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.

I can only guess at Subaru's thinking, but in all likelihood the company made a commercial decision that it wasn't something that would concern owners and that correcting it didn't warrant whatever investment they would have to make to fix something they clearly didn't believe was a problem. Some cars do tramline, that is to follow the road surface, when fitted with low-profile tyres and sporting suspension settings. What your experience shows is that we have a resourceful aftermarket industry that's capable of fixing problems that carmakers either can't or don't want to fix.

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.

The Brumby had a four-speed manual right to the end. It's possible someone has fitted a five-speed to improve highway performance, but it would have been a private conversion.

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.