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Comments
And Yes, AWD is worth more than $1200. It's worth about $1750, market price.
You could even add payload and towing capacities.
Joseph: take if from me, with kids, cargo space is ten times more important that rear seat space with little kids. Kids fit easily in my Forester, but will my all this fit in your sedan's trunk?
* double stroller
* port-a-crib
* diaper bag
* back pack child carrier
* bath tub insert
* toys
* luggage
* bike helmets
* sleeping bags
Bottom line is you need more cargo space than you do passenger space, and here a wagon shape is essential.
Our compact Forester was more useful to us that our midsize Mazda 626. The back seat was bigger, and it was still useless. The stroller alone almost fills up the trunk. The seats folded, but so what? Kids are belted down, I need cargo space with the kids in there.
Honda has the Element, which IMO is not ideal for families because of the suicide doors. You have to remove the front seat belts to open the rear door.
That leaves the CR-V. Same 2.4l engine from the Accord, BTW, and part-time AWD. But mileage is slightly worse than the Forester, and it's more noisy. The tail gate opens the wrong way and blocks the curb. Bumper basher tests are poor. Crash tests do not quite match the Forester's results and to top it off, things like ABS and side air bags aren't standard.
Honda can fix this easiliy - offer an Accord wagon! Make it a V6 with a manual tranny, throw in SH-AWD for good measure. Of course that won't carry a $1200 price advantage. More likely it would cost about that much more than a similar Subaru.
-juice
CR-V is out due to limited front space.
I do have the bean with auto for cargo space (Wife's car) - but rationalizations such as cargo space help with all important WAF - WIFE ACCEPTABILITY FACTOR. I am sure there is an equivalent HAF and SO (Sig Other) AF for couples of disparate performance bents!
The turbo lags way more than the Forester XT's 2.5T, and the auto really saps that power. The manuals were decent. The base model understeers badly, but the T5 was better, more neutral.
I'll put up a full review later, in the Town Hall Test Drive Team thread.
-juice
As Homer Simpson would say: mmmmmm, boxer diesel.
Bob
-juice
Mike
Diesels still haven't caught on despite all their advantages.
You look at the market and it's a no-brainer: hybrids.
This is from the manufacturer's stand point. I'd consider both based stricly on merit.
-juice
~c
-juice
Cheers Pat.
Of note: new center console (we knew that), wider wheels (we knew that), wider rear bumper (we knew that), rear wheelwell molding (didn't know that), and a RADIO (suspected that).
Bob
-mike
-juice
PS paisan - no more 5x100?
-mike
the thread is nearly worthless IMO. no full exterior shots from any angle, lots of cheezy interior shots of stuff I don't care one whit about.
~c
Bob
I sure didn't, not even for a moment. it was clearly a "racey" move, like a Cobra R or Integra Type-R.
my prediction: same MSRP with more high margin options. leather perhaps?
~c
-mike
Ken
-Frank P
-mike
looks like a 17x8 wheel.
couldn't care less about the switchgear changes but it does look like the saabaru.
~c
-mike
Fair enough Colin, but there are those of us here who do care about the switchgear and other detail changes, as some of these changes most likely also apply to the entire '05 Impreza range.
Bob
That's much better, IMO.
FWIW, a lot of folks found the WRX interior sort of lacking, and bought S4s and Bimmer 3s instead. So there is a segment of buyers that has been wanting interior improvements.
Besides, Colin didn't buy the old one, so they're not giving up any customers.
-juice
A pure diesel could be offered in any of the packages, once the market grows after 2006, but a gas or diesel hybrid would probably require a unique package. Regarding Ford, Honda, Toyota, and VW; a base 2.5i OBW with auto would probably be the diesel package(07 MY intro ?) and something like the LL Bean OBW would be the gas-electric hybrid package (06 MY intro?). It would probably be the next generation or after before a diesel-electric hybrid could/would be offered.
Touché! :-)
-Frank P
-juice
While I am probably the prime critic of recent Subie interiors, I do find that a bit of a stretch. Are you sure you don't mean A4? For the price of an S4 I could buy a Rex wagon for daily duties, and still afford an STi for recreation. Even the A4 Avant, which I did consider was in another price bracket, and not even in the ballpark performance wise unless you shell out for the 3.0 which is still slower.3 series wagon is 10k (that's 50%) more expensive than the WRX, and performance wise, it's a slug in comparison.
If people really did make those choices, I'd suspect they were looking to get performance on the cheap, and didn't like what cheap got them. I wouldn't want Subaru to tweak the WRX to compete against entry level luxury. They'd be misunderstanding the core WRX buyer completely IMHO. BUT the new legacy GT limited vs 3 series/A4 - now there's a real head to head potential.
PS Remember, I'm a weirdo, so despite slagging other Subie interiors, I loved the stripped down look to the interior of the WRX.
Nicholas
I think you pretty much pegged it.
I've always been fine with the interior, I just need a bigger car.
-juice
-mike
My friend leased an ML320 and it was still $600 or so per month. Ouch. Our condo payment will be less than that!
-juice
Plus, I am generally anti-lease by nature.
Nicholas
-mike
It could well be just another Photoshop effort, in that it looks like the front of the R1e has been grafted onto a first-generation Honda Odyessy-like vehicle. It looks good (I like the R1e), but who knows...
Bob
Ed
Bob
Ed
Bob
He mentioned the wheels on the RS Pro appear to be the same as those found on the '04 Legacy GT, but slightly darker. I would assume the WRX gets the same deal.
Bob
Still no moonroof on wagon!
Don't care for the wheels that much.
Interior upgrades are positive.
More pixs on the way according to the site.
Bob
Bob
I like the double cup-holder, but I'd prefer to keep the dash one. Spy shots of the STi had a behind the console holder. I like that too so large cups don't interfere with shifting. Anyone know if WRX is same?
Nicholas
Bob