Just my two cents but if it's built on a car chassis and has sliding doors and/or pass thru access to the 2nd row it's a minivan. Everything else is a station wagon (including the Forester). Regardless of what manufacturers do to disguise their offerings, just about every "SUV" and "crossover" fits one of one of those two categories.
The GT streaks to 60 mph from a standing start in 5.9 seconds. But the engine has annoying turbo lag when the gas pedal is floored. Such lag momentarily delays response in passing and merging situations. That's particularly true when the GT engine is hooked to $1,200 5-speed automatic transmission instead of to the standard, improved 5-speed manual gearbox, which should be ordered with the $339 short-throw shifter for the most efficient shifting.
"The 2005 GT sedan and wagon are good enough to compete with higher-priced European sports sedans and wagons, which is something nobody was predicting a few years ago. "
my wife's Pilot is a VERY tall and VERY heavy wagon
Yep, that pretty much sums it up. Of course most drivers of "SUVs" will get offended if you point out that they're driving a tall wagon (blow to their image ya know) so often times discretion is the better part of valor :-)
So I'm channel surfing and I saw the new Subaru ad on ... Spike TV? Seems odd given that Martina was used in the past, no?
Pilot feels trucky to me, of course I'm used to cars. An Explorer owner might say it's very car-like. Maybe I'm just not used to that much mass, when I drove it.
Even the Highlander felt heavy. My wife found it too big!
It'll be interesting to drive the Subie 7 seater because I have yet to be "wowed" by something of such mass.
And no, Bob, you're not getting me in a Cayenne, no matter what. ;-)
Scares me. Make the GT less laggy with aftermarket parts, or make the Forester XT handle better with aftermarket parts. Wish the first few gears of the GT were like the FXT...
I thought the new Forester earned top ratings in both the front and side tests. Didn't they say it was the best small SUV ever tested? I guess it has slipped behind the RAV 4 now.
The RAV 4 doing so well and the Legacy doing poorly is not great news for Subaru because I always figured that safety was one of the factors they needed to have down pat in order to make their move to being more upscale. If they become average (or below average) in safety, Subaru loses some of its positive differentiation.
there's no way the RAV4 would get good insurance ratings with that rear-mounted spare. time and time again those prove to inflict extreme damage on the vehicle during a rear crash-- even low-speed ones.
but that is cost of a crash vs. safety of a crash though.
The Forester did have the best safety ratings in its class but I'm not sure how it compares to the RAV4.
You can be sure that Subaru will address the Legacy's side-impact rating in MY-06 (just as Toyota did: "Although it was not substantially redesigned, the 2004 Rav4 was retested because Toyota had made improvements to the vehicle's structure").
One of the nabisco-ites swears that in one of the new Legacy TV commercials, in the background, is a frame of a vehicle that is very "un-Subaru," as we currently know them. Could this be a *tease* of the new 7-passenger vehicle???
It happens very quick, so quick that I really couldn't tell. I'll have to see it several more times before I can determine anything. I will say it didn't look like the Legacy body frame. It's a wagon of some sort, and it could be nothing more than that of the Forester. But then again...
Does anyone know where a review is? There was one recently posted that mentioned an improved interior, but I can't find it.
There's a UK expat at work that's heading back to the UK soon and will be getting a car. He's read a few negative reviews about the interior quality. Before he came here, he had an S3.
Well, he lives on the Upper West Side and is getting a promotion when he goes back to the UK.
The staff over there get a car lease allowance and the amount depends on your position. The more he looks at prices though, the more he is thinking something about something sensible. :-) I'm trying to push him to the new Legacy Spec B (or whatever it's called).
depends on the gear you were in. redlining it in 3rd is bad, yeah. 100mph isn't that fast in 5th, though.
I got into the power a bit on my Evo during the test drive-- not rev limit in any gear and not 100 mph, I think, but definitely over 80 mph.
it's perfectly fine 2500 miles later. but yeah I too understand the notion of not beating on a car you don't own and more importantly, someone else will have pay good money for.
It's a problem any time you test-drive a new car. On one hand you don't want to abuse the vehicle, yet on the other hand, you want to get a sense for what the vehicle can do. The more the vehicle is billed as a "high-performance" car, the bigger this problem becomes.
So what do you do? Rely only on published magazine reports? They will certainly give you the "numbers" but won't give you the "feeling," and besides, their take may differ from yours, as much of this is very subjective.
