Wandered car dealers today..... weighing options

So, 3rd gen is going to be out of my price range, and I'm not sure I want to trade up to another used 2nd gen. So I went looking around at other things today and was surprised by a couple of options that I had not looked at before.

The Subaru xv crosstrek, and the Mazda CX3.... I really liked both. I like my Tacoma, but to be honest, it was a compromise when I got it.

Anyone have experience with either one of these? Probably going to try and buy new for the first time ever, but a crosstrek could be used.

 

Subaru will be reliable, much more so than the mazda.

 

FIL has a Subaru Crosstrek. He really enjoys it.

 

I'm leaning toward the crosstrek. Also looked at a Renegade and a Cherokee...... gross

 

I definitely would stay clear of a chrysler product. They have the worst reliability ratings. They're so bad dodge is buying their trucks back because of safety issues.

 

Yeah, the jeeps are out..... theynare so akward looking and they feel cheap. Looked at a colorado too, it was 1000 more than a silverado.

 

I work for larger ' ish dealership, and we have mazda, Mitsubishi, jeep, Chrysler, and vw.

Out of that line up the Mazda and Mitsubishi are the two we have the LEAST issues with.

I personally drove a newer cx5 before trading it in for my taco. I wouldn't hesitate to go back. (Wife's actually looking at getting a cx5 or cx3 even.)

 

The Crosstrek is underpowered. Or it was when I looked. It was too much of a compromise.

 

I've had mazdas for years. Never had any issues whatsoever

 

Do yourself a favor and avoid the Silverado/Sierra, at least in the 1500 flavor with AFM. They still haven't figured it out and even new trucks are having major issues.

 

The Subaru would be nice... with a manual transmission. Don't ask me to explain why, but the AWD system in the automatic is severely neutered compared to the manuals. The automatic does NOT have a center differential, it dumps the power on the front wheels until it detects slip, then binds up the clutch that drives the rear. The manual has a center differential with a viscous coupler, power everywhere all of the time.