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Comments
-mike
did not use. He stated the original ones worked fine. I guess I do not know why tirerack sent them. The rims, tires, and covers seem to work fine and does not look bad either. Let it snow, Let it snow!
Don
simple 30 second commercial:
"It's not a luxury car, but it sure is comfortable." (shot of moonroof, 6 disk player)
"It's not a performance car, but it sure does go fast." (shot of car driving, textover: Car and Driver - 5.5 second 1/4 mile)
"It's not a truck, but it sure carries your load." (shot of happy Subaru owners loading stuff in their car, driving over gravel to deliver load at cabin)
"It is a Subaru, so you can be sure it is safe and reliable" (shot of air-bag test, textover: IIHS: Best SUV ever tested)
"The new Subaru Forester XT. Don't buy it if you want a car that does one thing well. Buy it if you want a versatile car for a complex world."
This captures the car much better than current commercials focused on safety, IMHO, and might broaden the Subaru market.
SOA, if you are interested in this ad campaign, just rip up my finance paperwork and we'll call it even??
"Sometimes Jim likes the style of a luxury car."
(Black Lexus pulls into driveway)
"Sometimes Jim likes the hauling capacity of a truck."
(Blue Toyota Tacoma pulls in)
"Sometimes Jim likes the driving enjoyment of a performance car."
(Orange Mustang pulls in)
"And Jim's family deserves the safest and most reliable vehicles."
(Silver Rolls Royce pulls in)
"But Jim can't afford four different cars, just one."
(White Forester XT pulls in, other cars vanish)
"The new Forester XT. Versatile enough for your complex world."
Also, manual states first oil change at 3750 miles, what is everyone else doing? How about changing to synthetic oil?
Thanks for a great forum.
To Hermant7, you can pull the Battery to reset the Transmission computer, or better yet, have the Wife stop driving your XT and take possession of the Car before it's too late! It also depends what area you live in regarding Maintence, HOWEVER the Manual calls for the First change at 3000 Miles, and then again at 7500 Miles, and then in 7500 Mile Increments. I need to see my Dealer once every 3000 Miles, 3750 at the most, or 6 Months. Not what I originally expected. And yes it is suggested to use 5w/30 Synthetic Oil, even though my friend who flies a Plane told me Synthetic Oil breaks down quicker, and the FAA does not allow this Oil to be used, I'm confused!
-mike
Have never heard about the FAA not behind the use of SYN. oil. Above is a good art. on the subject.
Hey, check out the new C&D. The BMW X3 test has a counterpoint comment from one of the editors that compares the X3 3.0 to the Forester XT, and it pretty much humiliates the Bimmer.
Got a real chuckle out of that one.
-juice
They have my vote.
The XT is quick, but not that quick.
More like 13.8 sec 1/4 mile.
I figure for an average 5 mile test drive that's about 22 test drives that have been put on that car.
Since most people do not observe "break in" rules on test drives should 110 miles concern me?
Your thoughts are appreciated.....
It's very unlikely to have any consequences, but you pay a premium for a new car, and 110 miles is a lot for a new car.
-juice
I plan on the first oil change at 3000 miles. Still not sure about the oil - dyno or synthetic? Will prob. go for 5w30 since I live in the cold NE.
First, a payback tip: Get a Chase Subaru Credit card and start using it! You get 3% rebate good for new car purchase, accessories, or service/repairs.
Until the end of this month you can buy EE Savings Bonds
Take the Zero % financing and put $16,666 into these bonds with the card and, voila, $500 (max rebate for this year).
I bought a White XT Premium (autotrans/leather/moonroof). I could only find a single WHITE in all of California!!! (I called Subaru 800 and they confirmed! Must be a very popular color!). I was replacing my 12 year old Explorer. The "competition" was a Pilot. I knew that 4x4 low was not something I needed (We determined that bouncing our brains out in river beds was not really a fun vacation
The Forester XT Premium was also quite a bargain considering the supply/demand on Pilot and comparing the cost of Pilot with Leather, Moonroof, etc (fully equipped you might as well start looking at an MDX). I would have probably spent $8,000+ for the Pilot than the $250 under invoice I paid for the Forester (when the "secret" is out maybe Forester will sell nearer to MSRP like Pilot).
I'm really happy with the XT. My test drive just blew me away. The acceleration/handling busted this car away from everything else on my possibilities list.
I have the Yakima up with the Cargo carrier and a single bike mount (all BEHIND that hugh Moonroof!). If I want extra bikes to go with us I'll put them on a tow hitch or rear carrier. I can't really speak to the performance of the car as I am observing the 1,000 mile breakin limits. I am truly looking forward to a bit of "zoom zoom" in the near future. The extra 20 cents for premium (IF indeed it is "required" -- I'll explore that one when the vehicle is out of warranty
I'm a very happy camper.
I'm happy but..... :-)
I test drove it three times and AFTER I purchased it I noticed there's a dash rattle. That just drives me crazy, as I specifically listened for it pre-purchase. It's not buyer's remorse super human hearing either....it's just there.
For others that had this dash rattle problem, what ended up being the solutions? I want to make sure I attack the most likely causes first rather than troubleshoot from scratch (I do have the Security System)
Overall it was a good experience, except the dealer prep was just awful. There was tape still on the car, residue on the sunroof, the inside was not as clean as it could have been...and worst of all, it had a scratch on the dash (above the glove compartment) that was not there before they took it to the back for dealer prep. Just drives me crazy that while washing it they'd do that....when I bring it back for the armrest their service dept should fix it (they were closed today, Sunday).
