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Impreza vs Civic and Corolla

balboa2151balboa2151 Member Posts: 5
edited May 2014 in Subaru
Hi all........i plan on buying a new car within the next couple of months.....my choices are the impreza hatchback...2012-2013 used certified......civic and corrola.....also....2012-2013 used certified......i do a lot of driving for my job and i keep my cars for at least 120-150 thousand miles. I need something low cost to ownership with good gas mileage....I'm leaning toward the impreza but i have never owned a subaru before.....i have a rav4 right now and although the cost to ownership has been high it's been a great car. Any thoughts on what three of these cars would be best would be much aporeciated
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    typesixtypesix Member Posts: 321
    If you don't need all wheel drive, the Corolla and Civic will have better highway gas mileage.
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    backybacky Member Posts: 18,949
    If the new car will replace the RAV4, I think you'll find the Impreza hatch a better replacement than the Civic and Corolla which have less cargo room. Impreza also has a roomier back seat if that's important for you.

    You might get a little better mpg with the Civic and Corolla, but the new Impreza esp. with CVT is no slouch there.

    If you go with the Civic, try to get the 2013 which has many improvements over the 2012.
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    balboa2151balboa2151 Member Posts: 5
    I really love the the impreza hatchback and all wheel drive would come in handy....i live in new jersey and we get the occasional snow storm.....but I'm worried with the impreza having all wheel drive and with me driving around twenty thousand miles a year ......the cost to owner ship would be expensive like the Rav4? Any thoughts?
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    backybacky Member Posts: 18,949
    Subarus have a strong reputation for reliability. The Impreza is made in Japan. As long as you keep the maintenance up on the car you should be fine.

    Personally I'm not 100% sold on the long-term reliability of CVTs, so if you can drive a stick you might go that route with the Impreza. However, the CVT on the Impreza gets better FE than the stick and revs lower, so it's quieter than the stick.
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    jd_24jd_24 Member Posts: 92
    The only added cost of ownership I've seen with my Subarus over other cars is being a little more heads-up on the tire rotationsto maintain even tire sizes.
    Also if you get a flat tire, odds are you will need to buy 4 tires.
    Oil changes might be a bit more costly as well. I don't know the oil requirements for the Corolla. I think the Civic needs 0W-20 but not sure about synthetic. The Impreza erquires 0w-20 synthetic about every 5k miles. Synthetic oil changes are 2 to 3x more.

    As for miles, I put about 20K per year on my 2012 Impreza. Only oil changes and tire rotations so far, and now the tire rotations are free after I had a flat tire and had to buy 4 new ones. (free rotations included)

    Thought of a Mazda 3? The hatchback will give you more utility like your old Rav4.
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    balboa2151balboa2151 Member Posts: 5
    Thank you for replying.....your information was very informative.....how's your gas mileage? Also.....in your opinion.....do you think the Subaru impreza will last to 120,00-150,000? Also......being in all wheel drive all the time ....is that going to put more wear and tear on the cvt joints and then have to be replaced? How much would something like that wear and tear replacement cost? About the Mazda .....I looked at them and they are very nice but I'm not sold on them lasting as long as I liked a car to last. I look forward to your very knowledgable response . Thanks
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    xwesxxwesx Member Posts: 16,796
    The AWD system on Subaru vehicles is pretty robust. It is an all-time-AWD system, so it's designed to work over the long haul. You do have four half-shafts on these cars, so there's twice the potential cost of replacement when the CV joints fail, but they typically won't fail unless the boots fail first, allowing the joints to run dry (and go bad).
    2018 Subaru Crosstrek, 2014 Audi Q7 TDI, 2013 Subaru Forester, 1969 Chevrolet C20, 1969 Ford Econoline 100, 1976 Ford F250
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    jd_24jd_24 Member Posts: 92
    My gas mileage is good. 36 to 40mpg in the summer, on the highway. If the car is loaded then expect under 36. Winter also drops the mpg for me to the 30 to 34 range.

    My previous Subaru made it to around 230k miles. No issues with the AWD system. So cost for AWD repairs wasn't an issue. A few other things, but after 150k things do start to wear out on any car.

    The Mazda is my wifes car, and I got to drive it today. Its actualy fairly similar to the Impreza. It feels slower, but I think its a touch quicker. I prefer the Impreza seats and the back seat is a bit bigger. Mazada feels a bit more refined and quieter. Gas mileage is better on the Mazda by about 3 to 4 mpg. Long term, I'll have to wait to see how it comes out.
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    balboa2151balboa2151 Member Posts: 5
    Thank you for your input.....I'm really leaning toward the impreza.....i live in new jersey so we get the occasional snow storm and with all the driving i do the AWD would also be great for the rain .......I'm just a little nervous because I've never owned a subaru....i just want it to last me and not give me problems.....i owned ford years ago and they are junk... I've been driving toyota for the past 15 yrs and i have had good luck with them.....but i never owned a corolla and compared to the impreza it just looks cheap.
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    jfljfl Member Posts: 1,396

    This is a late comment. I owned a 2000 Subaru Legacy. Replaced it at 278k miles with a 2013 Impreza 5-spd manual. I'm getting 30 mpg (hand calculated) after 13k miles.

    If I didn't want awd, I'd get the Mazda3, which is what my daughter drives.

    What did you finally decide?

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