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Comments
-juice
The catch - longevity is supposedly not that good. I'm OK with that trade-off, in fact my current tires (Nitto NT460) still have tread left but they're noisy and I might swap them out before they wear all the way.
-juice
Besides giving me the quitest and most comfortable ride, they also improved my gas mileage to 28.5 mpg on the highway from 27.
Has anyone ordered 2006 Forester with Hitch mount and a bike rack for the hitch?
If so, how's the bike rack? I thought it wouldn't be as nice as the third party brands (like Thule and Yakima) so I ordered one from REI instead the one from Subaru.
if anyone ordered the original subaru one, please let me know how you like or dislike it.
Thanks.
Any how, I have the OE hitch on my '98, and the rack, which is still the same one. It holds only 2 bikes, some aftermarket ones hold 3-4. It does tilt out of the way so you can open the hatch, though, and it's very convenient. I love mine.
-juice
How does that plate thing work for you? I understand that there is a plate that you press two bikes onto the bike holder on the rack. is it stable enough? doesn't it hurt the bike?
Thanks.
Michael.
It has worked fine, though.
FWIW I've seen the exact same rack used on other brands, I think Dodge and Mistubishi use it. Subaru just resells a bike carrier and puts their name on it.
-juice
I guess I will be picking it up tonight.
Plus the cargo area is covered in a weather-resistent material instead of the carpeting the other models have.
I like everything about it except the two-tone, so it would be a tough call.
-juice
1) How is the pick up....is it safe merging onto a highway in an automatic with the air on and kids in the back seat?
2) Can 3 average size adults fit in the back seat in some comfort. Our Rav is a joke when we have to sit someone back there with the kids? It looks smaller than the CRV but bigger than the 06 RAV? How is leg room.
3) Does it drive quietly and how is the ride, smooth and pleasnt or louder an truck like.
4) What is a good price for an X automatic? Is there any reason to get a premium other than for the alloys?
5) How is dpreciation?
6) Do they have a 7/75 (or so) bumper to bumper Subura backed extended zero deductible warranty? What does it cost? Must I buy it when I purchase the car?
7) does it have rear side air bags? how about front side bags for that matter?
Finally, whats up with no tint rear windows. Has anyone tinted theire-I'd think it would make it look more truck-like.....
Thanks for helping!
2) Can 3 average size adults fit in the back seat in some comfort. Our Rav is a joke when we have to sit someone back there with the kids? It looks smaller than the CRV but bigger than the 06 RAV? How is leg room.
It's kinda small. I guess the back seat space is similar to Rav4. 3 adults will be a little tight.
3) Does it drive quietly and how is the ride, smooth and pleasnt or louder an truck like.
It's quiet, like a car. However, because of it's frameless window design, the wind noise is noticable on highway. but not that bad though.
1) How is the pick up....is it safe merging onto a highway in an automatic with the air on and kids in the back seat?
No problem. Decent pickup. If you want more, go for the turbo.
2) Can 3 average size adults fit in the back seat in some comfort. Our Rav is a joke when we have to sit someone back there with the kids? It looks smaller than the CRV but bigger than the 06 RAV? How is leg room.
IMHO, legroom is very tight. With the seat back, I can not sit in the rear. I suspect 2 adults of 5' 10" or less could fit comfortably. I am 6'2", and too tall (in the legs).
3) Does it drive quietly and how is the ride, smooth and pleasnt or louder an truck like.
Drives like a car, handles like a sports car.
4) What is a good price for an X automatic? Is there any reason to get a premium other than for the alloys?
Don't know price. Sun roof is nice (and huge)
5) How is dpreciation?
It holds its value well. Try finding an 04 Forester.
6) Do they have a 7/75 (or so) bumper to bumper Subura backed extended zero deductible warranty? What does it cost? Must I buy it when I purchase the car?
don't know.
7) does it have rear side air bags? how about front side bags for that matter?
front side, no rear. But 5* all around
Caveat: all based on my experience with my '05 Forester LLBEAN
Front Rear Vehicle
43.6 33.7 Forester
41.4 30.6 Grand Vitara (now that's tight)
42.3 32.6 RAV4 (also very tight)
40.2 35.8 X3 (less total combined legroom)
41.6 36.3 Escape/Tribute (just 0.6" more comibined)
41.3 39.4 CR-V (best back seat, cramped front)
41.0 39.1 Element
41.6 36.8 Santa Fe
42.1 37.2 Tucson/Sportage (beats Santa Fe!)
40.8 37.2 Liberty (cramped front)
41.8 36.8 Freelander
42.3 35.5 Outlander
41.2 36.8 Vue
Forester has more leg room front and rear than your RAV4. It's not wide enough for 3 adults for long periods, but in a pinch, sure. For 3 across you really need a mid-sizer like the Pilot or Tribeca.
Tint is a new option, look for them. Some folks here on Edmunds have seen them.
