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Comments
The base of the extension is beige to match the color of the interior and the top cover of it is black. It looks good.
I don't remember how the single cup holder in the dash worked (in our test drive) but I am NOT a fan on the new ones. They are holding my drinks against the vents and in front of the controls.
Also, they move around in the holders when I turn corners, etc. Could be that I need to get better cups! I tried using the ones in the back seat but my drinks would almost topple out. I would still give up that center drink holder for the arm rest.
Good luck with your purchase!
~~~Pat
Hoo boy, this should be a long one...
I've got roof mounted bike racks on my Legacy L Wagon. It works out well, as I am tall enough, and the roof is low enough that I can lift the bikes up onto the rack and secure them without needing anything to stand on. I do need to open the door and stand on the door sill to put the racks themselves on, but that's another story. Also my wife and I own lightweight road bikes, not heavier off road bikes. The other advantage is that with the roof mount, you can open the back of the vehicle with the bikes mounted. Some of the hitch mounted racks swing out of the way though.
Anyway, with the taller Forester, you'll need to weigh the ease of mounting the bikes on the roof. Stand next to the Forester and lift your bike over your head. Can you get the wheels of the bike a couple of inches above the roof height? If not, you'll need something to stand on every time you mount or unmount the bikes. If you think you'll have trouble mounting the bikes on the roof, I'd say put them on the back. We have a Rhode Gear rack that fits on the back of just about any vehicle. We use it on my our Mazda Protege, and also mounted it on the back of a Plymouth Voyager mini van. Very versatile.
One other note about roof systems. I had wanted to get a rack where you would take the front wheel off and attach the fork of the bike directly to the rack as this is a very secure method. I found out that the Yakima fork mount racks will not attach to the flat cross bars I got with my wagon. Not even with adapters. I'd have to buy new round bars and new rail towers to mount them to. This would cost me another several hundred dollars of hardware! So then I intended to use the Yakima rack that clamps to the bike's down tube. This is identical to the Subaru rack. Turns out I couldn't use this either because our bikes have aero down tubes, not round ones. Finally had to go with the Yakima Ankle Biter racks. These clamp to the cranks (the shaft the pedals are attached to) and will work with virtually any bike as long as it's not too heavy. They work well. The bikes wobble slightly, but I haven't had one fall off yet...
If I was doing it all over again, I would have gotten the round cross bars to start with. They're not as attractive as the flat bars, but I don't keep the bars on when I'm not carrying stuff anyway. Good luck!
Dave
Suggestions?
I'm probably going to be buying a Forester in the near future. The size is just right for me and I think it will make a good all-round vehicle. I also like the Audi A4 wagon a lot, but I think the Subaru is a more sensible choice. And sometimes we've got to be sensible.
I'm pretty set on the 'S' and the premium package...gotta love that sunroof. However I wonder if anyone who has one could comment on how it's working for them. Is it usable on the road? Does it get too noisy, or too 'boomy' as sunroofs sometimes do?
I'm also wondering about the audio option. For the $300 the upgrade costs, I suspect I could do far better with speakers...probably a bit more for an amplifier and subwoofer. Has anyone got any specific recommendations? And how about the head unit...I haven't listened enough to have any comment but I gather a lot of people are not happy with it.
In driving the one thing that bugged me was the body lean. Has anyone installed a beefier sway bar and if so how has it worked out.
I like the kind of plain looks of the car, but I would sure like to simplify the trim. In some makes of cars (Audi for one) enthusiasts like to 'de-badge' the car, taking off any unnecessary logos and nameplates. I would seriously consider doing that.
I'd also like to do something about the grill...I agree with the opinion that it looks 'toothy'. One of the aftermarket suppliers offers a grille from Japan that's just black mesh...it looks great but it's about $300! The sport grill that Subaru has just come out with is a little pretentious maybe...looks like something from a Lexus. However it does make the 7-stars logo much smaller, which I think is a big improvement.
Well, enough for a hot Saturday afternoon.
Any thoughts?
