It attenuates bumps the way only German luxury sedans could a decade ago, with softer ride-control bushings that pad the bumps better than before.

The result is an exceptionally rigid structure weighing some 400 pounds less. I'm getting too old to keep crawling under cars to change the oil and replace the brake pads.A zealous weight reduction program forced savvy materials choices and joining techniques, plus a switch to hard-mounted front and rear suspension/powertrain cradles. And since my next car will likely be my retirement vehicle, something with lower maintenance would be a plus. Can't say of it's going to be a PHEV or full electric vehicle, I believe the future will be electrically driven. Still, my next car purchase will have a plug. Fortunately, I haven't had the severe issues that others have had. I have no complaints, just passed 12,000 miles with nothing but the radio head unit issue, and for me that was just an inconvenience. I was waiting for Mazda to release their diesel CX-5 (and still waiting!), but I needed a car so bought the Outback. But from my experience with VW diesels over the years, even priced higher than premium it was still more cost effective for me to drive a diesel. In most stations it's the same or slightly higher than D2, although there are a few with D2 slightly higher than Premium gas. In my area south of Seattle, RUG is running around $3.50-3.70. I don’t know what the seats are like in the Chevy for long drives, I’ve heard they do well.īottom line, in my experience with my current and previous diesels is that diesels will return better mileage, cheaper maintenance and longer life than the Subaru engines.Ĭlick to expand.Certainly varies by area. The seats in the Subaru left me with actual bruising on long drives, where as the seats in my European rigs, let me arrive feeling much better. The Chevy has a good warranty and is worth a drive. There are more diesel models being introduced, into the market, not just with Chevy, but also with Ford and Hyundai, Mazda and others. I’ve never seen diesel cost 15% more than gasoline and when you consider the amount of ethanol they try to water it down with, diesel actually costs far less and the fuel has a much longer shelf life and is far less flammable. If you drive mostly around town than gas engine may be better for you, as diesel emissions generally require no more than 300 city miles before you need to drive about 15 minutes of 45 mph or higher speed to keep filters clean. The diesel is quiter and handles power surge without the high rpm drama. I drive a lot of highway/freeway mileage and if you do also than diesel is optimal for that use.

I stopped recommending Subaru’s, except for those who lease or maybe don’t drive, who should really lease. This is in addition to CV joints, expensive O2 sensors, and 15 mpg city/ 24 Hwy (4 banger). My next Subaru Outback needed head gaskets at 120k miles and again at 205,000, $2500 each time. I was literally on the freeway for my 120k Service when it died. That engine lasted until 120,000 before the engine melted due to head gasket issue. Needless to say the dealer gave me another. My first Outback died with only 7 miles on the odometer, the engine melted. If you drive 15,000 to 20,000 miles or more a year as I do you’ll realize as I did that Subaru’s are expensive to operate. I lost my patience and defected to VW and Mercedes. Subaru was supposed to have brought a diesel to the US years ago, as they have elsewhere overseas, but they didn’t want to spend the money on US emmisions requirements.

I used to buy only Subarus and I owned several different models before ending my Subaru streak with my last two Outbacks.

2017 equinox vs 2018 equinox