You get front side air bags that also protect the head. Driver only, there are no rear side air bags. But those don't protect kids anyway, they're not tall enough to need them. And NHTSA gives Forester 5 stars in all 4 positions in crash tests, plus IIHS gives it a Best Pick in front and side impact tests.
-juice
I drive an 02 Camry and you can sit the kids and Mom back there in relative comfort...once my 5 year old is out of the booster seat that will help too....it just looks so tight legroom wise. (I stopped by the lot at 7am and could only peak in.)
So it does not have the rear seat room of the CRV or the rear airbags but it does score excellent in crash tests. The CRV has a 5 speed tranny , the Forrester and 4....what the difference? The CRV has 4 channel anti lock brakes, the Sub does not....do I care? The V has traction control and skid protection....just more stuff to break?
How about gas milage on an X automatic? Our old '87 Sub 3 dr coupe (may it RIP) was not the best on gas as I recall.
We will not be able to drive this until Monday as the closest dealer closes early Fridays and is not open Saturdays. Still they offered me an X automatic w/cargo tray for 20K + tax and tags...supposedly no hidden costs.....sound too good to be true, then again there must have been 50 Forresters on the lot.....
You are all very helpfull...thanks!
5 speed on the tranny means the ratios might be a bit closer. That may or may not matter to you, make sure you drive both.
Subaru has used 4-sensor 4-channel ABS since 1998 on the Forester. If Honda added that, it was recently. They used to have a cheaper 3-sensor system, basically the back two wheels used only one sensor.
I think since Honda added stability control for 2006, they had to add a 4th sensor, so now, finally, it has it. 8 years after Subaru.
Stability and traction control are nice. Especially VSC. Traction depends, because I've been trying to find out if it gets disabled with RT4WD engages (like on the Hyundai Sante Fe), if so the usefullness is severely limited. Detail on the system is scarce.
I think the Forester will get slightly better gas mileage, because it's shaped a little more aerodynamic and weighs less.
-juice
2. No. 3 kids, no problem. 2 adults and 1 kid for short trips.
3. Noise in stock 2006 Forester is acceptable but it doesn't take much to make it very quiet. I put sound damping material in the doors, under the back seat, and under the cargo area so now I hear the cheap Geolandar G900 tires and wind noise. Next week I'm replacing the stock tires with 600 miles on them with very quiet TripleTred tires from Goodyear. Should make a big difference. The wind noise will take some time to track down but not impossible to fix. BTW, the sound damping material in the doors made the up-grade speakers sound twice as good!
4. Get the premium package. It's worth the extra money. I love the moonroof because the car handles and drives likes a sports car and you also get upgrades on the radio/speakers, a power front seat, better fabric on the seats, etc.
5. Depreciation is probably the best in its class. I'm not selling mine until I get 250k miles on it, and then maybe not even then.
6. Can buy extra warranty protection during the first 3 years/36k. I never buy that sort of thing.
7. no. just frontside bags. They are in the front seats.
8. The dealer tinted my windows with 3M film for $200. Looks great and probably will never scratch.
I doubt if you will notice any difference between a 4-speed and 5-speed automatic transmissions.
Forester with the premium package has 4 wheel anti-lock disc brakes. Don't know what the "4 channel" phrase means. The Forester's full-time and real-time all-wheel-drive (AWD) is heads and shoulders above "traction control and skid control". I mean, Subaru's AWD is the MAIN REASON why people buy Subaru in the first place. Their AWD systems are just as good as the AWD systems found in cars that cost twice as much!
Gas mileage will be about 23 city/28 hwy once the engine/tranny and tires are broken in. So don't judge what your initial gas mileage in a new vehicle is because it will get better after 5k miles.
Probably they are offerring you a 2005 model Forester. I would pay the extra money and get the 2006 because it has a number of significant mechanical improvements over the 2005 model. :P
What all this about needing sound dampening. Our RAV is way noisy...can't stand it. Hope the sub is quieter.
Also, the 06 ha NO body molding....is it me or is that just asking for trouble?
The '06 does have body molding (clading)......they added the body color tint to the plastic so it is the same color as the vehicle.
I guess I'll find out in the morning.
As far as no body molding...that cladding is platic on the lower half of the car...? It odesnot appear to stick out far. Also, why would it not chip? The rubber molding is suppose to protect the entire door from chips....it would appear the cladding will end up chipped all over...I mean it is not white molded platic but rather painted plastic right?
I did some research and the Forester is on small side of the small SUVs. I'd rank it with the Outlander and Rav. In fact demensionally it is almost the same as the RAV save for the Rav being shorted and having terrible rear hip room. The Escape/Tribute, Tuscon are larger and look more truck like due to the height. So is the CRV though you could argue that is a mid size.
I really hope our test drive works out. I am just afraid I am going to feel like I am in a station wagon not a little SUV!
