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Buying 04 Forester XT;performance Question;
A customer of mine is selling his 2004 Forester XT so I went to test
drive it today and was very disappointed in the power.It felt like the
regular Forester I drove at the dealer. Going up a hill at about 25 in
Drive I punched it and it slowly sped up to 35.No excitement AT ALL
and I was expecting neck snapping performance. The reviews said 0-60
in 5.3 seconds.
>>So I took it up another longer hill and tried it again.After about a 2-3 second lag some power did come on but still nothing great.I announced my dissatisfaction and he said he downshifts to 3d when he needs real acceleration so I tried that and after a long time,maybe 4-5 seconds,I finally started feeling some real power,but by then it was time to shut down.
Does this sound normal? Does this suggest to any of you a problem
that could be easily fixed or should I just pass on the car? He is a
great guy and has taken very good care of it and kept all records.
Much thanks.-Brian
Oh,It's an auto transmission (4spd?).
drive it today and was very disappointed in the power.It felt like the
regular Forester I drove at the dealer. Going up a hill at about 25 in
Drive I punched it and it slowly sped up to 35.No excitement AT ALL
and I was expecting neck snapping performance. The reviews said 0-60
in 5.3 seconds.
>>So I took it up another longer hill and tried it again.After about a 2-3 second lag some power did come on but still nothing great.I announced my dissatisfaction and he said he downshifts to 3d when he needs real acceleration so I tried that and after a long time,maybe 4-5 seconds,I finally started feeling some real power,but by then it was time to shut down.
Does this sound normal? Does this suggest to any of you a problem
that could be easily fixed or should I just pass on the car? He is a
great guy and has taken very good care of it and kept all records.
Much thanks.-Brian
Oh,It's an auto transmission (4spd?).
0
This discussion has been closed.
Comments
You felt some tranny hesitation but my guess is his tank was not using premium fuel, and not making peak power. Something is off. Even the auto feels at least quick.
If you want neck-snapping, get the manual.
-Frank
p.s.Interesting about the STi motor,I didn't know that.
jeff
Or were you just generally warning potential owners away from getting a used XT? In which case there needs to be some perspective. My 04 XT just turned 6 years old and I haven't had to fix a thing.
-Frank
I looked hard and long at buying different Subarus but in the end, I wasn't convinced that the reliability,at least in the used examples I was interested in,was up to par with some other Japanese brands.This and the performance level of the naturally aspirated models ultimately turned me away. Plus I don't need AWD in Los Angeles and I don't travel to snowy areas and was concerned about the liability of this complex system and the MPG effect as well.\ thx for all the replies. BrianAlex
Our 04 XT auto is approaching 100K miles. I do the oil, filters, fluids, tires , battery (5 years!) and bulbs; the dealer does the major service intervals. ZERO repairs required.
It still runs like a cheetah when you hit the gas. Biggest problem: my wife loves the car! The visibility, the pick-up in town and in the mountains, the cargo room, the giant sunroof. Its been her primary driver since it was 6 months old .