Subaru Problems

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.

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.

THE side support of the driver's seat wears fastest on most cars because the driver tends to slide their backside across it when getting in and out. I'm not aware of any particular problem with the Subaru trim, but you seem to be seeing wear far worse than I'd normally expect.

WE ASKED Subaru to comment: ``Subaru Australia is concerned to hear of this customer's problem. ``We are confident it is not common and would like the opportunity to inspect the vehicle further via the customer's local Subaru dealer, where an in-depth report can be submitted to Subaru Australia for consideration. ``Subaru Australia has exceptionally strong product guidelines and any manufacturing defects found are covered under warranty (within the warranty period). ``We have an out-of-warranty `goodwill' arrangement where, on meeting certain criteria, manufacturing defects can be claimed out of the warranty period.'' There you are, Michael. Take your car back to your dealer, have them inspect it and report back to Subaru.

THE BA Falcon should do the job. It is rated to tow up to 2300kg with the auto and the Ford tow pack. I wouldn't recommend the manual, as it isn't rated as high as the auto. As far as the Subaru goes, I would think it should cope with the load you want to move without any drama. The Ford is more solidly built than the Subaru, but I wouldn't advise you against the Outback.

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.

WE PUT your questions to Subaru's technical people, who gave this response: ``This is a normal characteristic. It is of a minor nature and we have had only a handful of comments from owners of the thousands of this model that we have sold. The current model has enhancements to ensure only minor sensation of the opening and closing of the throttle when cruise control operates to maintain the set speed, particularly on downhill roads.'' Though the company claims to have had few complaints, it has moved to improve the cruise control on the current model, which should tell you they thought it wasn't up to scratch. Unfortunately, it seems you'll have to put up with it or get the newer model.