Subaru Forester (up to 2005)

sierratrip · January 2005

I hear you! I really missed having an auto climate control when I bought my '02 Forester. The one I had in my '88 Saab worked like a charm, I never had to think about it.

What I'd really like to the see the folks at SOA add is some l-e-g r-o-o-m to the rear seating area. I'm 6' 5" and the head & leg room upfront are what sold me on the Forester but anyone trying to sit behind me is in for a long ride even on a short trip!

I don't pretend to be an engineer but it would seem that increasing the rear leg/seating area by 3 or 4" would be easy to do and not compromise the size, design or performance characteristics.

-Sierratrip

ateixeira · January 2005

Sounds like you guys might have CCB (chronic car buyer's syndrome)!

Did you see the pics of the JDM '06 Forester? The rear seat reclines again, but it doesn't look like it moves back.

Problem is, if they fixed that it might bite into Outback sales even more.

-juice

sierratrip · January 2005

No CCB for me! I had the '88 Saab until I bought the '02 Forester at the rate I'm going I'll only buy 2 or 3 more cars in my lifetime...of course that's if I live long enough:)!

-Sierratrip

mirage5 · January 2005

The redesigned Forester is nice. When does it come out? I think that is the one I'm going to get.

http://www.subdriven.com/news/publish/Subaru_News/article_330.sht- ml

c_hunter · January 2005

I am a card carrying member. I have to tell you, that 06 looks mighty nice. Might have to check one out when they hit the street....

Craig

stever · January 2005

For anyone who wants support hanging on to their billfold, the Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous discussion is available 24/7.

Steve, Host

edunnett · January 2005

In the last three years I have purchased five (5)vehicles. I also secretly wished that my husband's CR-V would catch fire after it's first oil change so that I could give him my Forester and then go and buy the new Hybrid Accord, Civic Si, Subaru Outback or something else just as smashing. But you know, I like the oldest cars best. I can't wait to be driving my Forester in 40 years; I just hope there's room in the garage for her, what with all the new cars! :-)

-elissa

ateixeira · January 2005

Thanks, I just spit coffee out thru my nose!

LOL

New Forester should debut in NY in early April, and probably hit the streets soon after that, probably in May.

If you like the 2005 look, that would be a great time to get a bargain on those. Let's wait and see, but if they don't change the engine or tranny, the update seems mostly cosmetic, except the reclining rear seat is back.

-juice

mpgman · January 2005

I looked at both. I loved the Forester's high seating and easy in and out. The Outback seating position was lower and more cramped to me and the leg room, regardless of the dimensions, seemed skimpier. I also didn't care for the armrest position. Getting in and out of the Outback also took more effort. Guess it depends on what matters to you. The Outback appears a bit more refined and has the side curtain airbags standard.

mirage5 · January 2005

From what I read, it appears to be a little more than cosmetic. Usually where I live, you can get Subarus around invoice or even below.

brc2004 · January 2005

I just replaced the stock stereo in my 2005 Forester with one from Clarion. It has an auxiliary input for my iPod, and can read MP3's CDs. (Yay!)

My question: I ended up deciding to install the auxiliary input in the glovebox. (I didn't want to put it in the storage area on the dash, because my GPS device sits on the windshield right above it.) I figured that I could set it on a long playlist, or, if I needed to access it while driving, stretch the auxiliary wire out of the glovebox and onto the armrest.

Now I'm thinking this was a silly decision, and I should have had the AUX installed someplace more towards the center of the car. Perhaps the armrest? It's too late to change it because I paid someone to do the work.

But what have others done?

ezshift5 · January 2005

tweak the HWY mpg rating? So far, we've seen 27 rise to 30 (M/T)....any predictions, juice? ez.

c_hunter · January 2005

In my WRX, I had the aux connection going into the glovebox. The aux cable from my Alpine HU went to the glove box, and then I had a 3 foot iPod dock cable (for line-out and power) connected from that point. So I had enough cable length to hold the iPod in my hands (if needed) but could tuck it back into the glovebox in other cases.

In my Outback, I have the dock cable coming out of the center console. The wiring to the radio runs through the console into the dash.

I don't think it really matters as long as you can access the iPod easily while driving if needed, without distraction. If you are going with playlists, then you can probably avoid messing with the iPod all together, and that is the safest.

Craig

ateixeira · January 2005

I think mileage will remain about where it is now. It's already class-leading, in fact 23/30 beats even the TWO wheel drive competitors.

My guess is they'll try to squeeze more power and acceleration vs. increasing fuel economy any further.

