I am potentially looking at buying a new car in next coming months. I’m looking at the Nissan rogue because my current car is Nissan and I’ve been pleased with it for the past 12 years and I would like the extra room an suv has. The only thing I don’t like is that the majority of suvs are AWD. Nissan does make the rogue in FWD but I was only able to find 1 in my nearby dealerships. So it seems that if I want an suv I’m stuck with AWD or I have to stick with a sedan. For context, my first and current car is a 2012 Nissan versa.
Tldr: do the benefits of AWD and having an suv outweigh the downside of having to replace every tire if you get a flat in one with AWD. Or should I just try and stick with FWD?
EDIT: thank you for all the responses. It is very clear now that I do not need AWD and will stick with FWD. And apparently, I need to look into different cars makers. I have had good luck with my Nissan but according to comments Nissan isn’t a good company anymore.
EDIT 2: I didn’t realize that there are 2 different types of AWD. There’s full and reactive. Technically, the car I have now is AWD because it does divert power to the back wheels if it detects them slipping. My apologies for not fully understanding the terminology before making the post. My original post was directed towards full AWD, when there is power to all wheels all the time. Thanks for the help !
I checked out Subaru and the impreza looks appealing. But all models are showing AWD… Even their legacys have AWD. And it looks like Subaru is using CVT transmissions too. I was hoping to get away from that because I don’t care for it in my versa. Are different manufacturers implementation of CVT different? Or are all CVTs the same?
Subaru CVTs drive like shit but not near as unreliable as Nissan units. Different manufacturers. I don’t know what chickens they sacrificed but it works.
All CVTs work the same way and have the same weakness (steel belt tends to break causing catastrophic damage).
Not quite true on the second part. It’s primarily Jatco CVTs that are reliability nightmares, and are what is used by Nissan. Subaru make their own CVTs which are widely regarded to be much more reliable.
Pretty much the entire poor reputation of CVTs derives from those shitty Jatcos but the tech itself wasn’t the problem, it was the execution.
Not exactly what you asked, but the only problem I’ve found with Subaru (crosstrek / legacy) is lack of pick up. It’s worth it to shell out for even a slightly upgraded engine. (crosstrek wilderness) If thats important to you and you read a review that says it’s a problem, absolutely believe it. It hasn’t bordered on dangerous, but it is very noticeable at times.
Other than that 100,000+ miles later and some regular upkeep and there has been absolutely no issues. Shifts fine, although sometimes the rpms hit higher than I’m used to.
I do believe the WRX is manual if that’s more your style, and there are Crosstreks (which is essentially an Impreza with more clearance. Even people at the dealership have accidentally called it that) and Foresters that are strictly automatic, or so they say.
Oh, and the windshield wipers are lame. It’s like the windshield is too big for the wipers, and the wipers move to slow. If it starts pouring outside, be prepared to be driving 90% blind. Rainx barely helps.