By accessing this website, you acknowledge that Edmunds and its third party business partners may use cookies, pixels, and similar technologies to collect information about you and your interactions with the website as described in our
Privacy Statement, and you agree that your use of the website is subject to our
Visitor Agreement.
Comments
Did anybody ever try to make a list of things that were suggested/asked for/wished on this board and actually were accepted and made it into a production of any Subaru vehicle?
K
So yes, we've had some impact.
Bob
Now ...I still want a BIGGER fuel tank....20 gallon would be nice. My 01 Forester cannot make 400 miles and that is my criteria.
Please don't tell me if some people make 400...I get 25-27 mpg and with 14 gallons usable....this does not cut it.
OK...that MY wish list. Have some other like to haves ...but I'll save those.
MikeF
Bob
My request: Make the cutouts much wider, preferably the full width of the visor.
Jim
Note: that Forester is just a 2.0l model, not even a turbo, but it does have a low range.
I had a Mercedes C240 4Matic loaner for a day, and the throttle on it was the exact opposite of our Legacy - way too slow. The Subie is too abrupt.
So please smooth out the throttle mapping, but don't over-do it like M-B did.
Also, I'd love a bigger gas tank in the Forester. The Legacy's tank is actually pretty good, we get close to 400 miles quite often.
-juice
A 201 hp V6 + electric motor = V8 grunt from a V6, 35 mpg, 0–60 in 7.5 seconds!
That's what's predicted for the new Lexus RX300 hybrid. Not convinced? How about
100 hp (from two 50 hp electric motors) + 300 hp V6 = 400 hp, AWD, 40 mpg, 0–60 in 5.0 seconds!
That's reportedly what we can expect from the Acura NSX replacement. The car is mid-engined, with 2 electric motors powering the front wheels!
It 's also been reported that the next Acura RL may have 2 small electric motors powering the rear wheels.
This folks, is groundbreaking news. Imagine AWD with no propshaft to the rear wheels? The packaging implications are enormous.
Subaru, I sure hope you are listening, and have similar plans in the works
Not only have plans...
...but be a leader in this field! I would love to see the upcoming 7-passenger crossover to have 2 electric motors powering the rear wheels , like a the previously mentioned Lexus.
Bob
Somehow I think the upcoming 7-passenger Subaru is too far down the production line to be making radical changes and I'm quite sure that a couple of years ago when is was on the drawing board, an aux electric powered drive-train wasn't even considered. As to the possibility of Toyota and Honda coming out with this technology on a future vehicle, well both are a little bigger than Subaru with a comparably sized research budget ;-)
-Frank P.
Bob
-Dennis
Mark
Until that can be resolved, I vote No.
Through-the-road AWD is an interesting concept, though.
-juice
Full width access is best, followed by a center cutout. Cutouts on the sides are much less convenient. It is also very difficult to swing the visor from the front to the side if the cutout is in the wrong place. The Audi/Passat is the worst with the inside cutout. It was one of many design deficiencies that made us get rid of our Passat wagon after two years.
When my son was learning to drive in the Passat and I was in the passenger seat, I would observe what worked and didn't work with the design. When the sun hit the windshield, he went to flip down the visor and could not find where to grip it with his left hand. He didn't want to take his eyes off the road. Finally in frustration he took both hands off the steering wheel, reached up quickly to find some place he could grip, and yanked down the visor. A sunvisor design that requires a new driver to either take his eyes off the road or both hands off the steering wheel is a design deficiency.
With the Subaru I would have to leave the visor unattached at the end and slightly rotated so that I could grip it easily in the middle with my left hand. I don't have to do that with any of my current cars.
Electric motors. I'll be very curious as to how Acura, Lexus and GM pull this off. If it turns out to be as good as predicted, look out...
Bob
-mike
OK....thats my story and I'm sticking to it..: )
As I was approaching the car this AM to go to work, I pushed the unlock button to dissarm the system, and it flashed and beeped at me, letting me know that something had disturbed it. It must not have wanted to wake up at that hour, and it went back to sleep
The awkward thing is flipping down the passenger's visor . . . having to reach for the cutout near the passenger door.
Jim
A few months ago, I installed a Thule Excursion cargo box on my wagon before going on vacation. I tried to open the door, but it was locked! So I had installed the Thule while the car was armed and the alarm did not even chirp!
-Dennis
The catch? Subaru's AWD is full-time. It would be a lot tougher to engineer a through-the-road AWD system that was truly full-time.
I'm sure those hybrids will only send power to the rear wheels when the fronts slip, and disable the system entirely above 19mph (or whatever). To me that would not meet the criteria for a Soob.
-juice
In any case, I will be eagerly awaiting this new technology, especially once it arrives on vehicles that could benefit from it the most—SUVs and pickups.
Bob
But even in the Civic hybrid the electric engine is not working full-time, only to supplement the gas engine when needed, and when it's at idle. But it doesn't operate full-time.