I also bet the next Forester will follow in the footsteps of the Outback and be registered as a truck. That frees up CAFE restrictions.

-juice

damish003 · January 2005

I also bet the next Forester will follow in the footsteps of the Outback and be registered as a truck. That frees up CAFE restrictions.

-juice

After the beating Subaru took when they changed the Outback classification, I'd be VERY surprised if they did the same with the Forester. That just my 2 cents, however.

-Dan-

ateixeira · January 2005

Well, the way I see it, they hit record sales last year, so the beatings were more like tiny slaps on the wrist.

Legacy did grow the most, however, not Outback.

-juice

gmginsfo · January 2005

Hmmm ... I wonder if I could install one of these new mufflers in my '03 XS and get improved mileage and power???

KCRam · January 2005

Forester is already a truck, according to the US government/EPA (Sport Utility Vehicle 4WD designation), no need to reclassify.

kcram

Host - Wagons

subearu · January 2005

well, the FHI metal placard on the door jamb (at least on the '04 Forester XT states it's a "passenger car". fwiw.

and it just got voted best small suv at C&D

-Brian

stever · January 2005

The Crossover Continuum - SUVs vs. Wagons vs. Minivans

Don't miss the graphic that explains all. <g>

Steve, Host

tidester · January 2005

Don't miss the graphic that explains all. <g>

Let us know Venn you get if figured out! (SORRY - you KNEW I couldn't resist!)

tidester, host

rhody_marco · February 2005

Hi all...first time poster here.

Just got a 2005 Forester X. It's a nice ride. Haggled my way down to 18.6 after rebate but before options. I hope that was a good deal.

The options bumped up the price a bit - still less than 20. here's what i think of 'em...

Alarm/Remote start - nice. All functions on one key fob, including remote entry. It's pricey to have it all integrated, but it sure makes things simple.

Autodimming mirror - more than a gimmick, it REALLY works ! I was afraid that cold weather may affect performance; it didn't. There's some sort of heater behind the glass. Okay...the compass is a bit gimmicky. Yet that also works well. The direction will sometimes dither between adjacent points with the blower running. It's hardly noticable, tho'.

Rubber mats - easy to clean and look great in the gray interior.

Rear differential/driveshaft protector - haven't tested it yet. It gives the Forester a "ballsier" look from behind, tho'.

Likes - so sar...

Handling is very good. There's lots of road feel. The 35-foot turning circle is nice, too.

Standard engine is nice with decent economy. 165 HP is enough for me :-) It growls a bit on acceleration, yet quiets down at speed.

I really like the black bumpers, door cladding and handles on the X. They go great with the royal-blue paint job. The body-coloured treatment on the other models looks wimpy to me. It kinda' defeats the purpose of a bumper if you gotta' worry about scratched paint. I think this holds true for any car. Scuffed black bumpers look broken in, whereas any mark on a painted one just looks awful.

Black roof rack.

Dashboard - everything is where it should be. It's also dark, so no reflections onto the windscreen.

Lots of cubbys and usable map pockets.

Liftgate is cool.

Full-sized spare with storage space.

Headlights and foglights work well.

Amber turn signals with SEPARATE bulbs. I'm glad they havent cheaped-out and gone all red like so many others have.

The colour - blue

New-car smell :-)

Dislikes...

No lighting on mirror controls.

Keyhole on driver's side only.

Frameless windows.

Auto transmission hunts between 3 and 4 in hilly country driving. Keep it in 3 around town (like I do) if this bugs you (as it does me).

Gated shifter is a pain in the tuchus.

Fuel filler door on passenger side.

That about covers it.

Peace.

Marco

c_hunter · February 2005

Congratulations! Great comments and observations, BTW.

Craig

samiam_68 · February 2005

I find the fuel filler door on passenger side to be a plus, not a minus - definitely shorter wait at the gas stations because most cars have it on the driver's side.

p0926 · February 2005

Fuel filler door on passenger side.

What? I love that feature! The gas station I normally use only allows one-way traffic and since most cars have their fuel door on the driver's side, that means that I almost never have to wait for a pump. Meanwhile all those American spec cars have to wait in line for the lefthand pumps :-)

-Frank

Edit- Dang Sam beat me to it

rhody_marco · February 2005

Thanks for the comments, guys. The Forester is replacing a 1988 Dodge Colt Vista who's time has come. Guess I've a fetish for boxy cars. At least the Sube has rounded edges, so it takes on the wind fairly well. The Vista, however, has all the aerodynamic qualities of a brick.

Did I mention that the amber rear turn signals are cool :-)

Peace.