For the floor under the back seat and the cargo space, I did that myself. I bought 50 sq/ ft of b-quiet ultimate and 3 yards of 1/4" ensolite MLC foam. Used 3M auto trim spray adhesive to glue the foam to the b-quiet. The bottom back seat is a snap to get out once you unbolt it and access to the floor of the cargo area is also easy. I had enough material left over that I did the trunk of my '99 Olds Intrigue.
Check out the web site of Rammaudio. They offer the best prices. I didn't use his materials but now wish I had. Do a lot of research on the net before you start. You don't need 100%coverage of the sound damping material. On the doors I had about 40% coverage and on the floor (since it was easy) I had about 80% coverage. Cut the stuff with heavy-duty scissors. Use WD-40 for clean-up.
This sound damping stuff is addictive so you have to draw the line somewhere. :P
My wife calls the Forester a SUV wannabe. :P
On thing upsets me about the Outback. They switched from 16" H rated tires to 17" VR rated. I learned the hard way recently that 1) bigger tires cost more. 2) Performance tires cost more. 3) Performance tires wear faster. On my Camry I got about 23K out of my H rated Traction T/As. I was told this was not bad. (if the Camry had AWD I could have gotten a few more miles out of 'em) I downgraded to standard tires and was told I'd likely get 30-35K AND the tires were about 15% cheaper. I asked about the Outback's 17" VRs and was told they are way upscale on the performance end. I was told they may only last 20K and they cost $175+ per tire to replace. That is a phenomenol amount if you need to replace tires every 2 - 2.5 years.
Why did Subaru do this? What was wrong with the 16" H rated ones? Anyone have any experience w/17" VRs and replacement cost. I was leaning towards the Outback but now am back in the Forester (or in the still looking) camp. Maybe I should look for an 05 Forester...though I wiuld guess they are few and far between now.
Thanks for all the help the last few days!
Thanks Chris.
P.S. I had Falken Ziex 512s on my old SAAB and they work great! Used to take them up to 90+ on LA freeways all the time with no problems; lasted about 20K miles of hard driving. Worked great in Tahoe snow and ice too. When the bogus tires that came with my new Subs wear out I'm going to replace them with Falkens. :shades:
Having gone through several sets of HR and VR tires over the years, I haven't seen a correlation to speed rating and tire life. In general, higher performance (ie: softer tread compound) tires tend to wear much quicker than standard all season tires, but size alone (say, switching from 16 to 17") doesn't have a negative impact on tire life. I wouldn't categorize the OEM Outback tires as "upscale high performance tires" at all, but I do agree that the price you were quoted is way too high -- those should be under $130/each plus install.
Choose the car you like the best, not the one with the cheapest tires. I think you'll find that the replacement cost will be a wash when it comes time to replace them.
B
17" look better and offer better handling and steering feedback in exchange for more unsprung weight, higher cost, and a stiffer ride. Trade-offs you may or may not like.
-juice
I do all the oil changes myself.
-juice
Len
-juice
Len
It depends on location, driving style, viscosity used, brand/type of oil, turbo or n/a, etc.
I change every 7,500 miles in my FXT using German Castrol Syntec 0W30. If you drive an N/A model and use the proper viscosity, you should be able to go 7,500 miles unless you have under 10k on the car.
-Dennis
On to my post. Tonight I am picking up our '06 Forester X. My wife and I are very excited to say the least. First car for both of us. I'm 6'-4", so my vehicle searches were very limited to say the least. I come from an F-150 4x4 which fits me very nicely, but the 14 mpg isn't so nice. Add the fact that in about 2 months my pregnant wife won't be able to step up into her - and well, in came the Forester. Our search took us 6 months to find the right fit - and get the right vehicle. Lots of thorough research, head banging, and the run-around w/ too many sales-people.
The break-in period on my bike's engine (single cylinder 650cc - Kawasaki KLR for those of you that know) was 4k for the first 500 mi (equates to about 55-60 mph) and then up to 6k the next 500 miles, with oil/filter changes at each of those intervals (some bikers only change their filter every other oil change). But this is in an engine w/ only 2.5L of oil w/ redline @ 7.5k.
About the only thing the dealer has said (and from what I have read) is to vary the driving style, not be too hard on the gas, and not to use the cruise control. That is a no-brainer, but I'm after some real advice from those in the know.
Is there a general RPM limit during break in, or for that matter a general time limit as well?
I've also read that syn. oil use leads to problems if placed in the car too early - as the rings may not seat properly. The same goes for motorcycles - where oil is switched to syn. about 4k miles or so. Anyone recommend (which I would hope) intervals before the first recommended dealer service (3,700 +/-). I’d imagine 500 mi., 1,000 mi, and every 1k after until that first service.
Thanks in advance – I look forward to your responses.
Dan
-juice
Synthetic oil - wait until the 7,500 or 15,000 mile service to start using synthetic, let the engine fully break in first.
Quick questions. A dealer in the area here in Florida has offered a 2006 Forester with the premium package for the price of $24,517, out the door. I think it's a fair price, but what do others think?
How are F with creaks, vibrations and rattles?