Subaru Impreza/Forester vs Suzuki SX4 vs '96 Bronco

With the CARS program as incentive, I am considering trading in my '96 Bronco with 175,000 miles for either a new Subie Impreza or Forester, or a Suzuki SX4 Touring. We love our current Subie, and know nothing about Suzukis… but the ARE less expensive. So, waddya think? Buy a new Impreza, a known reliable car? Or the Suzuki, unknown reliability but cheaper? Or just keep the Bronco for another 25,000 miles?

Unless you’re using it for commuting, Impreza or SX4 isn’t going to be able to replace a Bronco, they can’t tow as much, they can’t haul as much, they aren’t as rugged, and they are more cramped inside. You will get substantially better mileage though. If you don’t need the capabilities of a full-sized, old school SUV then you be happy. But if you think you’re replacing it with a comparable vehicle, then you’ll be disappointed.

I second that. If you have no use for the Bronco, then go for the new vehicles.

Consumer Reports rates the reliability of the Suzuki SX4 as “much better than average,” which is a better rating than they give the Subarus, which are rated as “average” or “above average.”

I think the Suzuki is a bit smaller than the Subarus, so take that into consideration.

If you can afford a new car this may be the time. They blew through the first batch of cash-for-clunker money pretty quickly. The next (final) batch won’t last long.

For what it’s worth; Suzukis in my opinion, are not ready to be rated with the better cars until their 5 to 10 year ratings of ALL their models are equal to Honda/Toyota. Subaru isn’t there and certainly Suzuki isn’t. I like the Forester but would equally recommend the CRV and Rav4. The same with American brand cars.
Other cars are just pretenders until they age as well.