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Comments
I'm so envious, guys, tell me again what you don't like about them so I can cope with my Xtreme Torque Envy? ;-)
-juice
Mark
-juice
TWRX
Rubbish. Mine had 2.2 miles on arrival and 2.6 miles three days later upon delivery to me.
At 3 to 5 miles per short test drive, four or five people may have flogged your car. Or it may be completely legit. But how can you be certain?
-Dave
I think that TWRX has spoken very well to the joys of owning a small family car that rocks your socks when called upon. keep the faith!
mark
I assume if there had been a dealer-to-dealer swap, Corkfish would have known about it - and in that case, there then would have been no mystery as to the cause of the 20 miles and he would not have been unhappy enough about the situation to post his message. Therefore, is it not logical to rule that out?
Even if a swap was the cause, I would accept that arrangement only if *I* was the one doing the driving. I'm not going to trust some part-time or contract employee to put the first 20 miles on any new car I buy.
What I do before buying a new car, I asked about how their new vehicles are delivered and where they are stored/staged. I would also check out the odos of the cars on their lot and showroom i.e. if they store their vehicle offsite which is say ~5 miles away and the showroom cars' odo shows ~8 miles, then chances are it wasn't test driven.
John (corkfish)-
Next time you drop by the dealership, take a peek at their cars' odo. Either way, at least you'll have some certainty where the ~17miles would have come from.
-Dave
I got the insurance bill last night and it looks as if it will cost me about $150 more a year than I was paying on the 98 Forester. That's not bad.
I was wrong about all the magazines testing the XT the same month. I received my Automobile magazine yesterday and it doesn't have anything about the Forester XT. It does have a blurb on the Baja Turbo that essentially didn't say anything new. Oh well, C&D should arrive any day now. By the way, all I have heard about the C&D test was the 0-60 times. What did they say? Did they like the car?
-les
Ken
If you don't mind disclosing, what was the yearly (or semiannual) cost for the '98 and for the XT?
I phoned my VIN to my agent yesterday, and they have no information at all yet for the XT model.
Got that C&D issue last night, I still could hardly believe it!
But rest easy, if you think your XT is grossly overpowered, here's a list of cars you could step down to, that are slower and perhaps less likely to pile up those speeding tickets:
BMW Z4 3.0
Audi TT 225hp 1.8T
Porsche Boxster
Honda S2000 (all 3 samples C&D has tested)
Nissan 350Z convertible
Porsche 911 Carrera
Porsche Cayenne S
Infiniti G35 coupe
Volvo S60 R
For those that tied in 0-60, I used 1/4 mile as the tie-breaker.
Sadly, the EVO and Cayenne S Turbo are only 0.3s quicker, so getting one of those will probably not result in noticeably better acceleration.
You guys have a serious problem, where do you go from here? What can you own next that won't seem slow?
OK, I feel better now. I'll go take my meds. ;-)
-juice
John
John
Seriously though, when I bought my Protege5 a little over a year ago it was the perfect compromise in utility/fun-to-drive, especially when avoiding the boy-racer image of the WRX wagon. Now Subaru comes out with the XT, with even MORE utility and fun......grumble!!!! Plus the XT has some SERIOUS hauling room, even big enough for my pinball machines! Always something better around the corner......
Oh well, wish I hadn't promised my wife no cartrading for the next 4 years. So I'll just keep reading about the XT from the outside looking in here in Town Hall....
-juice
I don't remember the exact numbers. I'll look it up tonight and let you know. I based my $150 estimate on the fact I had to pay $77 more for the rest of the year.
Corkfish says "My worry is they'll make an even more powerful STI version"
From what I am reading this IS an STI version. Same engine (somewhat detuned) and a little less straight line performance. Obviously the STI would beat the XT on a twisty road or a race track. For the Forester to handle any more power I would think it would need stiffer suspension, bigger brakes, etc. I think this is going to be enough power for me. I never thought I'd say that.
-juice
I heard that Air France is having a fire sale <bad pun> on Concordes...
Shame on you Jack (LOL)
-Dave
Cheers
Pat
My previous calculations indicated that (with what I then assumed was a 4.11 final drive), the XT would reach a drag-limited max at around 134-135mph at about 5,500-5,600 rpm (in other words, almost exactly at its stated horsepower peak).
