Vicky Katzke

I stumbled across Subaru 16 years ago, much like I stumbled into the motor industry itself. I needed a job. At the time, I knew almost nothing about Subaru. I had seen the blue sedans with gold rims and a big rear wing, but to be honest, I wasn’t a fan.

I started at Subaru as a temporary employee, and one day the Marketing Manager asked if I would help collect one of the media vehicles. His instructions were simple: I could drive the car back to the office.

The first Subaru I ever drove was a WRX STI Hatch.

My only thought was: WOW.

After that came a Legacy, then a Forester, then an Outback. Each one impressed me in its own way.

Not long after, an XV was brought into South Africa as a pilot production vehicle. It was displayed at one of our training events, and I was lucky enough to drive it back to the office.

From that moment, the XV became my favourite Subaru.

The funny thing is, I’m not really a car person. In fact, I don’t particularly enjoy driving. Combined with the salary I was earning at the time, buying a car was always about getting the cheapest option available. Cars were simply something that got me from A to B.

Like everyone, I had dream cars. A 1967 Shelby Mustang. Never going to happen. A Willys Jeep. Never going to happen. And then there was a Subaru XV.

Again, never going to happen.

As the years went by, I remained with Subaru. Somewhere along the way, the passion for the brand got into my blood. I became a Subaru fan through and through.

Working in Sales Administration at Subaru Head Office gave me the opportunity to drive many different Subaru models over the years. Don’t get me wrong, owning a WRX STI Hatch would be incredible, but there was always something special about the XV.

Subaru is a small brand, and that’s one of the things I love most about it. Everything feels more personal. You build relationships with dealers, customers, and colleagues. People stay with the brand for years, and their passion is contagious.

One of those dealerships was Subaru Pietermaritzburg, owned by brothers Howard and Mark Christie. It is a family-run business. Nathan, Mark’s son, worked there, and Jared, Howard’s son, joined the business too.

For years, Mark and I joked over the phone that one day I would own an XV, and he would be the one to sell it to me.

Eventually, we even settled on the colour.

A Hyper Blue XV.

Mark would be the one to sell it to me.

Sadly, Mark passed away in 2022.

At the time, I was driving an orange Suzuki Espresso.

My husband, Leon, always knew how much I loved the XV. He had his dream car, a Lotus, and one day he sent me an online advertisement he had come across.

It was a second-hand Hyper Blue XV.

By then, I knew Subaru. I knew how reliable the vehicles were. I knew far more about cars than I ever had before, and Leon certainly knew cars. Even so, I hesitated. Spending that much money on a vehicle felt impossible to justify. Cars had always just been a way to get from A to B. Dream cars were for other people.

Then, in March 2023, I picked up the phone and called Howard.

The car was a 2017 Hyper Blue Subaru XV 2.0i-S CVT with ridiculously low mileage.

Howard took down the advertisement. The finance was arranged. Leon sent me a video of my old car being sold and driven away by WeBuyCars.

And just like that, Dory was mine.

Leon has always said that when you park your car and walk away, you should look back at it. If you don’t, it’s not the right car for you.

I always looked back at my cars. Every vehicle I owned meant something to me. I had worked hard for it, paid for it, and it was mine. But now I finally understood what Leon meant.

I look at Dory when I walk down the passage at work.

I look at her through the office window.

I look at her through the window at home.

I still look back.

While Dory is my dream XV and I love her because she is a Subaru, there is more to it than that.

Subaru is one of those brands that you can’t fully explain. You just have to drive one.

They don’t do flashy for the sake of being flashy. Everything has a purpose. Everything makes sense.

One of the best examples I can think of is the Legacy. I’ve always preferred smaller cars, so climbing into a large sedan should have felt intimidating. Yet it didn’t. It was easy, comfortable, and intuitive. That’s what Subaru does so well.

Everything just feels right.

So yes, Dory is my dream car. Subaru is my dream brand.

But Dory means even more than that.

Years ago, Mark and I joked that one day I would own a Hyper Blue XV and that he would be the one to sell it to me. Although Mark never got the chance to hand over the keys himself, my dream car still came from Subaru Pietermaritzburg. It was still a Hyper Blue XV.

Somehow, it feels like it was always meant to be.

Dory is special.

Dory is meant to be.