After nearly a year of overthinking over a thread (
https://www.autos.ca/forum/index.php?topic=112558.600) whose 600 replies where viewed more than 40,000 times, here's the conclusion.
Going from an Audi to a mainstream compact may seem like an odd move, but given "The Hobby", I get to drive a few dozen vehicles every year and don't get to drive my own car all that much. Every other week, my car is the kids' car. It did not make sense for me to overspend and buy myself something that's really "me", if I'm not the main driver. Yet, I wanted something that's "me" enough to use the thing during press vehicle droughts.
I've always wanted a silver car. I've had two so far: a $225 Mazda GLC winter beater, and a new 2001.5 VW Passat that I only kept 18 months, à la @TheHire. Three, if I count my wife's '99 CR-V. Silver never goes out of fashion, and its liquid-metal shade pleases the engineer that I am.
I've always wanted a decent, branded stereo. Never owned one. And I've always wanted built-in nav for our frequent New England outings, beyond work phone data plan.
Winters are getting crappier every year, yet I've never had an awd vehicle to my name. Or one with a heated steering wheel. And roads are getting crappier too, so I wanted more suspension travel. But no SUV - I want a
car.
In the end it made sense to take advantage of the considerable resale value of my PHEV German diva and get a loaded compact just about free. But not just any compact - a bona fide gas-fed urban buggy. A car on stilts.
Crosstrek owners are repeat owners. They don't want to hear about anything else. I spent a week with a presser last June, and it was a revelation just how
friendly that thing was for commuting and running errands. The Outdoor and Limited trims have the larger 2.5 litre engine, curing the car's main fault: lack of power. The Limited trim packages that engine with a sunroof, 432W harman/kardon stereo and built-in nav. And as a music lover, I even get an in-dash CD player! The less-common Limited also gets sharp 18" alloys that wear passenger car tires, not the SUV tires that other crossies get with their 17" wheels.
Using my contacts, Subaru was able to book me into one of the very last new 2022's while it was on the boat from Japan, an Artic Silver Limited. Perfect. The 2023's also shipping at the moment are identical, but carry a price increase. The new-gen 2024, to be launched / revealed on 09/15, loses the CD player and analog controls for HVAC and heated seats.
Delivery was very late last Wednesday, this is the first pic as I brought it home.
