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Drew
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Vans, SUVs, and Aftermarket & Accessories message boards
On the plus side, my lack of interest in a larger Forester would be one more reason for me to go with a WRX wagon for my next vehicle ;-)
-Frank P.
Obviously there are things we have down here in Oz which you don't get in the States, like the Turbo Forester. Here is a bit from the Subaru Australia web site http://www.subaru.com.au/frame.asp
to give you a flavour.
" While Forester and Forester Limited have a powerful 2-litre horizontally opposed Boxer engine they are surprisingly economical. Tests have shown they are capable of 7.5L/100km on the highway cycle. The rally-bred 2-litre turbo engine that powers the Forester GT does not compromise fuel economy either. It delivers 125kW of power at 5600rpm and goes from 0-100km/hr in just 8.4 seconds, yet achieves 7.4L/100kms on the highway cycle. "
I can assure you that the acceleration figures are a little conservative as the GT Turbos are used by the Police and Emergency services in various roles including country road pursuits.
Mind you, we are not seeing the B4 Liberty (Legacy to you) just yet but many would like to see it here.
Cheers
Graham
There are many folks on this forum who like the size of the current Forester. I think there are many more out there who wish it was a bit bigger.
Bob
This reminds SO much of my Peugeot experience. I had a 505 in the early 80's with a 2 liter motor and an automatic transmission (they ALL had automatics then). I liked the car a lot and often said that if they made one with more power and a 5-speed manual it would be perfect. Then came the 505 Turbo, with more power and some other nice goodies to go with it, and I bought one, and I loved it.
Now I have a Legacy GT, and I like this car a lot too. If they made one available with more power and a bit more suspension oomph (one more gear in the box is a nice touch too), I would like it even more. Lo and behold, maybe they just will!
Cheers,
-wdb
The LL Beaner performed flawlessly, climbing the Kentucky hills with no effort at all. Average road speeds were between 70 and 85 and except for a long traffic delay in Nashville and a few light showers, we couldn't have asked for more. On the road I averaged between 26 and 27.1 MPG and this was with the air conditioner "on" and a bicycle rack on the roof. This is as good as I used to do with my old '96 Outback. At the upper speeds, the benefits of the H6 were very much apparent when passing or merging. Believe me, there is a great difference compared to the H4. It was interesting to track the prices of gas along the way (six fuel stops) which ranged from $1.59 in Georgia to $1.89 in Florida. This is for the 93 octane.
The wagon was exceptionally comfortable to drive. I found no "driver fatigue" from the seats, loved the self dimming rear view mirror and was generally pleased with the quality of the CD player. At speeds, I was once more impressed with the quietness of the wagon. What a major improvement over the older models. And, as many of you reported, I felt somewhat "unique" for we saw very few Subarus on the trip.
Marianne's car was auto-trailered down. When we went to pick up her Impreza, the person in charge of the depot looked at the LL Bean and said it was perhaps the most underrated of all cars he knew and one of the best values on the market today. You can bet I smiled and when Mariann got into her Impreza, the man grinned and waived!
Our developement has about 1,500 families and about 700 live here all year 'round. So far, I've noticed two other Subarus--a red SVX and a red Outback Sport. If that's the case, we've doubled the Subaru population at Hunters Run!
One negative note. Two days ago the cursed CEL message lit up. I contacted Delray Subaru, drove in and waited while the tech did his check. In short, the wagon goes back Tuesday to determine which of the two sensors is out of whack! The tech, by the way, was highly recommended by the service rep from the Midwest region who said he trained the Deray man. Experiences so far have been favorable. Hopefully, I've found people who care!
Sorry for suc a long posting. Kind of makes up for the two weeks off!
Don
Don- Welcome to Florida. Hot enough for you yet?
Bob
But my prime reservation is price. I'd hate to see the Forester MSRP jump up above, say, $25,000. If the Grand Forester grows considerably in exterior size or cost, then the best solution would be retaining the current Forester L as a comparatively low-cost, entry-level and somewhat sportier alternative while adding the "Grand Forester" as a larger, upscale choice. You already have the comparable Impreza/Legacy split in the sedans and the Outback Sport/Outback choice in wagons (though the OBS is really more of a 4-door hatchback than a full-fledged wagon).
- hutch
when you get a chance, send me an email....serge.small@wcom.com
Bob
Actually, we're seeing more and more Outbacks lately - wintergreen and winestone mostly. Saw a blue Outback - it looked like it was black from a distance.
The Red Cross put on a child seat clinic today (at a Pontiac dealer - ewww Azteks). They said that Saturn's (our 2nd car) and Honda's are the toughest rear seats for a lot of infant carriers. You gotta do a lot of twisting and grunting and pulling to get them tight. Our Outback rear seat did better - they were able to secure the carrier in the middle seat position with the aide of a metal clip on the belt.
Now all we need is a child to put in the seat! We're due 5/18; could be earlier or could be later.
-Brian
Anyway, I was hoping to see an LL Bean Outback on display in the store, like the Tysons store has. They didn't have one!