AT
Took off out of Seattle on I-90, exited at #62, then left, then right at USFS road 4826. From there, since it's technically range land, we tried a gate, and as I suspected it was unlocked, so we went through and closed it behind us. From there we found we were on roads used in winter as cross-country ski routes and also for snow machines. There were even maps posted on trees out there! We did some nice, medium-speed (35+) driving on twisty, tight dirt roads. Many of the roads criss-crossed so we marked our turns with logs and rock piles (as well as referencing USFS and a topo map). Had some nice steep, loose-dirt uphill pitches as well as off camber downhills. Explored the roads then returned to the main dirt road. The Outback was great--even on the uphill shots, no wheelspin even on zero-speed starts!
From there we took another off-shoot road and this was all rally.....gravel. Impreza pilots would love it, though some drainage cuts in the road required the 16" wheels and tires of the OB, and several times we scraped anyway! At the top, after about ten miles, was a beautiful ridge which we hiked up too. There was a USGS disk sunk into the summit, and great views of lakes and peaks all around us. We rallied back on down--great drifting, power-on cornering, even in the wagon, that AWD just claws you around the turns!
Finally we did the "just one more road" thing and took another turn off. After about 100 yards I could see that it turned to some big ruts and muddy bog style tracks. I scouted it, making sure it wasn't too deep and crazy..after all, as we all know, AWD has its limitations and I for one hate walking out of the woods. Nevertheless, here I ran into grief. I hit the bog with momentum, taking the right line to avoid the deep rut, but halfway through, the front wheels lost traction and then my tail swung right...WHAM! Into the rut, front right wheel hitting hard and the right door and lower right side skirt scraping dirt. Momentum carried me through and we got to some dry gound...and saw that the right side, lower cladding had popped off the door! But check this out...all I had to do was just push and pop it back into place!! Yup, no real damage, and it snapped back in perfectly. Thank you Subaru! On the return, the same damn thing happened. Tried the left line, and again the tail slid into the rut, but I'd gotten further through and no major hit this time. But here I really had to gun the engine and those wheels were spitting some mud. It was awesome! It's about the limit of where I personally would drive an Outback wagon without more clearance or a low range. Nice slick mud, ruts, and a tight road!
These Outbacks can handle it! Just don't think you can go ANYWHERE with that AWD. But yeah, take your Outback out and hit some forest or desert roads...it's so damn fun and hey, that cladding just pops back on. Total off-pavement time: 4 hours!
Take your Subaru off road! Mine's the green 2000 with Stromung dual 3" chrome tipped exhaust. See you in the dirt!
Dave Zartman
PS for shots of my desert trip, go to
http://www.wave.net/diveguy/Dave
..Mike
..Mike
"After" picture, with left front spare tire"
Drew
It's fun.
Took some chances did you!
Yes you did!
Bet your heart was pounding as much as your
subaru. Yep! I've taken some chances too in
my Subaru driven days. Always made it back!
Thanks again for sharing.
Later
I also got the Premium sound package. I really don't think you'd want too much more sound system in a car that size. the subwoofer can really bounce the whole car. In fact, my husband thinks the sound system is too much, since you "can't get away from it". It hits you from all angles.
I would absoulutely get both options again. to me, they are what makes the car fun to drive.
I got the car in silver, and have gotten many, many comments on it, and questions about it from friends as well as strangers.
I got it in silver, no woodgrain. Great car, overall. It did come with a faulty O2 sensor, and even though replaced, I still smell the "rotten egg" smell sometimes (outside the car). Also, a metal box fell out from under the dash and was dangling by wires, one of which seemed to be disconnected. when my husband connected the wire, the check engine light came on, so he disconnected it again (and the light went off). I don't know....I don't trust the local Subaru service center and I think they are mad since I didn't purchase the car from them (I tried but bad, bad deal). I sometimes wonder (paranoid thinking) if they are sabotaging my vehicle when I take it for service there. Other than that, no problems and great car.
I remember that some people are looking for these watches.
On the body lean issue, I admit the Forester has more body lean than, say, my old Mazda 626, but it seems to lean rather less than most any other SUV or pickup I've driven, and even less than a few sedans!
Although the Forester is not as handsome as say....a BMW X5, I still think it is rugged and handsome looking. The real beauty of the Forester is in it's "form follows function" engineering. I feel safe in it...secure. I feel like I can go anywhere I need to when I want to pursue my outdoor interests. Yet, I also enjoy highway trips in the Forester. It is a fun,rugged, utilitarian yet very practical vehicle. (Geeeez....this is turning into another "Why I love my Forester" comments).
