humanistic

There are tons of them here in Crozet. They seem to have replaced the XC70s and Tahoes as the vehicle of choice.

We had two '99 Foresters. One is L flavored and one WAS S flavored. The S flavored one got in a fight with an F150 (see my thread http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=45848&highlight=Nobody+wins. ) Anyway, I still have the L and it is up to about 170,000. It's a rat trap but I love that car.

Thanks to all that replied to my post. Looked really hard at the Volvo, but went back to Subaru. My dealer sells Volvos and Subarus and she had a 2002 V70 awd wagon. My wife went to get it and it was GONE. So as a consolation prize, she got a 2002 L.L. Bean version wagon.

...nobody wins. This is the lesson my wife and I have recently found to be true. An F150 hit my wife on thursday and now both vehicles have been declared legally dead. Fortunately, my wife escaped the accident with a couple of scratches (she was alone in the car) as did the driver of the F150. My wife is upset at not having her Forester S. We thought that when the Foresters began to give out (we have two...umm...had two), we would move up to the Volvo XC 70. The more I look at them now, the more I'm not so sure I want to do that. I value the opinions I see on here and would appreciate any comments you may offer. Thanks.

We have two kids and two car seats. We also have two Foresters. I liked the Honda van, but my road is too bad. The Foresters have worked out great. I would assume the same is true with the Legacy wagon. Happy hunting.

I appreciate all of the responses. Very informative. After looking around a bit, I am beginning to find it difficult to identify the VWs in my price range. One of the responses warned that this may be challenging. So, since many of you compared the Legacy to the Passat (instead of the Forester) I thought I would solicit opinions on a newer (than '99) Legacy versus the '01 or '02 Forester. As a recap, I live on the side of a mountain here in Virginia and I travel a dirt road to get on and off of my property. Thoughts?

I love the Forester. My wife and I both have them. My 99L is getting up in miles and it is time to do some maintenance. I need a timing belt and while in there, figured I would also get a water pump. Unfortunately, I seriously suspect that I also need a head gasket (and probably another 02 sensor (already put one in). After I began totalling the cost, I decided maybe it was time for a trade-in for a newer Forester. As I started looking around, I also noticed the Passat wagon. It is also all wheel drive (which is critical since I live on the side of a mountain and use a dirt road to get on and off of it). I was wondering if it can stand the pounding that the Forester takes daily without the nickel and dime problems that my Forester has. They (the Passat) are a little more cash-wise, but are not substantially more. I've looked at a couple of '01 and '02 Foresters and really like the sunroofs! This time, I would probably go with an S versus an L and would prefer a stick versus and automatic (my wife has a stick and it is really...um...peppy). Whatever I get, it will probably go to the wife and I'll get her Forester, so I need something kinda nice as I like to take good care of her because she's usually hauling the kids around. Any comments, statements or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.