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My wife has a 2013 Nissan Maxima. We love that car. Lots of power with a 260hp V6 engine, and a very smooth, comfortable ride. It's a nice 4-dr sports car basically. Although not AWD, it handles well in snow.
Looking for a new(er) car
KCee I agree that most Subarus are under-powered. The Outback is actually a Legacy with a hatchback - no turbo option, but you can get it with a 6-cylinder.
The exception is the Subaru WRX, which is sort of a souped-up Impreza. Not a hatchback, but it goes like stink and has been the #1 rally car for a long time. If you want excitement, this is a car you want to look at. May not check off all of your boxes, but it will definitely be fun to test drive.
Spuzz - CVTs in general really suck, and Nissan's CVTs are probably the worst of the bunch. I owned a 2009 Nissan Murano (the first year that it had a CVT, if memory serves me correctly), and I hated it so much that I traded it in less than a year .... and I usually keep my cars for at least 5 years or close to 100,000 miles (two of my Subarus were more like 135,000 to 145,000 miles, and I had a Volvo that I kept for 177,000 miles, and I didn't purchase it new).
We have two cars - The 2017 Volvo V60 T6 with Polestar upgrades, and my wife's 2018 VW Alltrack wagon with a 6-speed manual transmission (she refuses to own/drive a car with an automatic transmission, and had 5 Subarus prior to the VW). I also owned 3 Subaru Outbacks (two 4-cylinder models and one with the long since discontinued 3.0 litre 6-cylinder). The only reasons that my wife didn't purchase another Subaru were:
1.) They have downsized the base 4-cylinder engine, and that reduced the power from 174 BHP to 142 BHP (torque is also down by more than 25 lb-ft).
2.) Subaru quality seems to have gone down considerably in recent years, at least based on the two most recent Imprezas that my wife owned (a 2007 and a 2011 model).
I really liked my Outback wagons, and was considering getting a new one last year, but their 4-cylinder engine is SEVERLY underpowered when it is in the Outback and the 6-cylinder engine is only offered in the loaded "premium" models, which can easily top $40K. Although Volvos have had a spotty quality and reliability history in recent years, I couldn't resist the 300+ HP and 320+ lb-ft of torque in the V60 wagon that I got ... and AWD plus loads of safety features at a discounted price below $40K made my decision rather easy! Besides, Subaru's automatic transmission is actually a CVT and although it has gotten good reviews, my prior experience with CVTs tells me to stay away from any vehicle that has one of those transmissions.
funkyjudge I wanted to get a 2017 Outback but couldn’t talk my wife into it. Went with a new Honda CR-V instead, which also has a CVT, but hasn’t shown a history of being a bad one. My one worry about the Subaru was that they supposedly source their CVTs from the same place Nissan uses. I have a 2015 Nissan Frontier, but it has a 5 speed automatic (maybe the same as Spuzz’s Infinity).
I own a Subaru Forester (2017) and received a recall notice from Subaru that they've been having issues with the transmissions in some particular models (including mine).
But since I bought mine through a R-title purchase (got a great deal on it, only had 3k miles on the engine when it was reconditioned and saved several thousand dollars versus a non R-title purchase) the recall notice didn't apply toward mine (since it had been totaled and then reconditioned sale).
Thankfully I've not had any issues with it, have about 23k miles on it now. The only thing I don't like about it is the lack of legroom in the back seating area, but since I don't typically cart people around in it - it's not an issue. The storage area in back is huge, which is another plus for me, but also part of the reason why there's a noticeable difference in legroom in the back seat compared to the Toyota Rav4 I had prior. AWD, and I average 27 mpg (road and highway). It's got plenty of power for my tastes, especially given what is decent gas mileage. I was only getting 23 mpg with the Rav4. I liked the Rav4 also...
The Rav4 was a bit more sporty, however. I gave it to my daughter after she graduated college and was getting ready to move to Washington state... it had about 80k miles on it. I wanted her to have an AWD and something reliable, not something she was going to have to put in the garage every six months.
Both of those SUV's are great in snow, thanks to AWD.
I almost went with the Honda CRV over the Forester I purchased. I've owned several Hondas over my lifetime, all have been Accords, and all have been great purchases. Although I must say that for a period of about 10-12 years I really didn't care for the newer body style, which is why I meandered toward the Camry back in 2008. Bought it new, kept it for 7 years, then traded it for the 2013 Maxima my wife currently owns. The more current Accords are much sportier and appealing than they have been in years.
The CRV was definitely on my radar. But it also meant forking over $10k more over the Forester, so I settled. I tend to drive my vehicles until they're worthless, so trade-in value doesn't mean a lot to me.
Hey KCee -ever consider an Acura ZDX? They stopped making them in 2013 so they would be fairly cheap. I think they look pretty cool in person and you'll have a sporty, AWD that has 300HP I believe. If you don't mind something a bit different, definitely a unique vehicle. Poor rear seat space and trunk space but that may not be an issue for you... LOL having fun yet with all these recommendations???
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PA-PLAYA The CR-V would have been my 4th choice, but it was my wife's call. It's a nice car, and I'm looking forward to the gas mileage, but I kind of worry about that tiny 1.5 liter turbo engine and the CVT. That said, Honda has an excellent reputation for trouble free engines and their transmissions appear to be as good or better than most. I'm not too worried about this being our first Honda and I feel like I got a decent deal. I've told my wife and son to go easy on it and not stick their foot into the gas unless needed (for merging or whatever), but I know enough about them to understand that when I'm not around they won't heed that advice. While car shopping I had good used options and in particular a 2016 Highlander, 2017 Explorer, and 2017 Outback all with less than 30,000 miles and would have preferred any of those to the CR-V. My wife found reasons to reject them all, but I'm pretty sure there was an unstated reason - not wanting a "used" car, behind the actual decision.
shokosugi Hey KCee -ever consider an Acura ZDX
Funny my coworker just mentioned that car the other day! It does tick off most things on my checklist, but as you say they stopped making it in 2013 and I'd like something a little newer; probably 2015-2016. I remember when it came out and thought it was cool, but too pricey.
I did check out a couple of used CRVs as I still am a Honda fan. I liked a 2017 I saw much more than the 2016. The bad part is a 2017 model is still worth as much as 2016 BMW or Audi. The Hondas hold their value. I even saw a 2018 base Kia Stinger for less.
I have not bought a new car in 20 years. I drive for a half dozen used car dealers
so I can get first dibs on a lot of used cars. Just bought a Acura MDX for $12,500,
2010 with 50,000 miles in very nice condition.
My mother in law has a CRV. She’s 84 and has the sharpest CRV at the senior center