About the old grill vs. new grill. I like both. However, I must admit I like the way they tightened up the look of the front end on the 2001 models.
Talk to you later,
Skip
Pat: thanks for the Casio tip. Wife has been notified, Father's Day is around the corner!
Dave: you're a wild man! Looks like fun. Scouting was a good idea, but if you have a passenger with you, you may even want to use them as a spotter for tire placement on tough trails. I'm sure knobbier tires would help, too.
Australianrain: cool handle, BTW. We just had a gathering over the weekend, and Lucien had two mountain bikes on the roof of his Outback. If he's around perhaps he can elaborate on how well it works, but it's the Subaru OE system he purchased from QSubaru (don't forget the adaptors).
April: sounds like the windows may be off the track. You probably would have to take the door panel off; I'd let the dealer do that.
Ray: I did remove some of the air bag stickers, but the one on the visor of my '98 L are not stuck on, they look integrated.
AT: A wind deflector does wonders for a moonroof, or so I here. I'm adding one soon. The premium package comes with it. You can also open the rear windows to reduce buffeting.
I took the "AWD" stickers off the rear windows, so I know what you mean by "de-badging".
As far as lean goes, I don't think the Forester is bad. I have the tall, 70 series tires and this weekend a 2.5RS was following me and commented on how little I was leaning on turns. Not a bad comment coming from an RS!
-juice
No problem at all on the GT alignment, So far it tracks wonderfully.
Has anyone out there tried the "Static Cling" window tinting? It is supposed to be removable/reusable and goes up like colorforms. I picked up a roll at target this weekend for $10 and figure I'll give it a try to protect my Daughter. Since her saftey seat doesn't sit well in the center of the back seat we have to put her on one side or the other and she can catch a heavy dose of sun through the side window.
-mike
Speaking of A/C, mine cranks cold enough that my wife later drove her car and decided she needed it recharged. It was 97 degrees yesterday, so she needed it!
-juice
stock kayak carrier?<<
I don't know this for a fact, but I think all of the Subaru carriers are made by Yakima, in which case they should be well made. I have a Yakima catalog, and their bike racks, cargo racks, ski, kayak rack, etc, look exactly like the ones in my Subaru catalog. Anyone know if this is the case? If it is, you'll save a few dollars buying any of that stuff from a place like REI.com rather than from Subaru.
Dave
During our trip, I naturally kept an eye out for Subies. To my suprise, I saw quite a few Foresters while I was out there. When I was driving out of Rome to the A1 Autostrada, I passed by a Subaru dealership just to catch a glimpse of a trailer coming in with a fresh load Foresters, Imprezas and Legacys -- all in silver.
Other vehicles that caught my eye were the Mercedez A-class minicar (looks like a shrunken down ML320) and the Swatch-Benz Smart car.
Ken
Your comment that need to flatbed or lift all 4 wheels in order to tow it is not correct. The car can be towed with all wheels on the ground. Their warning to limit speeds to less than 20 mph (30kph) applies only to the automatics - all manual Subarus back to 1990 can be towed at any legal speed. Thats why the Forester is becoming popular as RV dingys. Unfortunately, Subaru has not clarified this in their owner's manual.
Ray
Ken: welcome back, I thought it was quiet on the Forester front! Did you notice an Avant time? Ford Ka? Alfa Spyder? Citroen whatever?
Two new pages on my site, one car-care related and the other for the Rocks event this past weekend. Anyone interested can follow this link, then look for the bottom two links, which are new:
http://www.thejuiceman.homepage.com/directory.html
-juice
..Mike
Who knows, the new H6 looks good, perhaps it or the upcoming turbo Impreza have the power to attract the opposite sex, so a spouse could become Original Equipment!
-juice
Yes, I did notice the Ford Ka. It's a funny looking little thing. Kind of resembles a tiny VW bug that's been 'squashed'.
Nice updates to your website. Looks like the pressure washer is coming in handy. BTW, where did you get the door edge gaurds?
the tow truck operators know that they need to
flatbed or lift all 4 wheels in order to tow it.<<
If that were the case, then Subaru would have put them on all their models, but that isn't true. Some models only have the chrome AWD badge on the back, and also inside by the shifter. Any tow truck operator who doesn't know that Subaru's are likely to be all wheel drive, should be sued for any damages. I'd think that kind of knowledge would be basic to that type of job.
