Anonymous wrote:People call them dissimilar cars. On the other hand, I live in a nicely comfortable UMC suburb of a certain kind and it seems like half the houses have a Subaru and the other half have a BMW. Side by side. Some families even have one of each. But do agree it's personality driven.

Apparently at one point Subarus had the highest percent of owners who paid cash for the cars rather than lease or loans.

Just get what you like.

if they weren't dissimilar those houses would have two of the same brand, not one of each.

Don’t know about BMW but Subaru has two very distinct groups: BRZ/WRX car guys, track rats; Forester/Outback outdoorsy, safety, reliability crowd

People call them dissimilar cars. On the other hand, I live in a nicely comfortable UMC suburb of a certain kind and it seems like half the houses have a Subaru and the other half have a BMW. Side by side. Some families even have one of each. But do agree it's personality driven.

Apparently at one point Subarus had the highest percent of owners who paid cash for the cars rather than lease or loans.

Just get what you like.

Anonymous wrote:BMW if I must. Otherwise, Mercedes G forever.

It is funny that Mercedes is not on the list. A couple of diehard Mercedes people in my family but they only lease. Just not worth it to buy due to reliability.

They are generally very dissimilar, although the extent to which that is true also depends on which specific models you're referring to.

Obviously, both make cars and SUVs, and BMW additionally makes motorcycles. Both make EVs, although BMW offers more models. Both make relatively compact vehicles, but BMW also makes larger models with no Subaru equivalents. Subarus are going to mostly cost less than BMWs, although a relatively expensive Subaru might cost more than the most basic and least expensive BMW.

BMW generally places a premium on "fun to drive", while Subaru aims more at the "practical appliance", if not crunchy granola, crowd. Many BMWs, especially from their M Division, are very high performance vehicles; few Subarus, WRX excepted, would be so characterized. BMW is active in professional racing, Subaru not so much.

These are not brands which many people, if any, cross-shop. They appeal to different tastes and budgets.

Anonymous wrote:What is your budget? New or used? If used, which one is cheaper to maintain - most likely a Subaru. Why are these your only choices? too many factors to really give good advice. Personally I would never drive a Subaru unless its a WRX, but even that seems like a "kid car." I'd rather have a BMW, no lower than 3 series. I would not really own a used BMW unless its a CPO since parts are quite pricey - a self-leveling headlight on a newer X3 is over $7k.

Sounds like you care a lot about horsepower, why? You don’t need it and can’t use it on public roads

BMW if I must. Otherwise, Mercedes G forever.

What is your budget? New or used? If used, which one is cheaper to maintain - most likely a Subaru. Why are these your only choices? too many factors to really give good advice. Personally I would never drive a Subaru unless its a WRX, but even that seems like a "kid car." I'd rather have a BMW, no lower than 3 series. I would not really own a used BMW unless its a CPO since parts are quite pricey - a self-leveling headlight on a newer X3 is over $7k.

I’ve had two Subaru Foresters and they are the best and most reliable cars I’ve ever had. Safety and reliability are all I care about.

This ranking is useless without underlying numbers to ascertain the size of gaps between each place.

Consumer Reports' list of Most Reliable Car Brands for 2024 had Subaru at #1 and BMW at #8 out of 22 brands:

1) Subaru
2) Lexus
3) Toyota
4) Honda
5) Acura
6) Mazda
7) Audi
8) BMW
9) Kia
10) Hyundai
11) Buick
12) Nissan
13) Ford
14) Genesis
15) Volvo
16) Chevrolet
17) Tesla
18) VW
19) Jeep
20) GMC
21) Cadillac
22) Rivian

Not sure why M-Benz is not on the list, but, in the past, Mercedes-Benz has not scored well for reliability.

Depends--how many dogs are you hauling ?