Marco

BTW...its NHTSA listing as a passenger car (wagon) is one of the reasons I chose the Forester. The black honest-to-goodness bumpers is another.

ateixeira · February 2005

Congrats, Marco.

Once you get used to the fuel filler door side, it's better because the lines are shorter. :-)

Edit: Sam beat me to it!

Edit again: and Frank.

As you will find that will turn out to be a major advantage.

-juice ('98 Forester, 71k miles)

ezshift5 · February 2005

Marco....

Will you remember to post some highway fuel economy numbers for us following break-in? (or maybe even before........

best, ez

c_hunter · February 2005

Ooh, Colt Vista, now that was a cool car...

I had a Colt turbo when I was in high school, it had a twin stick 4-spd (Hi and Lo in all gears) and was fun as heck. I could really lay some strips with that little car...

Craig

rhody_marco · February 2005

Thankx, ez. I'll start measuring after my next fillup. My Vista got about 25 MPG in mixed driving. We'll see if this one's better.

About the break in....My wife thinks I'm nuts. For the first 1000 miles I told 'er to go no faster than 65 MPH, avoid "flooring" it, and try not to stay at the same speed for more than 20 minutes. I said the engine will wear better down the road if she follows this regimen now.

What are your thoughts ???

Peace.

Marco

lark6 · February 2005

Funny, I seem to recall the Car Talk guys comparing the original 1998 Forester to the Colt Vista. Click and Clack tend to swing both ways when it comes to Subarus in general; they often recommend them to people on the air but rail on them in print (e.g., the WRX and old 2.5RS as too fast, the reclassification of the Outback as a truck).

Enjoy your X.

Ed

edunnett · February 2005

I doubt the stock mufflers on the '06 models offer less backpressure than the '03 stock mufflers; in fact, if the muffler is in fact larger, there's a good chance it is providing MORE backpressure. Read this article for more on exhaust and mufflers and backpressure to performance tuning: http://www.sportcompactcarweb.com/tech/9912scc_ssbbpart2/

ateixeira · February 2005

My '98 has averaged 25.1 mpg over its life time. Maybe it is a modern Colt Vista. ;-)

New models should do a little better, EPA was 21/27 for mine, 23/30 now.

-juice

rhody_marco · February 2005

Yeah...reclassifying the outback WAGON as a truck got me torqued-off, too. Was that to avoid passenger-car fuel economy standards ?

*** EDIT: Oops...juice answered that question upthread. ***

Noticed a couple more quirks with the Forester...

The vehicle does a little torque roll at startup. Kinda' cool to watch from the outside. That little kick makes it look like there's a hemi under the hood :-)

The first-to-second shift in the automatic is "too smooth". I'm used to a little kick in the pants. It sounds as if the tranny's slipping, although it's not. There's forward power all the way through the transition.

Are these quirks common to the 2005 X ?

Peace.

Marco

ateixeira · February 2005

They have a drive-by-wire throttle now, so my guess is the ECU has better throttle control and lifts off the gas during shifts to make them smoother.

-juice

crichton · February 2005

I always thought it was a safety feature if you ever ran out of gas. If the door is on the driver's side, then you would be standing closer to traffic to re-fuel.

veritasusa · February 2005

Actually, just about all cars built in countries where they drive on the left (steering wheel on the right) have their fuel filler doors on the right. That way, the driver doesn't have to go around the car to fill. They just don't bother to move the filler when they put in left-hand drive -- too much cost.

crashton6 · February 2005

You know that makes sense. I always wondered why some cars had their gas fillers on the right. Thanks for solving that mystery! ;-)

Chuck

dcm61 · February 2005

Well, my Dad's Lincoln Continental has the fuel fill on the right and I don't think they make them with RHD. ;-)

DaveM

hillfla · February 2005

Sorry for my ignorance - but if someone could answer this simple question for me?

When do the 2006 model Foresters begin appearing at the dealer's lots? I live in St Louis if region makes a difference.

I know I want to buy a new Forester, but I don't know if I should wait till the 06's come out or buy an 05. I am also thinking that I might get a really good deal on an 05 once the 06's are here.

Thank you!

rsholland · February 2005

This summer or late spring the '06 Forester will arrive. It will receive a substantial facelift for '06. See JDM version here:

http://www.subaru.co.jp/forester/index.html

Bob

damish003 · February 2005

I don't care what side it's on, I just want a fuel door that doesn't get stuck closed in the real cold weather. I've never cared much for that design. So far this winter, it's been stuck twice when I wanted to re-fuel. Any safe way to lube the latch maybe?

Well, OK, the passenger side is a good thing. Almost never a wait for gas.