Dave
The Ka is huge in Brazil, where small cars rule, as do engines under 1000cc (less taxes on those, gas is $3 per gallon).
The door edge guards are from Kmart or Walmart, I can't remember exactly. I've looked and did not see a brand name on them.
I needed them because I park next to a brick wall in my car port, and there is less clearance where the door opens because the wall sticks out for the chimney.
I agree with Dave. A person in the car business that still doesn't realize Subarus have AWD should be sent to the mad house!
-juice
PS I can't believe noone's commented on the trunk monkey. It cracked me up!
I do have the "OE" rack, which says "Subaru" on one spot and "Yakima" everywhere else. I am happy with it so far. Stock aero bars can only cope with 100 lbs. max load, so if you are going to do more you'll need the Yakima cross bars and mounting stuff. If you get the "subaru" rack, you will also need Yakima MightyMount (four per box) to but the dang thing on your luggage rack. #24H for '99 OB, I think #25H for Forester.
I checked with the manufacturer and found out that Kirsten is a skunkworks "one off," and thus can't really be described as an "aftermarket" option. :-))
I read some posts about having to have AWD markings somewhere on the car or else the tow operator wasn't responsible. I always figure better safe than sorry. (My liscense plate says "AWD 4ME" so I figure that should cover it)
-mike
Gina
I've been keeping track since April, and though we've taken several 2-3 hours trips, the Forester has averaged 26.44 mpg in the last 11 tankfuls!
Darn, just 0.06 better and I could round it up to 27!
I'm creating a chart and tracking it more carefully. Why? Well, a weighted average would actually be better, since the tanks with high mpg actually tend to go more miles, so the true average would actually improve a tad.
Once I get it together, I'll probably put up a separate page on my site.
-juice
"a weighted average would actually be better, since the tanks with high mpg actually tend to go more miles, so the true average would actually improve a tad."
I thought you were Brazilian. This sounds like a product of American new math schooling:)
BTW, one other poster talks about hitting 4 or 500 miles or whatever on a single tank. I've heard that running with less than 1/4 tank is not good on the engine. Why? Any truth to that? My dad used to run on fumes seemingly forever...
Doing it on a spreadsheet makes what I do a simple task (and having the spreadsheet on a PalmPilot makes it possible to update my data at the pump). So far my numbers are:
Cumulative: 23.1
Worst: 21.1
Best: 26.6
In general the cume is rising, along with the best MPG number, as the car breaks in. The best number was obtained, naturally enough, during "highway mileage", but that seems to be so obvious as to not need mentioning. I don't recall but the worst number may have been the first tank I kept numbers for, or else it was one of the tanks during which I spent most of the time tearing around back roads with either the brake pedal or the gas pedal pressed into the floorboard at all times .
Cheers,
WDB
tincup
Thot about aluminum foil....
Thx guys. bellmarsh@acadia.net
It was brought up in one of the Subaru topics, but a long time ago.
-juice
Juice, the Rodeo does suck gas down
-mike
In cold climes you're also more likely to have your fuel freeze up if your running low on gas.
-mike
Cumulative: 24.2
Best: 25.5
Worst: 21.9
Like francophile, my cumulative has been trending upwards.
Unfortuantely, I haven't been as diligent as some of you in keeping track of milage throughout my Forester ownership. I'm currently at about 40K miles on the odometer.
paisan: a Rodeo isn't boxy enough? You crack me up!
Back to mileage, though, I was able to chart it on my web site:
http://www.thejuiceman.homepage.com/mpg.html
XTerra hit 12 mpg on one tank, yikes! My worst is 24.7, and that's with the carrier on the roof and a full load.
-juice
Ken: I've done several trips in that period (New York, beach several times), which is part of the reason it's so high.
24.2 mpg is also very good, though you must drive fast on the highways (80 mph?) if you haven't broken 25.5!
-juice
You're quite observant! My daily commute here in the Bay Area is on the 280 freeway. The 280 is also known as "to 80". Even in rush hour, I average 75-80MPH in the left lane. Believe me, it's worth the extra mpg.
Ken
How is that, since I have the same engine and a lighter car?
-Colin