Do I detect a hint of blind bias? Or even a touch of badge snobbery something I thought normally existed from owners of vehicles supporting price tags > $100K.
Yes the AWD offers significant benefits in handling & safety by providing traction to all wheels! Then there are different types of AWD systems that may argue varying levels of prowess (ala Audi over all others & Subaru over Mazda MPS!).
However to discount the added benefits of Stability Control systems (VDC as offered by Subaru) sounds rather blinkered. Try you will be amazed at the benefits!
“The VDC system monitors vehicle stability by measuring steering angle, yaw rate and individual wheel speed. Using that input data, VDC can tell whether the car is going where the driver is steering it, detecting and correcting understeer (front-wheel drift) and oversteer (rear-wheel drift). Under certain oversteer conditions, VDC can direct the all-wheel drive system to transfer more power to the front wheels. “
http://www.subaru.ca/interface/Subaru02 ... SiteID=282
WRT to resale one has to be practical & realistic but not sure on the true & absolute value of “tons” (speaking from personal experience with a MY04 GT!)
I do think reading through these posts there is an understanding, although somewhat subliminal, that the article is “horses for courses” and is designed to sell magazines!
Don’t get me wrong I love our Subaru Liberty GT (STi at that) but I did not buy to be the fastest, quickest etc etc but rather it offered a balance of attributes that best suited our needs & price range. It’s a lovely car but; best BFYB - I don’t think so. Refined, luxurious with a good level of performance safety & handling without an excessive price tag yes!
I like to offer praise & encouragement to the local efforts as it is not only an important sector of the Australian economy but to see what was achieved by the locals, using overseas cars as benchmarks, is commendable in my mind. GO AUSTRALIA!
I think secretly others are recognising these achievements quietly singing praises between the lines.
If not for competition among manufacturers we would probably not enjoy some of the benefits seen today! (Incuding AWD, VDC etc)
I better stop there taking too much space!
Just another opinion. Cheers!