Opinions Please on winter vehicle.

[Kavy]

I have decided I need a new winter vehicle. One that can carry a lot of crap and take door dings without me losing it.

As such I have narrowed my choices down to a Rav 4 and a Forrester. I have owned 3 subbies and never once have I been done wrong by them, the wifey has owned 2 toyotas and she's in the same boat. Im looking at the SUV to pull duty as my winter vehicle and my 2-3 times a week daily driver when weather is shitty, maybe a few camping trips as well.

The prices are near identical as is the options im really stuck between the two as 3 test drives and reading reviews still leave me where i started which was undecided between the two.

I was hoping some owners on the board can give me their insight on their vehicles (pet peeves etc) so I can make a decision.

Im looking for the opinions of actually owners as I have read through more then enough reviews but they never seem to mention the small irritants about vehicles. (ex: Subaru and their paint that chips just by staring at it or Honda's need to make their dashes creak constantly)

Thanks

[barmanjay]

lately ive been lookin at older rav's for a winter beater too.they are quite cheap now

[max_boost]

Get 3M for the front. 3 years of daily driving my WRX and the front is just wrecked with chips. Also, both my WRX's and my mom's Forester have cracked windshields, coincidence? lol

Other than that, there are zero complaints with these cars. I love Subaru! LOL

[psycoticclown]

Forester XT... if you ever get the modding itch, they look sick lowered. And they're pretty quick too.

[Aleks]

Can't go wrong with either one. My wife and I chose the forester over rav4 for the room in the back, proper opening tailgate, much bigger windows, availability of cloth heated seats and the fact that it drove more like a car than the rav4 did.

[Kavy]

Thanks for the feedback so far guys, seems to be leaning one way thats for sure :)

[ricki65]

Toyota has a very good reputation, and so does Subaru, how ever one thing separate them is the resell value. Your Rav 4 after few years will still bring you decent trade in or resell value. Not true for Subarus, due to higher repair cost, longer wait time for parts from Japan, and lack of dealership support in Canada. Although in technology Subaru will be a better winter beater. If you value money, it is Toyota, if performance, it will be Subaru.

[Mr.Buffy]

I also looked at the Rav4 vs Forester and picked the Forester.

Same reasons as Aleks, and also the visibility through the rear is better. The Rav mounts the spare tire on the hatch/tail-gate.

I owned a Subaru before, and wanted to get back into one. That played a part in the decision too.

[Kavy]

I have also owned 2 subbies, im moving away from them however as I have a summer performance vehicle and wanted a very Family orientated vehicle that I can pass on to the woman in a few years.

I was really hoping for responses on people who actually owned the vehicles and could mention the pet peeves because those are what really make the vehicle for me.

[ex1z7]

I own a 98 Forester and have had quite a few little problems with it, but the AWD works better than Rav4's.. I wish it was easier to work on and I wish engines weren't so hard to come by (spun a bearing recently..) But my forester also has 270,000+ km's on it and has been beaten pretty hard..

Knowing what I know about my Forester, I would buy another Subaru.. Personally I find them nicer and better equipped than Rav4's and they tend to be cheaper if you're buying used..