I guess Subaru could be the first, but to send 50% or more of the power to the rear axle full-time would require a seriously efficient alternator! ;-)
-juice
Bob
That's been my system for years and I've never had a problem with clogged injectors or anything else fuel related. Of course the benefit is that I routinely go 350 to 400 miles between fill-ups.
-Frank P.
Mark
Fuel police would not be my concern.....If you like to operate down in that fuel range...go for it! I am never comfortable with the needle bouncing off empty. But hey ...thats just me!
But my wife goes farther, up to 400 miles, and her tank is just 1 gallon larger.
I do think current hybrids employ batteries. So there are weight/space considerations, too. Regenerative braking does help, but it's not the only source of charge for the batteries.
Point is, you'd need some SERIOUS battery capacity to power the rear wheels full time.
-juice
-Frank P.
Most if not all cars now have the fuel pump in tank, they also run at high pressure and tend to generate heat, being submerged in the gas helps them to run cool.
\
His suggestion was never to let your tank get below 1/4 tank for the good of the pump, also if you habitually run the car until the low fuel light comes on you are more likely to pick up junk from the tank.
Makes sense to me
Cheers Pat.
Obviously, this system wont work on a true AWD system. Given the repeated delays in releasing the Escape Hybrid, there must be other problems yet to be worked out.
Mark
The problem with cars is the 12v requirement. To get high wattage requires crazy amperage. Don't some of the hybrids have a dual voltage arrangement? Then they could be fitted with a second alternator dedicated to driving the other two wheels.
Steve
Subaru is too small to waste resources on something like that, IMO. I'd like to see more 5 speed automatics, AVCS, direct injection, and lots of other technologies first.
-juice
I agree with Juice. Direct injection would be cool. The Isuzu engines are getting direct injection this year, same vehicle, with 35hp more, and 3-4mpg higher.
-mike
-juice
-mike
Subaru will get hybrid technology from GM, they don't have resources to go at it alone. Direct Injection is achievable.
-juice
-mike
I saw that the Rodeo got bumped up to 250hp while mileage went up +2mpg or something like that. That's not insignificant.
-juice
-mike
Trunk net (to anchor cargo)in L/SE Sedan
Remote trunk opener
One-touch PW switches on all windows
Lumbar support adjustment in both front seats
One-touch sunroof switch (no stopping 1/2 way please!)
Down-tilting right side mirror (GREAT for parallel parking)
I have one - for the new 7 seater. OK, I'm slowly accepting that the mid-30s price will be a reality, but there have been some hints that a hybrid powertrain will make its way into that vehicle.
If it does, big IF I know, consider making it work as a generator as well. Consumer Reports says a good one runs about 2 grand, and it would help offset the extra costs if it could also serve this purpose.
Just thinking (way) ahead.
-juice
Take the R1e design and scale it up to Golf size, and offer it it in both 2-door and 4-door configurations. Stuff it with all the typical Subie mechanical goodies, and you've got a real winner IMO.
Bob
I'd like to see a rear hatch (not a door, but a hatch) have an additional built-in trunk, that inside would house the spare, which would be accessed from the outside the vehicle. Anybody remember the Isuzu VehiCross? Something along those lines, but better thought out. Here's how it would work:
* First off, for those who say a rear hatch would be too heavy to lift up/open with a tire attached, I say that can be countered by properly engineered gas/spring struts. They can be designed with that extra weight in mind.
* Just below the rear window there would be about an 8" trunk added to the hatch to accomodate/cover the rear tire. Also, rather hang the rear tire off the back, as is currently the case with all rear mounted tires, the spare would actually be built into the rear hatch somewhat, thus moving the tire into the hatch 2"-3" therefore reducing the depth of the additional trunk. So instead of needing 12" or so for the additional trunk, you would only need 8" or so.
* This additional trunk could be round, to follow the contour of the tire, or -- better still -- it could be a more conventional rectangular shape (to mirror the lower hatch shape), that could also store the jack and other small items if need be.
* This spare tire trunk would be opened much like the rear window opens on many SUVs, with an additional handle that would be built into the main rear hatch handle, like that of the Ford Explorer, etc. You would select one handle to open the tire cover or the other handle to open the whole unit.
* Finally, and most important, the rear bumper must be designed to extend beyond this extra trunk, so as to offer at least minimal protection in case of being rear-ended, or backing into a pole of some sort.
I would love to think the new crossover has just such a feature. I would think with the addition of 3rd-row seating (which could eat into the under-the-floor spare tire space), that Subaru has worked out something along these lines.
Bob
The biggest advantage of such a setup would be easy access (and security) to the spare tire, jack, lug wrench, tools, bungie cords, etc.; and offer the lift-up advantage of a hatch opening.
Bob
If the 7 seater is taller and they set the bumper really low, for a low lift over, then sure.
-juice
-mike
-juice
Sorry to sound like a broken record, and don't attack me for beating a dead horse. :-)
Thank you,
Dennis