MYD-WGN

You said only 10/12 times a year.MPG shouldn't matter that much then if it does then get a Subaru

TJT

Is gas really going to be a huge issue if you're only driving about 50 yards in the car? I don't see the huge gap between the gas mileages that would really impact your wallet between the three cars you narrowed down. I would just try your best to find an Audi Allroad v6 6spd with higher miles, but well maintained.

sayemthree

to clarify I will only drive OFF road that much. I will drive also another 3000 to 5000 miles per year on the road, maybe more if the mpg is good. and my newly licensed kid will probably also drive it to school some times.

MYD-WGN

I wouldn't want to put a newly licensed kid in a Subaru or a manual that's expensive to replace

JustMtnB44

I looked at the Subaru Outback XT before getting my allroad. A friend of mine had a fully loaded one with a manual. It is a nice car, decently powerful, transmission was fine, suspension seemed ok but I didn't get to really test it. I decided I didn't like it because the interior, while nice, is no Audi and from experience most Subaru seats are not comfortable for me. Also, the lack of adjustable suspension means the Outback is riding in Level 4 all of the time, which compromises on road handling. And there are some issues with the 2.5 turbo engine that makes it only slightly better in reliability than an allroad.

If I had a car like the Subaru or my allroad when I was a newly liscened driver in high school, I probably would have totaled the car or killed myself. I'm a good driver and never had any accidents, but I like to have fun too and I used to push my 100hp 4 banger first car hard, and it's a good thing it was so slow. I still surprise myself with what the allroad can do, even after owning it for a year and half now.

AllRoadMA

I vote buy a economical car for your kid to drive and you to save $ mpg wise and rent a suv with that money when you need to.

01 2.7t

Don't forget to price out insurance. I was looking at the subaru and a few others and the allroad was $500 per year less on insurance than the legacy gt I was looking at.
Also I just picked up an 04 Allroad 2.7t for $13,860 with 63k from an audi dealer in north jersey.

sayemthree

no rentals. I need to be able to pack and go.

Mike B

Re: Gas mileage -- the 2.7t/mt probably won't give you much better mileage than the 4.2/at. I have an S4 with a 4.2/mt that gets about 14mpg while my allroad 2.7t/mt gets about 17mpg. If you're only driving it 3-5k a year the cost differential seems small. 5000/14 = 357.14 x $4.29 = $1532.13.
5000/17 = 294.11 x $4.29 = $1261.73. $270.40 difference or about $22.53 per month.
Re: New drivers with mt. We have only manual gearbox cars in our household. I taught our kids to drive manual, though not an 01E box, and gave them old manual gearbox Audi's to drive to school. I never had to replace a gearbox or a clutch on any of those old Audi's. One of them lasted 285,00 miles and the other lasted 230,00 miles. (Both had had one new clutch at sometime prior to being given to the kid(s)). Both of them now drive Audi's with 01E gearboxes with no issues.
If your kids think it's cool to be able to handle a manual, they will take care to learn how to drive it well. If not get 'em and auto.
JMO

sayemthree

yup they want to learn on a manual