2018.04.21 Moobaru

What the Moobaru is can be either simple or complicated.

Simply:

A base-model 2018 Subaru Impreza, milky white.

Complicated:

Several considerations needed to be weighed. The need for a second vehicle was relatively urgent, due to the timing for returning the Schleppenwagen. Plus the (hopefully) imminent arrival of a Tesla Model 3 meant that we wanted to keep the budget as low as could be reasonable. Further, the current Blubaru is going to need to be returned itself later this year, and there is a definite niche of utility having a Canadian-snow-capable transport in the fleet.

On the utility front, I would have preferred to maintain some sort of van-like element, but this failed several parameters. Firstly, despite being the least-expensive Mercedes, all the realistic potential vans are more expensive than is ideal. Used versions are not readily available, and we have little interest in increased maintenance issues. Ultimately is the concept that the non-Tesla vehicle would functionally be the Wife's default vehicle for use, and she really hated driving the Schleppenwagen. Alas.

One interesting element about the Moobaru is that it has a manual transmission. This makes it surprisingly fun to drive. The surprise is not because of the peak of joy it provides, but instead because of how complicated it makes the driving. The clutch actuation is a rather narrow band, and the little boxer-4 engine is astonishingly gutless at low RPM. This means that the Moobaru is decidedly tricky to launch. Thankfully it has an automatic hill-holding feature, or I would have a much harder time of it. I've come to respect how the CVT in the Blubaru enables the engine to stay in its most potent range, because with the discrete gears of the Moobaru you only get to visit maximum power briefly. Throw in a healthy dash of standard Subaru extra-bouncy driveline lash, and it takes a lot of finesse to avoid head bobbling.

I mentioned the overall gutlessness of the Moobaru to the resident racecar builder/driver at work, and he delightedly proclaimed "MOMENTUM CAR!". "Momentum doesn't need gears - just a good line and commitment." He's totally right.

The Moobaru also came with steel wheels, which were originally hidden behind plastic mag-toupees. I pulled those off, because I prefer the honest look of the steel wheels. The wife is less enthralled, and demands the replacement of the fakey-fake fakes. Maybe a compromise of finding some cheap mag wheels for the duration of the Moobaru's stay would be better - keeping the steelies for winter rubber.

Technology is quite different between the Moobaru and Blubaru. The Moobaru lacks the Eyesight™ system for active safety and advanced cruise control, which I regret. The ability to crawl through stop-and-go traffic without obsessively watching the surging traffic makes it much less stressful. Plus I really quite like the idea of automatic emergency braking. On the plus side, the Moobaru comes with Apple Carplay - and it's brilliant.

Overall, I really quite like the Moobaru - for what it is.