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I'm sorry, but haven driven one of those cars, not to mention owned one with approximately the same weight and driveline configuration that had a much higher torque spike (imagine 14psi of boost coming on at just under 3000rpm), I still can't imagine how the thing could have been such a handful on tarmac. The (highly modified) 323 GTX I owned wouldn't brake traction on dirt or gravel under the conditions you describe, much less on actual tarmac. If I wanted to spin the tires in dirt or gravel, I had to drop the clutch on launch or induce a drift. There was virtually nothing I could do to brake traction on tarmac short of push beyond the limits of adhesion while cornering.
As for my renowned automotive expertise... I appreciate that you value my input so much, but you and others have already covered those bases pretty well, though I would note that late-model Subarus are well within his price range though they may not meet other criteria. Be sure to let me know if I can help out on other topics in the future though, sport.
Yes, and I've driven a whole host of hi-performance cars with anywhere from 200-500 HP that I've owned, borrowed, rented, leased, or been paid to work on and had to test drive.
Imagine driving an ex-works BMW 2002Tii factory turbocharged autocrosser, or an Audi off-road racer with HP on well the north side 200HP, or a Maserati Bora or Ghibli, or an OSCA track car, or a Porshe 904, 300SL MB's, or an AutoUnion track car, or a well warmed up Alfa 2 liter autocrosser ... all cars that were properly set up, high HP output, and very light weight (several from a private car collection I worked for). Most went where you pointed them and wouldn't lose traction unless/until you hit their limits or abused them badly off the line. Since I was often driving a lot of valuable machinery with a "you break it, you fix it" policy, I never pushed them to the limits ... and thankfully, never broke anything while still able to have a blast of a ride.
None of which had a darn thing to do with the likes of a box stock XT-6 with a set of Pep Boys cheapie tires acquired when the owner had a road hazard flat in some town in CA and needed to replace the entire OE set because of the AWD.
So, yes ... Drover ... you've sure demonstrated your superior automotive expertise by trying to compare a not-so-great stock Subie with your ... what was that? a 323 GTX with 14 psi turbo boost coming in at 3000 RPM. Yeah, that's a real valid comparison about how the suspension, motors, and everything else was set up. Even more, it sure fits in with the dream car of the OP for 30+ mpg and towing a small utility trailer.
Even more incredulous is your assertion that there's "late model" Subaru Wagons retailing for under $10,000, unless your definition of "late model" goes back older than 2002 (and generally more than 100,000 miles). I, too, can look up the cars on-line at the dealers in the Chicago area and see the retail price points for them there. All I can say is if you can buy them that far back of the market, I know of several regions in the USA where a very quick 20% mark-up can be had, even after detailing, new tires, minor repairs, local newspaper ads, and transport in full semi-load trailer quantities. A sharp guy like you could, no doubt, have a semi-load of good clean rust free merchandise bought in an afternoon ....
Blah blah blah. Since you obviously know absolutely everygoddamnthing under the sun, I'll let you have the last word. I might as well because you always insist on it. (That and it would take more time than I care to waste unpacking the myriad non-sequiturs in your post and you'd only respond with more anyway.)
The TDI's are a great driver when they're running. When I'm fueling my MB diesels, I get to talk to a lot of these folks who claim 50 +/- mpg with these cars ... which will easily outrun my '82-'84 Benz diesels.
Some folks will get 200K + miles on them without any issues.
Others will go 30K or so between component problems, and the diagnostics are generally a dealer item to resolve. Even though there's some aftermarket diagnostics/equipment available, most of the people I know of with independent shops are unable to diagnose/resolve over 50% of the problems with these cars since 2002 or so. VW is plays it pretty close when it comes to the information for these cars, and reflashing computers is a problematic area.
VW has made servicing these vehicles a bit different ... perhaps difficult ... for the aftermarket. Even an oil change is not simple anymore without specialized equipment.
You may have noticed that VW was shipping their cars with a windshield mounted solar charge panel in every car. The reason was that the normal residual electrical draw in the cars was running the batteries down and causing numerous problems with the cars' computers ... even for the dealers before the cars were delivered. As the car owner, you risk subsequent problems with these cars if you don't drive them frequently (or a long enough distance) to keep the batteries fully charged. These are definitely a car you do not want to "jump start" with jumper cables from another vehicle ... voltage spikes may cause numerous problems that will be hard to trace or diagnose.
I think a lot of the running problems with these cars result from driver abuse/misuse; the TDI diesels have a certain driving cycle which optimizes their running ... I'm sure that an independent shop that sees a lot of these TDI's could advise you on whether or not your intended driving is appropriate for the long term.
Steve-O ... my quote taken out of context of my response to Drover ....
I'm no hot-rodder in my driving style, quite the contrary, I save my hard core driving for the track and not the street. Being somewhat past the age where one's reflexes are as sharp as they were 30 years ago, I don't push high dollar track cars very hard anymore .... I leave that for the people that own the cars or have a bigger fun budget than I have.
Nor, for that matter ... am I modifying the pre 60's cars that I get the pleasure of being paid to work on. Pro's like Lago did that to the cars long before I started maintaining them as classics in OE condition for the car collections.
Well, after lots of searching for a Wagon I finally found one on CL! 2004 5 speed with 85,000 miles. I know that is a shartton of miles but for $6000 I figured why not give it a risk.
It has just about everything except traction control. Moon roof, 2.3L PZEV, heated seats/mirror, leather, cruise, CD player.....
Anyways, she has a few scratches here and there on the body but no damage I could find. No rust and no leaks. Look for some roof rack cross bars and the cargo cover. But wow do I love those heated seats!
Runs rather well and has enough power to get out of its way. I broke the tire loose shifting into third for a split second...but it could have been sand
The problems I see is sometimes it is hard to get it into gear. Like first at a traffic light I have to put it into second then first. And reverse is hard when it is cold. Figure I would try some synthetic tranny fluid.
First highway tank got 30mpg...going snowboarding it did 35mpg but I think that is because of so much coasting. Combined did around 26 or 27. So far I am really happy.
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