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Well, two days ago I said my final farewell to my dear 14+ year old Outback. It served me and my daughter well, but it was time. Once the prior lease title clears, Emily will be driving a CPO 2013 Honda CRV LX back to school.
We searched long and hard for a Forester, but 3 year old examples are too close in price to new ones around here. A shame, but I'm sure the Honda will serve her well.
Still, nice rig. Had a tangerine one as a loaner the first time I took the Outback in for service. A bit underpowered (well, probably overweight), but perfectly serviceable.
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2015 Subaru Outback 3.6R / 2014 MINI Countryman S ALL4
I quizzed my sister a few times about the acceleration and she always said it was plenty peppy for her. She must be calming down a bit in her 70s - she always was a hot foot on the gas. I wonder if she'll start wishing for more oomph in a month or two.
@fibber2, my sister traded in a miled up '05 Forester. She had spotted the Crosstrek a few years back when they first came out and liked them, so she really didn't shop the new Foresters, other than to note that she couldn't believe they were up to $30,000 now (the one she glanced at was likely a Touring at that price).
Steve (fibs), your '01 was quite the car! It's a shame that the rear subframe deterioration finally did her in, but at least it did its job safely and the final nail was not a crash, etc....!
Still kind of wish she had sprung for a MINI but the dealer was a bit too far from her and the prices aren't cheap on those either.
I liked the Impreza when I drove it, but also felt it was underpowered. The Forester is quite quick, and very roomy, but even a Premium stickers for $26k+, and you won't get much off as they are in short supply. That drove used prices to $20k, making the basic CRV at $16k quite a bargain. I can't believe I just called $16k a bargain......
Yes, I sometimes downshift to maintain momentum when climbing. I'm more than willing to do that for the 30 mpg I get in mixed driving.
Really glad I stayed with Subaru and AWD now that I live in Northern Nevada (light) snow country.
Yeah, I know how that goes. I know it well.
Busy with the new job and still getting used to commuting to Boston every day. Never thought THAT would happen in my life ... avoided it like the plague for so many years. Not so bad where I flex my hours and maybe will be able to work from home. Unfortunately, that's one ride I will never, ever attempt with the Mustang.
In my spare time, I have been travelling back and forth to Verona Wisconsin for training at a 'little company' called EPIC ... learning all sorts of things and taking tests and getting Certifications and doing Projects ... yeah, FUN!!! (Actually, it's pretty cool and I'm having a blast). Leaving in the morning for another week of classes. Supposed to be wicked cold, but at least there's no snow in the forecast.
Mikey is loving his little Impreza. (Wes ... 2002 TS2.5 Wagon, AT, 122k, single owner and extremely well maintained. Cleanest car inside and outside. Technically a 'salvage', where it was rear-ended by a wanted felon in a stolen vehicle and totaled by the insurance, went to auction and repaired by a guy that 'plays' with Impreza's. Took it home for a bargain, detailed it, put in a battery and haven't done a thing since. Even my dealer was blown away when they saw this car)
Best to all and gotta go! Rob M.
Cheers Pat.
I hope that forecast holds for you. I heard on the radio that the NE and upper midwest is supposed to see a fair bit of snow this week....
Cheers Pat.
Bit of a waste since I won't consider any more back surgery.
Cheers Pat.
Not a surprise that Heather proved to be an adrenaline junkie, so next trip will be a couple of days at Disney and the rest at Knotts Berry or maybe 6 flags for the big coasters. She still hasn't forgiven me that we didn't go, but it would only have been the 2 of us and I was ready for a bilateral foot replacement after 4 days (sometimes carrying said 10 year old) so I appreciated the quiet last day and did Star Wars in iMax 3D for excitement.
Just kidding.... My two crappy disks in my lower back have slowed me a bit too. I really know it when I try to lift a tire and get it up on the hooks on the wall. In my younger days I'd have done that subframe just for the fun of giving it a go. Now? Fuggetaboudit. Ain't gonna happen!
We should pick up the CR-V tomorrow, barring any other mess ups at the dealership. Lost CPO paperwork, bank sat on the former lease holder's title for a week, and then it wouldn't start last Sunday. Paperwork, check. New battery, check. Fingers crossed.... But unfortunately Emily had to return to school yesterday, so I'll have to drive the car up (about 300 miles) and catch a train down maybe in a week or two. Figure I'll shop for winter tires, make sure the no-start was only a battery issue, etc., before handing her the keys.
I bought a 1/2" cordless impact wrench this fall because doing the seasonal tire change outs with a standard tire iron was just not in the cards anymore. Two weeks of lower back pain in both the spring and fall of 2015 made that $200 price tag look really attractive!
And, I'm so glad I did it, too, because the front differential on my plow truck self-destructed this winter, so I tore the whole thing down in the driveway last month and put in a Detroit Locker along with replacing a host of other parts under the truck. The impact wrench was INVALUABLE on the project, which I completed without a single busted knuckle! Maybe not worth celebrating on most days, but this is my first significant auto project ever that I accomplished with no blood in the mix.
Hah!
Older.... and wiser, too!
Cheers Pat.
Now I just need to design a winch for getting those tires up off the floor and onto those wall hooks.......
