Hi Wazuas,

I appreciate the invaluable advice i get here on a wide range of issues.
I am looking to upgrade from the car in front(ground floor version) to a semi-1st floor car(we describe corollas as ground floor cars @work).
I have the X-japans latest Subru forester non-turbo version or the X-Trail in mind. Would you kindly advice on pros and Cons of the car with specifics on
1. Maintenance costs - heard from a drunk in a local that Subru plugs cost Ksh 7200 and i freaked.
2. Fuel consumption
3. sturdiness

I drive off-road occasionally.

Much thanks

Why change from car in front. Is it that you want to be able to overtake every car you find in front?

Noticed after I had posted that the topic had been discussed though not so exhaustively. I appreciate though. Any more views will be appreciated

If you are going for status go for the X-Trail.

cars are not benchmarks of status ..more so the X-trail if it was European ..luopean ..yeah but sio japanese junkie noo..afana

not an x-trail ..a poor man's prado ..nooooo

@ Wanyee IMHO status is very subjective and is pegged to the society one lives in and their finacial demographic. Each car has its level of status depending on these demographics . For example what you consider a status symbol (a Prado from your post) may be consdiered by some to be a poor mans Range Rover /Landrcruiser Amazon. And what you may consider a poor mans Prado-The Xtrail -to someone living in a middle class society where perhaps most drive Corrollas would be considered quite an achievement. In the States for example the Chrysler 300 is frowned upon by most as it is considered a not so good knock off of a Rolce Royce Phantom (I think). In Kenya it appears to be the in thing and every bride worth her salt demands a ride in it on her wedding day. Either way to me none of the cars being evaluated have a class difference (advantage or disadvantage). They are all relatively in the same "class".

@tnai9 from the tone of your words, I think you are biased towards X-trail. Just go for it.

But don't confuse status and attention. They're two different things.

I think since you don't want attention, X-trail will give you the peace you want, compared to Forester, which are most attention calling especially those fitted with "muffler".

X-trail will give you the status, without attention, but it's not cheap to maintain as you may think.

This was custom made, imported from Britain, and put on a flight to Nairobi. When you sit on the drivers seat, the steering wheel adjusts itself automatically, to an ergonomic position for your comfort. It was armoured. Those are the few details I heard about. He is a rich man by any standards. Goes for a meeting outside (in Africa)and the hotel he stays in BB he pays 1100 USD, yes, like 94k now. I saw an invoice for this, with my naked eyes

Bought a new sporty toureg(sp) for the 19yr old son (who was a fresher in the UK) from Germany at think 7 or 9M, and it was also flown in. Btn placing the order for the Toureg and receiving it here, took 3 days.