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Comments
overtime
It will darken and then lighten a few minutes later only so I get glared to slowly darken again. It's a continual loop of annoyance. I'd rather they put a toggle on it or a button to make it always dim. I saw some people put electrical tape over the front sensor to make it perma-dim but I don't like that solution. On the upside, once I get the windows tinted I won't have to worry about the glare anymore.
That's where the True Grey becomes interesting, I think it has all the advantages as dark tint but doesn't make the interior a dark cave. It looks similar to the tint used on the Lexus RX300 series. Decisions, decisions....
Regarding the CHP, I always joke with my friend that her Volvo Cross Country is invisible to police. I think the same of the Forester, as long as they don't see your front side and that hood scoop.
BTW, saw a spoiler on an XT at the dealer the other day. I liked it, very different than what I pictured. Really makes a difference in appearance in my opinion.
But...but...then you'd essentially have a regular, old-style toggle-operated day-night mirror!
What a concept!
I'm jumping on the anti-auto climate control bandwagon. I wonder if the semi-auto on the STi and Euro WRX's would have been a better choice?
-Dennis
John
What a gas! (encompasses a myriad of postives)
Cabin noise very susceptible to minor changes in road condition. I can easily live with it.
Wind noise, creaks and rattles very minimal. Good!
Stereo is good. Likes my homegrown CDRs. Maybe new main (front door) speaks later.
My big concern: I notice a pronounced choppiness/shudder in the front end at 70+ mph - am trying to stay 65 mph and under and under 4K rpm - but sometimes need to speed up. The vibration secondary to this shudder actually sets up a thrum in the cabin. Hoping/expecting that this chudder goes away as miles accrue & everything breaks in. I had not noticed this during any of my several test drives but then I never drove fast for long stretches.
Safe to say there is not a car out there that I would have been happier with. Big sigh of relief as I pass any/all Highlanders...absolutely no remorse for not going that route (whew!)
-srp
Guess who will also be crashing our chat tonight, folks?
-juice
Cheers Pat.
I will! I've got a few questions on accessories, breaks, and the like for all of you.
--dcdouglas
(/delurk)
My Volvo 850 has an auto climate system with separate auto settings for the fan and air distribution. If I want to avoid the fan going crazy, I just set the air distribution to auto. One of the tests I use to determine if the climate control system is well-designed is whether there is a setting for air to be distributed just to the front vents and windshield. The Volvos allow this; most cars don't.
Dual zone climate is a mandatory requirement for me. I have had so many people in the car who have extreme temperature and air flow requirements that trips become unpleasant without at least two zones of climate control. Three or four would be better. With only one zone I run into situations where one person has the heat on high and the seat heater on and another person has his or her window wide open. Women with hot flashes followed by the chills. Teenagers who will puke if the temperature and air flow are not right. We often have one zone at 60 degrees and the other at 90 degrees, and people turning vents on and off.
Back in the old days, the cars had outside vents under the dash for both the driver and front passenger. These made it easy to adjust the temperature and airflow without the complexity of a multi-zone climate system. Even the little side vent windows could be useful. With only side windows to make manual adjustments, a multi-zone system is a must.
If the answer is yes, I'd suggest having your wheel balance checked. It's also possible, though not likely, that you might have a slightly-out-of-round tire.
And ride is quite smooth over smooth roads @ less than or equal to 60-65 mph.
Will have Balance checked.
Thanks JB.
-srp
Yin-Yang thing...
Let Them Eat Cake!
-s(huddering)rp
John- It seems like "Hal 2004" has a mind of it's own but for sure, whenever I move the dial to the defrost mode the auto AC reengages.
-Frank P.
-juice
True. Apparently it's programmed to always presume that whenever you want defrost, you also want dehumidify. You did want your car to do all your thinking for you, right?
However, at least selecting defrost mode doesn't revert the whole shebang back into full auto-climate-control mode. Tapping the A/C button turns the compressor back off and still leaves you in manual-mode defrost setting.
I never invoke the climate-control nonsense anymore.