I took the 24 months 0% financing.
Hopefully I'll be back to post more positive comments down the road. So far, I'm happy despite the comments above.
1) Tell the dealer that black leather dye will completely heal all but the worst scratches on the dash. If it's not gouged it should disappear - flat black paint doesn't do it, nor does gloss paint - I don't know if Subaru actually sells a dash touch up paint or not, my dealer's parts dept didn't think so.
2) If they just throw the security module in connected to the harness and don't actually anchor it on the studs that Subaru is nice enough to supply, it will rattle to beat the devil. If you feel like it you can check this yourself by pulling out the glove box and looking to the upper left side of the hole. My first dealer installed security system was just setting there rattling away.
I'd be suspicious of this since it sounds like your prep overall was shoddy.
HTH
Larry
-juice
It only has 4 speakers, and not a heck of a lot of power. I would like to upgrade the speakers first, and perhaps add in the 'extra 3' that you guys seem to get.
I'm hopeful that all the mountings and wirings for the 7 speaker system will be there in my XT, but I need to know 'where' they put the extra 3 speakers before I start pulling off trim panels.
So, where are the 7 speakers? 1 in each of the doors, obviously, but where are the others?
Thanks in advance for any help.
Rob.
(BTW, it is a red, automatic. No luxury pack.)
Bob, just a thought: Not wanting to block the view through the moonroof is understandable, but you might want to consider moving your cargo carrier well forward. If you load it up in the rearmost position, and load the Forester's rear cargo space, and also put anybody in the back seat, you could easily approach or exceed the safe carrying capacity of the rear tires and suspension. You would also likely put your headlight beams up into the eyes of oncoming drivers. Adding a hitch-mounted carrier would just aggravate the situation because of the far-back leverage it exerts. Moving your toprack cargo carrier as far forward as possible would help alleviate the situation by balancing things out better.
Besides the main one in each door, there is a tiny tweeter in each front door (follow the top edge of the door glass forward to the mirror; that small housing is where they're located. The subwoofer occupies what otherwise would have been a storage cubby immediately behind the left rear wheel.
I pulled off the trim behind the mirror, and there is a spare connector there, that hopefully is for the tweeter. (it could be for the mirror de-mister that you can get, so I will have to check it out further)
Rob.
-Frank P.
Bob- Thanks for the good practical suggestions for saving money.
Stu- Have your dealer locate that rattle ASAP. There's no reason something so minor should have to spoil your ownership expereince.
Frank P.
P.S. I spotted my first XT on the road this past weekend!
thanks
Thanks in advance.
If anyone has today's WSJ, look on page C14 below the weather. If you don't have it, the copy says:
"The Mighty 350Z just got smoked by a family of five and a dog."
Below that is a subcaption saying "0-60 in 5.3 seconds. Symetrical All-Wheel Drive."
Kinda cute, but I liked the proposed ads in the previous posts better.
Passive Arming: Yes, but useless
Auto-Relock: Doesn't do that
Siren: None, car horn(s) used in-lieu
Flashing LED: more like blinking icon.
Audible "beeps": since there's no siren, you get "honk".
Honk silencing: Yes
Valet: Yes [IIRC a ritual is performed]
Protect hatch: Yes
Protect hood: No
Sensor: One shock
Ignition kill: Yes... I think. It starts anyway
-Dave
auto-relock - no
siren - no
flashing led - yes
audible beeps - yes (with option to turn off)
protects hatch - I think so
hood - definitely not!
-Dennis
victim of WRX theft with OEM security system ;-)
No hood protection though...hmmm...not good, with all the fancy turbo and plumbing under the hood.
I'm surprised that this would appear in a North American Forester owner's manual. The self-leveling rear suspension that the passage you cite is describing is standard equipment on Foresters sold in most markets outside N. America, but it isn't available, even as an extra-cost option, here. <sigh>
Same goes for HID headlamps, headlight washers, dual (low) range transmission, individual foldaway inner armrests on front seats, and several other really nice features that Subaru, in its infinite wisdom, has decided we North Americans could not possibly want even though they're all either standard or available on Foresters elsewhere...
The hood release is inside the car, providing reasonable access control. I suppose it could be defeated with some difficulty, but it seems to me that anybody with the time and desire to unbolt and steal my turbocharger or intercooler is going to do so whether or not the security system locks or monitors the hood.
It's not that difficult to get inside the car and open the hood release. 1-3 minutes is about average in NJ.
-Dennis
Right off the truck, 3 miles.
It is requiring great discipline to refrain from exceeding 4000 rpm, per the 1000 mile break in period, but somehow I'll manage.
Funny thing is the dealer told me there was no break in period. Lucky for me I read the manual that night.
Congratulations on a fine new vehicle and enjoy!
If you use common sense and avoid pushing the engine for sustained periods, there is no reason you can't run it above the stated RPM limit - the engine is probably better for it, in fact, as it helps seat rings and uses the full operating range of the engine. Just use brief periods of full throttle and brief periods of higher RPM increasing the duration and frequency as miles build.
The best thing you can do is to avoid idling and avoid city driving in hot weather. New engines don't mind RPM - they mind getting too hot when clearances are still being established.
Having said this, I don't think a steady diet of hard test drives do a brand new engine any good, especially when the engine is typically not completely warmed up in a test drive. For this reason, I typically avoid buying cars off the lot with more than a few miles.
- Mark