Well, brought knoxville and my dad to test drive the 3 top cars today on my list. Started with the Kia, which both Knoxville and my dad loved, they liked it a lot just like me, confirming it was a strong contender.
Then we drove the legacy, they said mostly what I did, aside from the AWD factor and a few things like heated wipers, it lost to the Kia in almost every way.
Finally we stopped back at WBL and test drove the demo car. They liked this a lot as well. They both said the kia was faster and the outside styling was a bit better. But they both said overall the Suzuki was a much better deal having AWD and the interior was as nice and interior was quieter too. The CVT on the Suzuki is pretty damn smooth, crazy to get used to a car sitting at 6k rpms while you go WOT, never moving haha.
So I did see what buying the kia would be and at 72 mo it was 2.9%, still pretty good, but almost 100/mo more.
So honestly if money wasn't an issue at all, the kia vs. suzuki was pretty damn close, AWD i think edges the suzuki up just a tad over the optima for winters here but in a warm state kia all the way I think. The loaded kia is pimp.
So I basically "bought" the Suzuki today. Bobby had to send my info to Suzuki and I am going to pick it up Monday
Overall, the 72mo 0% is just such a good deal. Knoxville and my dad said leasing to buy is silly, really just lease if you have car A.D.D. and like to switch a lot. And when i take that into account, the Suzuki is the clear winner.
I'll post pics monday, maybe tuesday when I get some sunlight. Pumped to have a nice DD again. It has leather, heated seats etc too so not too shabby for ~20k.