Is Subaru on par/above/below Toyota/Honda as a brand?

[Anonymous]

Your thoughts?

[Anonymous]

Toyota > Subaru > Honda, IMO

Go for some test drives and see what you like.

[Anonymous]

Depends on what your point of reference is. In terms of brand, I'd say they are all about equivalent. They definitely attract buyers with similar budgets. That said, Subaru doesn't have the uber-cheap, sub-compact vehicles offered by Honda and Toyota aimed at low-income buyers.

If we are talking safety and value for money, Subaru is way ahead of either brand. Subaru's safety tech is pretty much better than any other car brand - including luxury - and all of it comes standard.

For me, I love a good deal. That's what makes me happy. And Subaru's are a damn good deal for all the amenities and tech you get. We were comparing the RAV4 and Outback a couple years ago when buying. If I wanted the same features in the RAV4 as I was being offered in the Outback, I'd need to pay roughly $5-7K more. I see Subaru as a nicer brand for the average vehicle. Fully loaded Toyotas can easily be as expensive as a Lexus. A Toyota Landcruiser starts at like $70K.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Toyota > Subaru > Honda, IMO

Go for some test drives and see what you like.

OK, Sienna driving soccer mom.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Toyota > Subaru > Honda, IMO

Go for some test drives and see what you like.

OK, Sienna driving soccer mom.

No, but I do drive a Toyota (and I am a mom, if that's an insult now?). I used to drive Hondas but the transmission thing put me off (the whole point of Japanese cars for me is reliability). Subaru doesn't handle particularly well and something about the marketing bothers me, but I appreciate they hold their resale value well and are reliable.

[Anonymous]

IME, Subaru > Toyota > Honda

Hondas just look and feel so cheap. Toyota makes you pay extra for everything.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Depends on what your point of reference is. In terms of brand, I'd say they are all about equivalent. They definitely attract buyers with similar budgets. That said, Subaru doesn't have the uber-cheap, sub-compact vehicles offered by Honda and Toyota aimed at low-income buyers.

If we are talking safety and value for money, Subaru is way ahead of either brand. Subaru's safety tech is pretty much better than any other car brand - including luxury - and all of it comes standard.

For me, I love a good deal. That's what makes me happy. And Subaru's are a damn good deal for all the amenities and tech you get. We were comparing the RAV4 and Outback a couple years ago when buying. If I wanted the same features in the RAV4 as I was being offered in the Outback, I'd need to pay roughly $5-7K more. I see Subaru as a nicer brand for the average vehicle. Fully loaded Toyotas can easily be as expensive as a Lexus. A Toyota Landcruiser starts at like $70K.

Pretty good summary imo, having owned all 3 (2Subaru, 1 Toyota now).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Depends on what your point of reference is. In terms of brand, I'd say they are all about equivalent. They definitely attract buyers with similar budgets. That said, Subaru doesn't have the uber-cheap, sub-compact vehicles offered by Honda and Toyota aimed at low-income buyers.

If we are talking safety and value for money, Subaru is way ahead of either brand. Subaru's safety tech is pretty much better than any other car brand - including luxury - and all of it comes standard.

For me, I love a good deal. That's what makes me happy. And Subaru's are a damn good deal for all the amenities and tech you get. We were comparing the RAV4 and Outback a couple years ago when buying. If I wanted the same features in the RAV4 as I was being offered in the Outback, I'd need to pay roughly $5-7K more. I see Subaru as a nicer brand for the average vehicle. Fully loaded Toyotas can easily be as expensive as a Lexus. A Toyota Landcruiser starts at like $70K.

To be fair, land cruisers are cross shipped with significantly more expensive range rovers. Unless you want comfort off-roading, they are pointless

[Anonymous]

Subaru’s are so miserably underpowered with their base level engines

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Subaru’s are so miserably underpowered with their base level engines

17:46 here... agree. My ‘17 OB H6 is much quicker than, and gets similar mpg to my former ‘09 4 cylinder.

[Anonymous]

I recently went back and forth between the Subaru Ascent and the Toyota Highlander, and ultimately ended up with a Highlander (previous car and other family car are both Lexus). I loved the look and safety features of the Subaru, but it did feel really underpowered and I had to really upgrade to get some basic features I wanted. The Highlander middle model (XLE) had everything I wanted for a better price, and is still rugged enough for a muddy dog, hauling stuff, etc. (the nicer Subaru felt way too nice for my actual life). Plus I have been very impressed by the safety features in the Toyota. Maybe not as great as the Subaru, but good enough for me.

I did test drive the Honda Pilot as well, but the safety features were in a whole other universe. It wasn’t even close.

[Anonymous]

I was psyched for the brand and have been let down by our 2018 outback. Maybe it was a dud year. In retrospect I don’t think it was worth the brand premium wouldn’t pay more for it again. It’s all hype. Safety features border on annoyingly distracting and dangerous (lane beeping, false collision detection.) customer service has sucked (no loaner car for warranty work) electrical problems never fully resolved (usb ports glitchy)

[Anonymous]

Subaru > Honda > Toyita

I love how Subarus handle. Driving a Honda feels like sitting in a deep bucket driving an economy car. The beginning of the side window must be almost my chin level in some models. Weird. Toyota's are like driving a go kart with its long windshield and really loose handling. I'd rather drive anything than a Toyota.

[Anonymous]

I don't know but I love Subarus. Our first one, a WRX, functioned with almost no maintenance for 15 years, at which point we sold it for 60% of the original purchase price. We now have an Outback which has so far been similarly low maintenance. My parents also have an Outback, which was totaled when someone t-boned them, and they both walked away without a scratch. They replaced it with another Outback.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Subaru > Honda > Toyita

I love how Subarus handle. Driving a Honda feels like sitting in a deep bucket driving an economy car. The beginning of the side window must be almost my chin level in some models. Weird. Toyota's are like driving a go kart with its long windshield and really loose handling. I'd rather drive anything than a Toyota.

LOL! How ironic.

Anyway, it would depend on what type of vehicle is being compared. If sedans, then Honda is way ahead of Subaru in terms of handling. Here's a recent comparison in which the Honda Accord's handling is described as "deftly tuned" and a "driver's car", while the Legacy is described as "conservative" and "boring". But hey, maybe you like boring.