Subaru’s AWD system is legitimately better at putting down power to the wheels and getting traction than the vast majority of other AWD systems on the market. There are plenty of third party tests showing as much.
That said, it’s a question of whether you actually need that. The truth is the vast majority of people don’t need AWD at all for the kind of driving they’ll actually do.
I have an STi which has an active center differential beyond even the typical Subaru system and I absolutely love it. It’s magic feeling it at work. But my “likes to take the car on dirt and go sideways at 50MPH” use case isn’t needed for a commuter either.
Also important to note, Subaru’s AWD system is picky as hell and a tread depth difference across the axle is actually pretty likely to damage your diffs or transmission.
Meaning, if you need to replace a tire, you replace all four tires or else run the risk of catastrophic damage to the vehicle. The AWD works great and it’s a good system but it can and will screw you out of a thousand bucks worth of tires with no warning. Pros and cons.
(Sorry for the comment on a 2 week old post)
For those in the US, Tire Rack can shave down a new tire to a specific depth for you. You just need to measure the other tire(s) to give them a measurement.
Had to do this for my Subi once and it worked like a charm. No mechanical problems after (although I did sell the car, like, a year later).
