Bought my last Honda.

On my trip last weekend to Mt Washington, got 29.9mpg on my 2011 Outback. My older 2002 Forester never gets over 26. Now the outback is a standard 6 speed tranny.

2012 CRV:

Round trip to the beach today... some traffic, some interstate, a some back roads.

31.1 MPG for the day Pretty good. Summer gas.

2012 CRV:

One way to the cabin... gassed up about 2 miles before the highway.

Noticed I was above 30 mpg shortly after I got on the interstate, some traffic but not too bad.

Drove all the way to the cabin (1000 feet of vert at the end) and got 33.1.  At times I was as high as 34.8.

Return tank to the flatlands from the last trip include 70 miles of true mountain driving and then all highway  = 30.1 mpg

Then on the way up again a week later with a boat on the roof = 27.8. That to me is more amazing than the 33+.

Anyone else running synthetic oil? Seems to make a difference.

You guys waxed so eloquent about the snow grip of the Subaru that I decided to give up on Honda (and the Honda fading reliability rep) and go with Subaru. Tomorrow  I pick up my new 2014 Forester (green of course!). My 2003 odyssey was decent except for a transmission that needed replacement, which Honda ponied up 50% on.
gr

greif wrote

You guys waxed so eloquent about the snow grip of the Subaru that I decided to give up on Honda (and the Honda fading reliability rep) and go with Subaru. Tomorrow  I pick up my new 2014 Forester (green of course!).

Pressure is on us. ;)

Traction and mileage on the new (2012) Honda is much improved over the 2006. But I'm sure the Subie will rock. Keep us posted. I'm curious.

greif wrote

You guys waxed so eloquent about the snow grip of the Subaru that I decided to give up on Honda (and the Honda fading reliability rep) and go with Subaru. Tomorrow  I pick up my new 2014 Forester (green of course!). My 2003 odyssey was decent except for a transmission that needed replacement, which Honda ponied up 50% on.
gr

You will love that thing

the 14 foresters have been rockin it this year!!

I took delivery on my 2014 Subaru Forester a couple weeks ago! I previously had a Honda Odyssey, but Consumer Reports  has Hondas reliability much lower (mostly average) than it used to be and this forum convinced me Subaru all wheel drive was the way to go.
So far I am loving it! Has extra gadgets I did not have before (heated seats!, backup camera). With about 600 miles on it an a couple hundred mile Thruway trip it reported 30.5 mpg. Seems like after full break in I can see hitting the stated 33mpg highway.
Of course there is way less space than the Honda, but it sticks to the road like I can't believe, has 10mpg better, more safety stuff, great ground clearance, AWD, and still tall enough for a good view of the road.
The only nit  to pick is the front cup holders won't hold a standard mug, just too small. It also has much fewer cubby holes to stash stuff.

I got the optional EyeSite (2 cameras that look at the road ahead of you and do a variety of things. I figure if it prevents one accident I would be glad I got it. It does things like;
-Alert you if you wander out of your lane, go off to the shoulder (without signaling).
-Slow you down with brakes and letting up on the gas if you don't do it fast enough when it sees you coming toward a fixed object, or the car in front of you.
-When in cruise control, it automatically slows you down with traffic and then back up to set speed.
Gary

Drove the CRV to the mountains this weekend. Got about 23 on the way up and 28 mpg on the return.  (That first tank had about 50 miles of local driving on it, which lately has been warming up the car in the morning and driving it just a few blocks top school).

Any way this is more about the stability control and AWD.  I am blown away by the CRVs:

• Traction improvement over the previous version getting up our driveway with not running start on less than half tread up front.

• The stability control. The thing really stops straight on slick roads.

  Traded my used up 2005 Outback for a Honda CRV (2009), Gas mileage almost equal, Honda way more room and nicer cockpit, Sub was a tank in the snow.  One problem with Honda super cold mornings windshield washer freezes up and then works in the afternoon. Done this thru several fill cycles.

Stopped into the Honda dealer even though they were closed. Stupid law, no car dealers on Sunday. WTF is that.

We're getting close to needing our 8 honda. We'll buy it before winter. It is my sincere hope that it is our last flatlander highway car.

The new CRV has some sweet specs, but for the first time looks a bit overdone on the styling. Granted the one in the shot below is the "Touring" model, probably 7k more than the one we will buy.

Harv, do you plan to get the extended warranty?  Mine expired yesterday.  I'm kind of regretting not getting it as I've had a couple of things of warranty work done.  Stuff ain't cheap on a Volvo.

I have never lost money on an extended warranty.  The car I have now might get me but I still have another 50k to go on the warranty and a touch screen or something will go.  So far the only thing is oil changes.  Honda does make a reliable vehicle.

Yep, if you can;t lease get an extended warranty.With the technology in these cars now they're very expensive to fix.

I'm not a extended warrantee guy because of the way I use my cars.  I walk to work. In the winter my car will make a trip to the mountains, and maybe get all salted up.  The she sits all week long.  My cars RUST really fast.  Brakes, exhaust, underbody.  The brakes are the biggest hassle, I have to replace them long before the rotors are worn out, especially the rear. (Rear drums were great for me, can't get them anymore).

We've tried a schedule where Zelda drives my car some days, but it's a PITA for reasons I will spare you.

I've found the best thing I can do is keep the CRV for 6 years.  It still LOOKS good from the air, has maybe 70-80k on it, and I get 10k from the dealer, buy a new one for another 15k on top.

That's why I'm hoping this will be my last one, hope to move to the mountains in 7 years.

I wash my car regularly in the winter.  My aunt did that years ago and her cars were in primo condition.  I didn't (at the time) and they fell apart.  I think it makes a difference.

I found that washing the undercarriage hurts.  I did it religiously on my 2006 and it was in much worse shape than my 2012 is.

Get home from the mountains and wash it and then drive it around the block to dry the brakes and exhaust, assuming the roads are dry.  Or wash it and let it sit wet.  I tried both and results weren't good.

We have stopped buying cars.  I live on a sand / dirt road and all year getting that abrasive dust up in the undercarriage particularly the struts and brakes chews everything up.  The closest car wash that is open in the winter is over 30 miles away so frequent washing is not feasible.  I've given up and now just lease.

We have a get a new one for my wife's vehicle in the next few months - looking at a F150 crew cab with four doors.

How many miles have you put on this one?

As long as you can stay withing the mileage leasing is really the way to go.