Help me decide on a car!

[jent]

Deciding between a Honda CRV and a Subaru Outback. Neither DH or I have ever owned a "bigger" car- we've always had compact sedans/hatchbacks. But we (ok, I) decided that we need to have at least 1 bigger car so we've settled on one of these two.

We just test drove both this morning. I liked the feel of the CRV a little better, except for that SUV high seat position-- so new for me and it feels a bit awkward. I did like that the Outback rides a little lower. But the Outback is a little more $$$ for what we want, so it's feeling like the worse deal.

So... advice? Will I get used to the high SUV position?

If you have a CRV or an Outback and love or hate it, tell me!

[SnuggleBuggles]

We were between the RAV4, CRV and Outback. I ruled out the CRV back then because their safety tech was the worst of all. I hated the blind spot monitoring compared to the others. Fingers crossed that it improved. I love the height of my SUV.
The Outback has better storage, I think.


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[DualvansMommy]

We have the 2011 Outback and I never drove anything bigger than a sedan until then. Completely comfortable and loved how it drove for me. Plenty of storage for me with then 1 kid back then and even after having 2nd kid. Served us well in many miles of trips, local, snow and hail.

You really can’t go wrong with it as a compromise between a sedan and full on SUV. We’re ready for something bigger now though, and will be trading in our other vehicle which is a Camry for 3 row SUV. We plan on keeping this outback until it falls apart.


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[Mommy_Mea]

We have a VW Sportwagen for those exact reasons. It had the same cargo room as the Outback, and I like it better overall (the Outback and Sportwagen were the final two contenders). We have been very happy with the car, it is 9 years old and still going strong (knock on wood).

[ellies mom]

I just switched from an Outback to a CRV. I didn’t replace it with another Outback because the CRV was better priced and Honda gets more out of their engines than Subaru does.

While you can’t go wrong with an Outback, I absolutely love my CRV. I have no regrets.


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[jent]

We have a VW Sportwagen for those exact reasons. It had the same cargo room as the Outback, and I like it better overall (the Outback and Sportwagen were the final two contenders). We have been very happy with the car, it is 9 years old and still going strong (knock on wood).

A few years back, when DH was looking for a car, we looked at the Sportwagen. He didn't want a bigger car at the time, so we didn't get it, but I thought it would be the car for me when I was ready for a new one. Then the emissions scandal put us totally off Volkswagen, so we didn't include it in our consideration. It seems like a great car though. Although I think the Outback now has it beat for cargo room.



We were between the RAV4, CRV and Outback. I ruled out the CRV back then because their safety tech was the worst of all. I hated the blind spot monitoring compared to the others. Fingers crossed that it improved. I love the height of my SUV.
The Outback has better storage, I think.

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I thought the blind spot monitoring was ok, but I didn't look at it that critically. The safety tech overall seems good and gets good reviews. I ruled out the RAV4 because it just wasn't as comfortable and had the worst storage of the 3. Both CRV and Outback are pretty equal for cargo room.


I just switched from an Outback to a CRV. I didn’t replace it with another Outback because the CRV was better priced and Honda gets more out of their engines than Subaru does.

While you can’t go wrong with an Outback, I absolutely love my CRV. I have no regrets.

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Thank you! Just what I needed to hear. :)

Although I think the bottom line is they are both good cars. Now I'm trying to see what I can get for actual prices on each. Car haggling tips welcome too.

[niccig]

It’s not just amount of cargo space, you need to measure height, width of the back. I have a 2008 CRV and I can put more in it than when I had a bigger SUV that technically had a bigger cargo area. I can put taller things in my cargo area.




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[mommy111]

We had to decide between the three (RAV4, CRV, Outback) and chose the RAV4 a few years ago a nd are more than happy. One, the safety features are all standard including 360 radar and are excellent and don’t incur any extra charge. Two, there is free service for 3 years (that alone adds $12-2400 to the Subie, which is our second car, because service is not free) and three, you can’t beat Toyota for resale and reliability. Our second car is a Subie and we love it but we bought it because it was significantly cheaper than any other AWD car. Dollar for dollar, the Toyota is a much better value.

[HannaAddict]

I love Hondas and dislike Subarus so would go with the Honda. My first car was a Honda and it wore so well, it was still tight and nice and never needed anything. My grandma got a Subaru about a year later and several years later it was a rattle bucket and seemed so old compared to the Honda. We never had any problems with Honda’s either and Subaru’s have some major issues that need to be repaired as read about on this board. I’d go Honda.


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[mom_hanna]

Hmmm. I'm on my third Subaru, first was a legacy, second an outback, and have an outback now. None ever had major issues or needed repairs beyond what is normal servicing when you hit certain mileage. I am not a fan of Honda but it is a good brand. I like Toyota better, so if I didn't have a Subaru, I would probably get a RAV4.

[Green_Tea]

I have not read all the responses. I have a Subaru Outback and it is by far my favorite car I have owned. I have owned Hondas, Toyotas, and Saturns, and this car is by far the best. We also have a Subaru Crosstrek and I love driving that as well.

[AnnieW625]

We have an Outback. It is my second Subaru (Dh’s first) as my first was a 1988 GL wagon. We did have head gasket issues with our 88 wagon when it had 145k or so miles and it was a pain to work on, but the reports on the current 2011 and newer engines have been much more reliable. We have been very happy with it. It is a super comfortable car, it is easy to drive, and holds a lot for not being a true mid size SUV. I have the model with navigation, leather, and eyesight. I wasn’t necessarily sure I wanted the eye sight, but I really like it. When we bought in late 2016 I didn’t care for the styling of the back of the CR-V as I thought it looked like the car had a “tramp stamp,” and I didn’t think the visibility was all that great either.
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20181028/3b91426d9c26ceee989e755cfa73ef79.jpg

I like the styling of the new CR-V much better. I have had a Honda Pilot since 2006 and we have had very few complaints about it and it now has 200k miles on it. We are definitely thinking about another Honda in the future. If I had liked the CR-V styling better in 2016 we definitely would’ve considered it.

[gamma]

I have been test driving smaller SUVs, since I don't really need the third row anymore and my 2003 Explored won't last forever. I can't get over the poor visibility and rear blind spots in the new models. The most disappointing was the CRV! From the outside, it appears that you have a large rear window; however, what you can't see is that the glass is blacked out into a small oval opening! I can't figure out why they would do this! For best visibility, I have narrowed my choice down to the Subaru Forester (a little larger for 2019) and the Outback. The Subaru Crosstrek may be just what you are looking for!