-Dan-

rhody_marco · February 2005

Hiya...

I don't think the out-of-gas-on-the-highway passenger-side gas cap holds water, despite what the salesperson told you. I feel it's either an engineering oversight, or likely a choice to use one configuration worldwide to save money. I believe VeritasUSA speaks the truth. Cars with a passenger-side gas cap sold only in the US (like the Lincoln) merely reflect poor wngineering...sorry dcm61 :-)

Safer modern designs place the gas cap and muffler on opposite sides of the car. Subaru does this. Yet a result is that the tailpipe is now behind the driver. This increases exhaust noise somewhat from the driver's perspective.

There are examples aplenty of poor engineering in today's cars. Light-colored dashboards that reflect light onto the windshield, and bumpers that fail to fulfill their primary purpose (protecting the car), are two examples.

An even better example is red rear turn signals. As far as I know, the US is the only country that allows this (maybe Canada and Mexico ?). Cars like the Ford Focus have red turn signals only here. In Europe and Asia the rear blinkers are amber. At least Ford knew enough to use separate bulbs for turn and brake.

Those who designed the Dodge Neon and Caravan eather didn't know any better, or put cost-cutting first. They truly take the cheap way out. Not only are the turn signals red, they share also the same bulb and FILAMENT with the brakelights. This is a problem on two fronts.

- The filament works harder, shortening it's life.

- When a bulb does fail, it's difficult to tell wether the driver is pumping his brakes to stop, or actually turning. On a snowy New England day, this engineering flaw is downright dangerous.

Thankfully, the engineering shortcomings of the Forester are far outweighed by the advantages. That's why I bought one.

Peace.

Marco

ezshift5 · February 2005

..has significantly continued to boost interesting sub-topics within the Forester "scope".. the right hand fuel filler door (which is, I agree, damn handy to avoid fuel stop delays), separation of filler pipe and exhaust plus info on the upcoming '06 Forester (albeit in Kata Kana) are good recent examples.

This is a great site...ez

ateixeira · February 2005

I bet we'll see the 06 Forester in dealers in May. They've been coming out early the last couple of years.

My fuel door's never been stuck, but DC doesn't get that cold either.

Make sure you dry the area if you wash the car. There must be residual water in the that is freezing.

Lube it with lithium grease, which won't harm rubber or plastic, but I'd clean it off any exposed paint because it will attract dust and look dirty.

I don't necessarily agree about the bumpers' primary purpose, though. Nowadays safety is a primary concern, so they're designed to absord impact energy, even if they fail to protect the car, the idea is to protect the passenger in the car.

IIHS gives Forester a Best Pick, NHTSA gives it 5/5 stars in their front impacts. So I'd say the bumpers deserve an A+.

Even if you look at protection of the car as more important than safety, Forester still wins, with the best score in class the IIHS bumper basher test. A+ again.

Can't call that cost cutting, at least not on the Forester.

-juice

samiam_68 · February 2005

Mine was getting stuck occasionally. I had the dealer adjust it (free under warranty) - no more problems.

damish003 · February 2005

Hmm, never thought to have a dealer make an adjustment to it. I've had these doors on the last three vehicles, and they all stick sooner or later. It's like, snow on car, sits in sun, melts into fuel door, freezes overnight. Since I keep my cars outside, it just goes with the territory.

I'll have to try the lithium grease, Juice. Of course, our forecast the next week is mid 40's here in Erie. WAY over normal. Nothing going to freeze here.

-Dan-

grahampeters · February 2005

G'day

I am a bit thrown because I have got used to the fuel filler being on the driver's side (Right of the car) after many cars with this layout. Now I have bought a Toyota Kluger (Highlander) and find that the filler is on the worng side. The location of the filler is a hold back to the days when fuel pumps were located on the pavement edge and hence the filler had to be located on that side. These days, almost every fuel station has island pumps with cars pulled up on each side. Now I will have to get used to pulling up on the other side of the island. Gee, life's difficult!

Cheers

Graham

edunnett · February 2005

Actually, just about all cars built in countries where they drive on the left (steering wheel on the right) have their fuel filler doors on the right.

My Japan-made Honda has the filler door on the drivers side. My Japan-made Subaru has the door on the passenger side. I'm constantly pulling up on the wrong side of the pump. -e

stever · February 2005

Remember the good old days when most cars had their gas filler door hidden under the rear license plate?

Most cars have a little triangle/arrow or other indicator on the instrument panel near the fuel gauge telling you what side of the car the gas tank filler is on.

Steve, Host

Subaru Forester (up to 2005)

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