If in fact C&D's test car was governor limited at 129 mph, that implies that without the governor, there would have been more left. Any additional mph would have carried the car even farther down the curve past the HP peak.
I interpret this as a modest indication in support of Juice's (and others') educated guess that the XT may indeed be developing more than its rated 210 hp.
I'm now estimating that minus the governor and geared correctly (probably 3.9:1), it's quite possible an otherwise stock XT might reach or slightly exceed 140 mph at 5,500-5,600 rpm.
If so, that wouldn't be too shabby for a $24,000 all-wheel-drive brick.
I filled my tank again last night. I got 21.9 mpg. This was mostly stop and go driving to and from work and one highway trip of about 80 miles. Of course I am still limiting my rpms to 4500 most of the time
It cornered and handled much better than my Passat. It seemed just about as quiet too, although I really wasn't paying attention. What I did notice was after the test drive, the idle wasn't smooth. Do these 2.5's have an inherent shaky idle? - it vibrated every second or so, nothing major, but you could feel it shake. Thanks!
-les
I'm seriously thinking about trading in my Passat for this one. I live on a mountain and last winter was pure hell, even with the FWD Passat.
re: Insurance. See? Is was understated to keep the insurance companies happy. Hopefully it'll be our little secret. I can't wait to see dyno results, I seriously think actual HP is about 250 or so.
22mpg is great for a green engine on mixed driving.
Did you say mountain? A turbo is very effective at altitude in preventing a wheezing engine.
-juice
Gonna buy one? They're probably going cheap. The gallons-per-mile figure must be frightening, though. And I wouldn't want to take one though an emissions inspection station...
jb
-juice
XT drivers, unite! Impeach all governors!
jb
-juice
juice described shimming up the seat height on the forester ...i did exactly that procedure in several cars to get the most out of my seat adjustments, since im always in a fairly upright driving position. just make sure you use hardened bolts to replace the welds and/or riveted anchors, and torque them down tight.
mark
Mark
The 20-year-old slug who broadsided my brother-in-law's Olds Aurora last year, killing him, was racing another car on a city street. In a 30mph zone, he was doing 85 at the point of impact according to the black box in his mommy's 6,000 pound 4WD GMC Yukon. He had no drivers license (having been suspended 7 or 8 times already) and his mommy carried only the bare legal minimum liability insurance.
Three tons of truck moving that fast - my brother in law didn't have a chance. He had just retired after 40 years at Tektronix. The Aurora was barely recognizable. The punk had his 18-month-old illegitimate daughter in his Yukon with him, while he was out racing. He also was out on bail for dealing drugs. For all that, he got 3 years.
jb
jb: sorry to hear about that. Ain't fair at all. That guy should be sharing a cell with that 30 year old rider on the crotch rocket.
-juice
Mark
I've read (and re-read) the specs but would like to hear from owners to assist in making a persuasive argument for spending the additional $4K - aside from a kick@ss turbo, what does the XT bring to the table over the X - in day to day driving (80% city/20%freeway).
I'm convincing a pragmatist here, not a 2fast2furious riot grrrrl ;-)
be safe,
-srp
The Forester does have adjustable seat belt anchors.
-juice
After the XT was announced (but before ordering one) I spent five or six hours test-driving X/XS 5-speeds - mainly because I hadn't previously driven a Subaru. I wanted to evaluate everything but the engine to determine whether the XT was my next car or not. I was reasonably pleased with the X/XS - decent bottom-end flexibility, adequate acceleration through the gears, decent cornering/braking, and so forth. In other words, the X/XS would probably have adequately done nearly everything I might ask of it.
I bought the XT because it can also do everything, and do it at less than wide-open throttle and at less than max RPM. Where the X/XS might be able to complete a pass but with white knuckles, the XT could pass with room to spare and not even breathe hard. Where the X/XS can climb a mountain road in 4th or maybe 3rd, revving like mad, the XT will climb in a completely relaxed manner. I very much value a car having such an abundance of power on tap that no ordinary, everyday requirement strains it - or me. It used to be necessary to buy a big V-8 to get this sort of relaxed, do-anything reserve power. The XT provides it, and then some, in a tidy, lightweight, nimble, versatile, and reasonably affordable package.
It's simply the difference between having just barely enough power for some situations, and having more than you'll ever really need. What is that worth to you? For some people, the answer is 'nothing'. For me, it was the difference between buying a Forester and not buying one.
jb