Would you guys say a Subaru (Forester, Lagacy, Impreza) can/is the do-everything vehicle?

In reply to _ :

Of course I know what you mean but we’re taking about CARS not specific tools designed for specific jobs not are we taking about people’s career choices. Not everyone can have a fast car, one that you can take camping down a muddy road, one that can make it easily through a snowstorm, and one that’ll safely take you to to the track. 

Specialist cars for several different automotive interests isn’t realistic for the vast majority. I think most of us use our vehicles for several tasks. Too much specialization can be a bad thing because few can afford to keep a car for each task.

Yeah, which is why the Subaru is good for all arounding, but not “superb” at any one thing, except snow driving I guess...

I guess a pictorial example is in order. I’m trying to say that it seems like Subaru’s cars are used successfully in more activities than any other manufacturer and is more likely to have one single car good at more things in general than most others. For instance, I think a Forester GT could be pretty darned good at most things pictured below with a little parts shelf engineering. (Yes, I know these are not all Foresters)

I love my '01 Forester. It has a bit over 200k miles on it. Just put new head gaskets on it and all that jazz. The interior has held up really well. The outside has "character" with all of it's hail damage and dents. But most of that was there when I bought it. And it's rust free! My record for engine removal time from running condition to out of the car is two hours and ten minutes. I doubt there are many other cars made in the last 20 years you could do that with. I plan on lifting it and making it a bit more rugged and off roadable in the future. Really my only gripes with the car is the poor gas mileage and how glacially slow it is. To be honest though, I wouldn't buy a new subaru. I think they really lost their way in the mid 2000s after they killed the GD chassis and its variants. The cars are just too normal and they drive differently, in my opinion worse.

_ said:

I fully disagree with the full quote though. When it comes to having a repair person at your house, would you rather have a guy that’s been repairing said item for a 10 plus years, or the guy that’s bounced around in careers and has landed in this one for a bit? 

In japan, very few people train in different trades. They usually pick one, and that’s what they do. They then become exceptional, a word that doesn’t get used in America often. 

Correct.  Most of the rest of the world is like that.  Only in America will you find, for example, someone working in a power plant, who knows the entire system very well and when you inquire about their formal education they respond with something like “oh I went to truck driving school.  Learned all this stuff on the job”.  Very liberating if you ask me.

I submit my alternative.

Look at the end of the day it's all about sacrifices. My GSW 4Motion will do everything an Impreza will do with more HP and a better transmission. Can it hit the trails? Sure. Will I want to take it out to the trails. No not really. That is why I have an Xterra decked out for trail duty. Can it hit the track and run a decent time. Sure but there are are better for the task. It does a superb job of getting me from point A to point B safe and with all the gear I need. 

Same is true with the Forester XT I owned. Of course, The only thing that did really good was throw codes and break down. Least reliable car I ever had. 

I am blessed to be able to afford a car for each need and keep my DD as my DD and my fun cars as my fun cars and I'm so glad that is the case.