However, in the main mall corridor, they did have a green Subaru LL Bean on display, and it was advertising the new LL Bean store. Also on display, about 50 yards away, was a $50K Jaguar 4.0 S-Type. It made the almost $30K Bean look like a bargain.
Bob
I'd love a 247hp Legacy for the wife. Though I'd rather see a bit more displacement and a small turbo with zero lag.
The H6 is fine. Seriously - they gear nt way low so they get 20/27 mpg, which BTW is better than an auto WRX that weighs much, much less. So I say keep the H6 for the utility models, and let turbos lead the performance surge.
Face it - the 4 speed auto is the Weakest Link. It has to go - GOODBYE! Offer a 5 speed quickly, whether it's a manual or a Tiptronic style that behaves quickly, like the new Benz C32 AMG's.
Subaru should have given the press LL Beans to drive, and pointed out that the street price was about $27k, not the $32k retail for the VDC, which made some writers almost pass out. It hurts that Ford now offers stability control on the Focus now, and for just $1200 or so.
What scares me is that if the Forester gets bigger, that it will become the SUW they promised for 2005. I say keep them as 2 separate models - a small, nimble Forester, and a high-utility Grand Forester down the road.
-juice
PS Yes, we'll allow a few Franks in the official demographics for Subaru owners, but Daves still rule the roost ;-)
Ross
A 5th gear is a must for the auto.
-Brian
http://www.gmpowertrain.com/transmissions/index.htm
-mike
-Brian
-mike
"sorry, total brain fart on my part. the drums are for emergency brake."
I LIKE THAT EXPRESSION...BRAIN FART!
http://www.autonews.com/html/main/stories/power15.htm
what were they smoking (or those who submitted the survey numbers)? Subaru has much more problems than Ford and Chrysler? gimme a break. Note that they wonder why Dodge Dakota fell from 1st place to last in just one year, but still don't question their survey technique.
Every time I rent a car on a business trip (usually entry-level from Big Three, from one of the major rental companies), it usually already has problems. Enough said.
For example, the Chrysler LHS has won its class before, but look at long-term surveys and they simply have not held up.
What probably hurt Subaru was the check engine lights we've heard about, and keep in mind that a wheel falling off an Escape counts as 1 defect, despite it being slightly (!) more important than a CEL.
Also, note that in JD Power's very own APPEAL study, Forester won its class. So despite everything, we simply like our Foresters more than anything else in the class. I can live with that!
-juice
Not with my Subaru though. It's been purrrfect.
-Colin
Dave's and Frank's - well seems to be a minority of women here - Thanks to Kate, I'm not so lonely!
Patti
-Frank P.
Believe it or not, we just added two more Daves to the list of Forester owners over the in the Forester topic!
If Subies ever get a GPS Navigation, they ought to just call the driver "Dave", as in, "Turn left here, Dave". I mean, they'd be right 60% of the time! And the rest of us would get a chuckle out of it.
-juice
"Open the pod bay door, HAL."
Hehe. A 'puter that called me "Dave" would be truly freaky and incredibly timely.
Cheers,
-wdb (guess what the "d" stands for)
"The door is ajar", it would say. I'd respond, "No, it's a door".
-juice
-Colin
Ed
Well, sort of.
I've concluded that female Subaru owners must have a "K" in their name. As in Karin, Kate, BecKy, etc.
I think the dealerships actually only approve the loans for females with a K and Daves. With advance written permission, a few Mikes and Franks slip in. ;-)
-juice
Bob
-mike
Somewhere around here I still have the .wav files for a HAL startup message, error message, shutdown message and maybe others too. My favorite was the shutdown message; you could hear Dave's breathing inside his spacesuit helmet, just like in the movie, as HAL says, "my mind is going - I can feel it."
Carol got tired of hearing them so I cut them all, but I liked them.
Cheers,
-wdb
Except that the Cobra did not make its stated horsepower, and they had to stop a whole year of production to sort it out. So maybe not.
The scary thing is that this is contagious. It infected Mazda, whose Miata had a stated 155hp (actually just 142hp). At least their marketing handled it far better than Ford, with a buy back or credit for parts and service.
I prefer Subaru of Japan, which has to understate hp figures!
-juice
It's scary to think about your car being built like that
I haven't been overly impressed with SVT products, they are a notch above the average stuff, but why can't they just build all their cars well?
-mike
Ford's a big company, so its products will be hit or miss. In their defense, I believe they have the best owner loyalty in the business, though that's due in part to their sheer size.
-juice
Yep, we did re-build the suspension non-robotically, but It's in my personal best interest to do it right
-mike
see
http://www.salon.com/tech/wire/2001/05/11/rolls_royce/index.html
aren't you glad you have a Subaru?
Wow, I guess the Brits didn't only invent intermittent wipers, but also spontaneous combustion!
Funny thing is, in the JD Power survey this still only counts as one single defect! So they could still get a very high ranking!
-juice
Cheers,
Stephen
-mike
-mike
-juice