Leased an EX35 Journey AWD Premium. Residuals are predicted to be high and the MF was very low, equivalent as 2.9% APR for my 36 month lease. The hard part was the negotiating, b/c they tried to push 39 months for lower residuals and higher MF. This was the only part that burned me. They wanted the talk about monthly amounts plus down payments and did not show their calculations, which I did while there. They would scribble on a piece of paper some numbers all over the place, to try to make it look like we were informed. When I went to Subaru and BMW, they printed out complete forums with all the numbers every time we changed a variable. For a Luxury Dealership, using typical car sales tactics was a turn off. Other than the sale, we were treated very nicely and never had to wait. There was always drinks, snacks, and very informative. The sales rep knew his product and sold it well.



As for the car itself, we love it. It is just me and my wife with no kids expected. We are active and slim and wanted an easy vehicle to drive. We wanted to downsize from our SUV but preferred to keep the utility of a hatchback or short wagon. We compared to a 328xi wagon, A3, WRX, outback, and RDX. We chose the EX35 becuase it looked elegant, strong engine, comfy ride, and that it was different than everyones X3 and RAV4 on the road. My cousin has a BMW 335i and had numerous problems (in the shop 3 times) while still under warranty, but reliability was not that important to us because it was a lease.

Definitely tighter than the small interior of our Jeep Grand Cherokee. But the interior is beautiful and very comfortable for me (6') and my wife (5'7"), but no one else inside. We drive around with the rear seats lowered because the rear headrests are big and hamper vision. Since the seats can be electronically repositioned, we like that it can be raised if necessary.

Make no illusion, this is a tall hatchback/wagon of the G35. It is not really a SUV because there is almost no more utility than a A3 in the back. Compared to rivals like the X3, RDX, soon to be released Q5, GLK, Tiguan, and (Porsche) Roxter, it has the tiniest interior with similar footprint. It should be faster than all but the roxter.

The seven speed auto (in the FX) should trickle down probably in a year, which should increase acceleration by a tick, but also MPG. I doubt the 3.7 will get implanted until a mild facelift in 2-3 years since the FX makes due with the 3.5 too. Also, why doesn't this car have HID headlights when the G35 has them as standard items?