When I was building out the storage system inside the shed I finished up this last summer, I built a multi-tier tire storage rack behind the door. Previously, I stored all my seasonal tires in stacks in my van. It seemed like it became more and more difficult to heft those things in and out each season. Now though, I just roll them up to the rack, lift to the height needed, and roll them into the cradle. It holds up to three sets of four, plus a random spare or two if needed, in one compact 30"x36" space.
I had not considered it, but, yeah, I should put in a double-pulley on the rafter above so that I can just hook onto the rim and hoist each into position without having to lift them. That would be perfect!
I too have started trading in shortly before the warranty goes off. Just ain't worth it anymore.
Last night wifey and I picked up a new 16 Forester 2.5i touring. For a while I thought I was divorced until she came to bed about 2 hours later than usual...
I don't bother waxing my wheels, but that is probably not a bad idea if it cuts down on the propensity for ice buildup in there. Winter wheels are not a necessity, but they do make the difference between "getting around" in the winter months and "driving."
We always used all-seasons on our 1996 Outback and didn't have any issues. In fact, we didn't go to winter tires on any of our cars until we bought the 2010 Forester. I told my wife that we were not keeping the crappy stock tires on there through the winter (those were the Yokohama Geolandar G95), so we could either buy a nice set of all-seasons (about $850), or a set of rims and winter tires (about the same price)... it was her choice.
She went with winter tires, and they were just so darn impressive that I went to that routine for all our daily drivers.
Cheers Pat.
You got it just in time to try out X-Mode in the morning after 8 to 10" is dumped, then see how it does after another 8 to 10" is dumped during the day.
If so, don't you know that those don't work below 45°F ? (Just having some fun with @carboy21 ).
LOL. Yep, they had those Geolandar G95s. There are some all-season tires that are pretty decent in snow and on ice, but these are NOT among them. We used to run Goodyear Assurance TripleTred year-round. Those were by far the best all-season for winter conditions that I've ever experienced. But, compared to our Ultra Grip Ice tires? Not even a comparison! In deep snow, they did pretty well compared to something like Blizzak or X-Ice, but ice conditions is where those winter tires really shine.
The UGIs were really quite good on both ice and deep snow; they weren't quite as good as Blizzak or X-Ice on ice, but kicked their pants in deep snow conditions. The newer design of UGI, the "WRT," is a pale performance comparison to the original UGI, though. It's sad that Goodyear quit offering the original. The good news is that both the original and WRT wear much slower than the Bridgestone, Michelin, or Continental winter tires. In that, they are a bargain to purchase.
Twenty-four inches of snow?! I would love to play around in that.
I've used Nokians for years and find they work quite well (25% grade in heavy snow was no trouble (had X mode on just to be sure)). WRG3 wet ice grip is only so so, but much better than those stock tires Subaru chose.
2015 Forester 2.5i Touring with 225/55-18 Bridgestone Dueler H/Ls. Just under 30K miles but not much tread left.
Anybody with 2015+ 2.5i Touring or 2014+ XT have a recommendation for replacement tires? I live in the Northeast but usually stay home when it snows, so a good all-season (3 season) should be fine. Thinking about Michelin Premier A/S or Goodyear Assurance Comfortred Touring.
The Assurance tires are fantastic for treadwear and are also good on wet/slick roads. The Assurance TripleTred is the best all-season (three season?) I've ever experienced, but they're more expensive than the models you're looking at (as well as costing you some fuel economy): They keep you sure-footed on any surface, frankly. I have those on my '10 Forester now, and this is the fourth summer I've used them. Estimating probably 30,000 miles over that time, I've lost 3/32nds of an inch in total treadwear (they start at 12/32). From that perspective, they have impressive bang for the buck, but they did cost me $900 installed (225/55/17).
I am now leaning toward General Altimax RT43. They are rated fairly high on Tirerack and subaruforester.org They are about $50/tire cheaper than Michelin Premier A/S and are pretty close in the comparison tests on Tirerack. The Generals are rated slightly better for dry and snow traction/handling and slightly worse for wet and ice traction/handling than the Michelin.
So far the studless winters I've used are Goodyear UltraGrip Ice (by far the best), Continental ExtremeWinterContact, Michelin X-Ice, and Bridgestone Blizzak. The Continental and Bridgestone tires wear too fast, and, sadly, Goodyear "upgraded" their UGI to the "WRT" model, which just doesn't have the grip or the deep snow traction that the original had. I'm currently using X-Ice, but I fear that, while it has wonderful ice traction, it, too, just wears far too fast (not to mention deep snow traction is poor with these; probably the worst of the bunch).
Good luck with your plug (I'm not sure I have any tires that do *not* have a plug!), and let us know how the new tires perform once you get them!
This change has resulted in a 0.75 MPG drop during the last 7,000 miles.
I carry heavy loads in my 2010 Forester fairly often, so I keep the rear tires on that car at 40 PSI so they are better able to handle heavy loads.
Wondering if anyone has heard if they will offer the Forester XT with a stick shift at any point, or else anything solid on when/if the WRX hatch is ever coming back?
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
Sadly, there doesn't seem to be any indication that the XT will see a stick again, but the WRX has definitely had a lot of rumor swirling around the possibility of a five-door variant (or, possibly, exclusive). The lid has been kept pretty tight on it, though. I think that 3/24/17 is supposed to be the official launch date.