Subaru Problems

THE Liberty is generally a very reliable car that gives little trouble, as long as it is serviced according to Subaru's recommended schedule. I haven't heard of the gear whine you talk about, so can't comment on that.

SIT down and make a list of the musts and the wants for your car, then look at each. The first and most important thing is to decide how often you will go camping and how far off the beaten track you plan to go, if at all. I would choose the Subaru and I'm assuming here that you're talking about the Outback. It isn't as high as the others, but it's a much better road car than any of the four-wheel-drive wagons you list and it has good ground clearance, which means it is surprisingly adept at beating around the bush.

THE Falcon had a reputation for wandering on the highway, which some people find disconcerting; Clearly you don't, so the Subaru's wanderlust must be pronounced. I assume you have checked the basics of wheel alignment and tyre pressure to make sure they aren't contributing to the problem. Try switching the tyres from side to side and see if the problem persists.

THE Brumby is a good choice provided it is in good condition. They were a tough little truck, too tough for their own good, really, because some uncaring owners pushed them beyond reasonable limits in the belief they couldn't be broken. Look for underbody damage that would indicate a rough life off-road, and check drivelines carefully, particularly looking for damaged or split driveshaft rubber boots. They damage relatively easily and if not found and fixed quickly can lead to further damage to the driveshaft joints from mud and dirt.

YOUR poptop would probably weigh about 1500kg when loaded, so that's the weight you need to consider when buying a vehicle. In my view it comes down to where you want to go when travelling, and what you want to do with the vehicle for the rest of the year. If you stick predominantly to the blacktop on your travels, then a regular Commodore or Falcon is probably the best way to go. Both will easily tow your poptop, are comfortable and will give you reasonable fuel consumption. An X-Trail will tow up to 2000kg if the trailer has brakes, so that will also handle your poptop. A recent experience with a 3.0-litre Subaru Outback, rated to tow 1800kg, showed that when it was towing a 1200kg camper trailer the fuel consumption rose about 30 per cent, and rose even more when towing a camper weighing close to its rated tow capacity. That said, the Outback would be a great compromise for round-town use and towing capacity.

THERE really isn't much to separate these two -- they're the class acts in the compact all-wheel-drive category. The CR-V offers a little more interior room, and it's a more flexible interior set-up as well, but the Forester is a little better equipped, with four-wheel disc brakes and cruise control. Both will perform well around town and have limited ability to go bush, but I'm assuming you won't be doing any heavy-duty bush bashing anyway. Look underneath for battle scars, scrapes and bumps on suspension parts, underbody and other bits and pieces of exposed hardware. It's also hard to get sand and dust out of cars, so look for evidence of dust build-up in door openings, under carpets and elsewhere.

YOU'D probably need to step up to a Land Rover Freelander, Toyota Prado, BMW X5 or similar toget an offroad-styled wagon with diesel power.

THE rotten-egg smell is sulphur dioxide, usually a sign your catalytic converter has failed. If that's what you smell take it back to the dealer and pursue a resolution with him. A malfunctioning converter should be picked up by a diagnostic check by the mechanic, but may have been missed. If the smell is always present when you get out of the car, take the car back to the dealer and go for a drive with the service manager or mechanic to show him what you are concerned about.

YOUR problem is so common with Michelin that tyre dealers are being left with stocks of superseded tyres. To help out owners like yourself, dealers have a website with information on which tyres are available and where. Stuckey Tyre Service (Ph: 9386 5331) may be able to source three tyres to match your spare. Other than that, the replacement Michelin tyre is the XM1, and Stuckey has those for $146 each. They also say it will be better than the originals on your Subaru, which are susceptible to road noise.

THE rate of wear on the rear tyres on all-wheel-drive cars will be higher because they're driving when the rear tyres on a front-wheel-drive car aren't. That said, the front tyres of both all-wheel-drives and front-wheel-drives wear at about the same rate, so the added wear is related to the rear tyres of the all-wheel-drive cars which will wear out at about the same rate as the front tyres.