Subaru Forester/Outback or Miata?

[Delsoul]

So someone I know is looking to pick up there first car and they have it narrowed down to a Subaru Forester/Outback or a Maza Miata NA.
I know a little bit about the Miatas but I don't know anything about Subarus. What are the differences between the FOrester and the Outback?
They are looking to get a mid to late 90's model because they don't have too much money to spend. Are there any big problems or ongoing
issues with them? Any major maintenance costs that should be expected?

So far they like the Subaru because of the AWD and the cargo space, but they like the styling of the Miata, as well as the slightly
better fuel mileage and parking ease when trying to find a spot. The top down is also an attraction. Both will be automatic trans.

I'd really like to hear from the Subaru and Mazda guys on this to help make a good choice

[leftbraned]

miata will be tons more fun - except for missing a third pedal

subaru will be most awesome transportation vehicle for 365 days/year

top down < all wheel drive (at least in Mi in my opinion)

[Delsoul]

I forgot to mention that they live in Cleveland, so I think they get a bit more snow effect than we do. It's their first vehicle
and it needs to last for a long time. I know Miatas are legendary in reliabitliy but how about the Subaru Foresters/Outbacks, can
they survive a couple hundred thousand miles with no issues?

[JtBacks]

I would recemend the Subaru over the miata, just because of winter.

I'm sure plenty of people go through winters with small wheel based RWD cars, but for a first car I think this person should definetly go the AWD route for obvious reasons.
And for certain models of outbacks you can make it FWD for better fuel economy but I don't know if that will eventually lead to Differential failure...

I'm moving back to the great white north, so I'm selling my pos Eclipse for a 4x4 or AWD vehicle.

[erat]

Auto NA miatas are kinda rare, or hard to find anyway...

[JtBacks]

Auto NA miatas are kinda rare, or hard to find anyway...

You've never lived in Florida... That's all I can find.

[INVNO1]

Subaru ALL THE WAY!! That is two TOTALLY different car groups though! Maita is cool but not in the winter. Subaru = fun all year round!

[Delsoul]

Well what reasons for the Subaru though aside from the AWD? Xceed might as well be a Subaru forum, given how many owners there are
on here. I need to know about any known problems with the mid to late 90's Foresters/Outbacks and maintenance costs, etc. Are they
a pain in the ass to work on?

[JDMFTW]

Well what reasons for the Subaru though aside from the AWD? Xceed might as well be a Subaru forum, given how many owners there are
on here. I need to know about any known problems with the mid to late 90's Foresters/Outbacks and maintenance costs, etc. Are they
a pain in the ass to work on?

Cheap to maintain expensive to make fast.

Easy to work on as well I know the SOHC EJ's like to let go of there headgaskets at higher miles.

[Delsoul]

It's a first car for a woman so there's definitely no plans to make it fast lol. If I remember right, was there a period where Subaru AWD wasn't
actual AWD or was mostly FWD until the wheels slipped, something like that? I remember before someone talking about it and saying that Subaru
in the 90's switched something or made the AWD system, a true AWD?

[JtBacks]

I'm pretty sure most AWD stock systems are 70 front 30 rear, till it feels slippage in the rear then it's like 50/50. idk I think with the 90's Subies it's always 70/30.

This is all speculation... I don't know shit about subies.

[bao]

Why would anyone consider buying a Miata...

[Gigs]

The Forester should only really require work such as a timing belt change every 90-100k miles and spark plugs / Oil changes. If you get near 150-200k miles you will want to replace the head gaskets.

The automatic Forester's have a 90/10 power distribution for 2nd-4th gear but it changes when there is a loss of traction from either of the front wheels sending up to half the power to the rear wheels for traction. But during reverse or first gear the power split is 50/50.

The five speed manual Forester's have an even 50/50 split.

This all applies to the first generation Foresters.

Your only real issues will come from the head gaskets in the long run.

[Delsoul]

Thanks for the help guys, really appreciate it. What kind of money are we looking at for a headgasket fix on these things? Any symptoms to look
for when shopping used?

[Gigs]

Thanks for the help guys, really appreciate it. What kind of money are we looking at for a headgasket fix on these things? Any symptoms to look
for when shopping used?

Just make sure that the maintenance has been done on schedule and there are no horrible issues with the car such as oil burning.

Headgaskets might cost anywhere from $300-$900 depending on where you go.

[the_momo]

Skip anything old Subaru with a 2.5 and find something with a 2.2, chances are it'll be cheaper and the 2.2 is, from a reliability standpoint, far superior. They don't have the headgaskets issues that the early 2.5s have and are known to run forever.

Try browsing through sl-I.net, it's a Subaru legacy forum with a wealth of knowledge and none of the garbage that plagues nasioc.

As far as the torque split, 90-10 is correct. First and reverse is 50/50 iirc, and 90-10 from then on. There is a modification that can be done to control the electronic center diff to have a 50/50 lock in all gears. I have it on my 96 legacy wagon and it's nice for like snowy highway driving. I would highly recommend anything Subaru over a miata, and something 2.2 over just about anything else for a reliable, cheap to maintain first car.

[Aaron'z 2.5RS]

Subaru... And not because i own one, well, yes, because i own 2 and have had 3 of my own...

Forester over Outback, would handle the city better (shorter, turns better)

Repairs are pretty easy if and when the are needed, lots of room in the engine bay, basically a RWD car with front axles, lots of used parts and forum support, just about any other subaru part will fit...

AFA winter driving, she might not have a lot of it to do, but the diffference between the 2 is/would be night and day...

Lets not mention the ability to haul things...

Sent from the other side using mind bullets...(YapaTalk)

[Delsoul]

Thanks for all of the help so far guys! It's going to help a lot when we go looking. What years for the Forester/Outback did the 2.2 engine come in?
What is a fair price range for these cars in good mechanical condition? We will be buying it in Ohio since that's where they live right now

[the_momo]

The forester and outback never had a 2.2, only in the legacy and impreza. That being said, 90-99 for legacy, 94-99 impreza (someone correct me if I'm wrong) as far as value, they really are all over the map. A good reasonable forester with decent mileage (around 150k or less) should be around 3k-3500. Outback probably less. Depends on the year, model, trim, and location (snowy states usually har higher prices on such vehicles)

You should be able to get into a really good newer model year Subaru for around 3k.

[Xceed]

Chiming in late here but I don't know if I'd recommend a small, light, rwd car for a first car driven by a female in a snow belt state.

AWD all the way.