-Frank P.
-Frank P.
-Dennis
-Frank P.
when i have free time, i may just find myself hanging out here...
erm... free... time... yeah
hehehee
AC issues,
hear about that complaint a lot.
I've never had a problem with the one in my GC RS but the newer cars, including my WRX - the AC seems to be 'indecisive' and lacking - i have to agree, it could be much better.
Jamie
Bob
Har har har. Well I've never owned a upscale car so I'm lacking a true point of reference but the FXT is my quietest vehicle yet.
-Frank P.
Intersting, I see the Aussies (from the Subaru AU link in the regular Forester board) get a dual range Forester MT, but ONLY in the non-Turbo. So they really aren't better off. Plus, note that the "dual" range does nothing for the final drive but only helps on the low end, so basically their functional transmission for daily driving is the same as ours in the USA.
John
-Frank P.
To the best of my knowledge, the dual-range tranny found in other markets has never been offered with the turbo, regardless of which Subie line it was in.
Also the dual-range's low range is hardly "low." I think it's about a 1.20:1 reduction which is probably like nothing more than downshifting one gear. It's probably much like going from a 3.53 rear to a 4.11 rear. For a point of reference, a Jeep's low range is a 2.72:1 reduction.
Bob
No, it's probably the rock-concert effect. The noise is destroying your hearing, so you just think it's the quietest.
True, but it don't hafta be that way. The low-range could be made lower, and the final drive could be made higher. Best of all worlds! And there isn't any insurmountable reason why the same two concepts couldn't be applied to the XT's strengthened gearbox.
HECK, I BOUGHT ONE DESPITE THE DIN!
LIVE FAST - DIE STONE DEAF!
-srp
(hey, subiegal just sent off my White mudflaps and my XT-flavored bug deflector - pity the poor insect spattered fools (way) behind me...)
-Frank P. <ducking and running>
No, it's probably the rock-concert effect. The noise is destroying your hearing, so you just think it's the quietest."
now that is a great comeback.
if anyone thinks the xt is quiet they must have only driven convertibles with the top down.
you have me smiling ear to ear.
-Frank P.
I've said this many times in the past, and most people here think I'm nuts, but what I'd like to see is a triple-range tranny. It would work thusly:
High range as is.
Middle range would be much like the current low range, but with shift-on the-fly capability (if it doesn't already have that feature) The 1.20:1 reduction is high enough (I think) to allow shift-on-the-fly shifting between high and middle range without damaging the tranny. This range would be great for boat ramps, trailering and moderate off-roading.
Low range would be a true low range, with a gear reduction of ~ 2.50:1 or lower, for those who want to abuse their Subies off-road. To engage low range you would have to come to a complete stop, as with all current low-range equipped vehicles.
All Subaru has to do is add an additional gear at the output end to accomplish this.
Bob
I missed out on that excitement, but during a post-overhaul shakedown cruise, we engaged in a week of cat-mouse war games with a U.S. fast-attack sub. His role was Soviet hunter-killer; ours was to lose him. He had twice our speed and maneuverability and a deeper maximum depth, so we were badly outmatched; shaking him off our tail for more than brief intervals was impossible, and even those short successes were possible only because we had one of the best submarine skippers afloat. Every time we'd briefly shake the SSN's tail, he'd go to active sonar, set for long range (max power) until he found us again - and then, for grins and payback, he'd keep pinging on us for hours afterward. Every few seconds. For hours. It became like endless, evenly-spaced ball-peen hammerblows on your skull - you start anticipating and dreading every pulse, like a sonic chinese water torture.
Nah. More like Mutt and Jeff. And I'm Jeff.
Geez, Bob, of all people I thought I could count on you to see things at least a teensy bit my way.
But Noooo. Not just double, but TRIPLE range - and even then you're not gonna give me anything even slightly taller than "as is"???
Thanks a bunch, pal. No xmas card for you next year.
Unfortunately, neither of them is gonna happen!
-mike
So Jack, read that comic strip at the breakfast table did you? :-)
Don