some say 2000, some 01-02, some 04. You can not afford an 04, though.

Other than that, there is nothing u need to avoid. Just get what u like.

I'd get a wagon, because there is negligible fuel economy loss, & they're way more practical.


One thing u should know about Subarus is that the engine layout can make some kinds of repairs very difficult (For example, l am pretty sure you'd have to pull the engine to get the valve covers off) They also subscribe to the ''cram as much shit into as small a space as possible'' design philosophy so common in Japan. Back in the 80s & early 90s, Subaru GLs (the predecessor to the Legacy) ruled Alaska. They were EVERYWHERE. But there were independent mechanics who refused to work on them not because they couldn't, but because they hated the damn things.

A lot of the design issues that existed then r inherent to the boxer engines that Subaru uses, so they will still exist.

Hey, it is the price u pay for the smoothness of the things. Porsches & old VWs have a lot of the same problems, only worse.

That is the only major downside to Subarus. Some people do not like the interiors, but l emphatically disagree.

You have a couple things to consider: do l care if the car is fun to drive or not, & do l need extra space to carry stuff around or not.

A quick sidenote before l go on:

l own a '99 Impreza 2.5RS, & l can tell u one thing about the manual: the gearing is so short that u r really guzzling gas trying to keep up with interstate traffic. I'd recommend staying away from one of these for commuting, although it is a fun car. l am pretty sure the other Subaru models with manuals have taller gearing, but l only have experience with this one.

Okay, if u need some space to lug stuff around, I'd look for the newest Outback u can afford & get it. Might as well get an auto for the 200 mile a day commute, & it will probably give u better gas mileage by keeping the revs down on the interstate. Also, the Outback has better ground clearance for when things get messy.

If having a fun car is very important to you, $12k will get u one of the first WRX's, probably a 2002 or 2003. l had a 2002 for a couple years, & it was a good car (got almost 30 mpg on the interstate). l do not know how long they last, but most Subaru is r pretty long lived.

If u want the utmost in gas mileage from a Subaru, get a late '90 is Impreza Brighton manual. That is the lightest one they made, with the 2.2L. It is tiny though.

Good luck with ur car search!

You should be able to find a 2002 WRX wagon for that price range. Just inspect it thoroughly for signs of abuse.

l highly recommend the WRX wagon. It has a combination of performance and practicality that very few cars can match.

Your best bet will be an Outback sedan, with 5-speed & non-turbo. l have an 06 Legacy sedan, l get about 35-36MPG at 50MPH going for home to work (25 mi each way). l find about 10-15% better gas mileage using cruise control as much as possible. Only drawback with the models with the low profile tires is that it is hard to get good year round tires for it. l have 1 set for just winter. l live in Central Massachusetts. The 205/50 17'' is one of the hardest sizes. Look for something that has a 215 or 225, will be easier to get tires. Had someone recommend Yokohama snow tires (There is only one Yokohama snow model recommended for the car) for the 205/50 17'' if u do get one with that size.

wow 100 miles to work everyday???? oooo~~ that is long distance. l only 2.3 miles to work everyday. but 100miles would be fun time to drive but boring.