Frankly, I don't think a little "what'll-she-do" kind of driving is out of line. Having said that, don't overdo it, or abuse the vehicle. That I don't advocate.
Living north of Boston, and dealing with an extremely congested Route 93 on a daily basis, I almost have to question the sanity of anyone test driving a car at 100 mph.
Guess who else is on that road? My wife and 9 year old son. Rob M.
My present WRX had 300 miles on it when I bought it since it had been on the lot for an entire year. WRX #1 had 8 miles on it when I took deliverfy of it. I know there has been a lot of talk of hard test driven WRXs and how you did not want one with test drive miles on it. At 16,000 miles on it the engine seems OK. The one difference I noticed with this car was good gas mileage much sooner. I got over EPA estimate by 3000 on my 2003 but with my 2002 it took 3000 to get to epa estimatess. By 10,000 I had gotten up to 30 on the new one. Another observation on the 2003. The clutch is perfect (cross my fingers). Early 2003s were supposed to still be cursed wht the shuddering clutch but I have been through an entire winter with it and nno problems.
Holy cow, I can't believe I actually beat everyone to the punch!
The Car Connection just released an article with spy shots of the new 7-passenger SUV. In fact, the dateline is dated tomorrow, 8/2/04, but I just got the e-mail a few minutes ago.
SURPRISE! They're calling it the Tribeca, not the Halifax.
It's hard to tell what it really looks like from the pix, but the article mentions that consumer feedback groups have been extremely positive with the design and versatility.
I think the first few dozen 03 WRX models had the old clutch design. Anything after that got the new clutch hardware which fixed the judder problem.
Unrelated to teh judder problem, the force limiting valve was added in 03 to prevent people from dropping or sidestepping the clutch and shredding gears.
"Tribeca," as a play on the word "tribe?" I'm wondering how Native Americans might feel, since that word is often associated with them—and that this vehicle was designed primarily as a North American product?
Judging by the tone of the article, I'm not convinced that will be the final name.
Comments
Haven't seen the Sub Brand ads.
Nicholas
-Frank
~c
http://autos.msn.com/research/vip/jedlicka.aspx?make=Subaru&m- - odel=Legacy&src=reviewers
The GT streaks to 60 mph from a standing start in 5.9 seconds. But the engine has annoying turbo lag when the gas pedal is floored. Such lag momentarily delays response in passing and merging situations. That's particularly true when the GT engine is hooked to $1,200 5-speed automatic transmission instead of to the standard, improved 5-speed manual gearbox, which should be ordered with the $339 short-throw shifter for the most efficient shifting.
I actually never know what to call it, so I always refer to it as "your Pilot", rather than "your truck" or "your SUV" or whatever.
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '98 Alfa 156 2.0TS; '08 Maser QP; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '11 Mini Cooper S
I'd still give the engine 10/10 in its peer group however... without hesitation!
~c
Yep, that pretty much sums it up. Of course most drivers of "SUVs" will get offended if you point out that they're driving a tall wagon (blow to their image ya know) so often times discretion is the better part of valor :-)
-Frank
I'd still give the engine 10/10 in its peer group however... without hesitation!
Ha!
~c
Pilot feels trucky to me, of course I'm used to cars. An Explorer owner might say it's very car-like. Maybe I'm just not used to that much mass, when I drove it.
Even the Highlander felt heavy. My wife found it too big!
It'll be interesting to drive the Subie 7 seater because I have yet to be "wowed" by something of such mass.
And no, Bob, you're not getting me in a Cayenne, no matter what. ;-)
-juice
-B
Here's a perfect example of a car in need of 6-spd.
-juice
The RAV 4 doing so well and the Legacy doing poorly is not great news for Subaru because I always figured that safety was one of the factors they needed to have down pat in order to make their move to being more upscale. If they become average (or below average) in safety, Subaru loses some of its positive differentiation.
but that is cost of a crash vs. safety of a crash though.
~c
You can be sure that Subaru will address the Legacy's side-impact rating in MY-06 (just as Toyota did: "Although it was not substantially redesigned, the 2004 Rav4 was retested because Toyota had made improvements to the vehicle's structure").
-Frank
Bob
-Brian
It happens very quick, so quick that I really couldn't tell. I'll have to see it several more times before I can determine anything. I will say it didn't look like the Legacy body frame. It's a wagon of some sort, and it could be nothing more than that of the Forester. But then again...
Bob
Ken
There's a UK expat at work that's heading back to the UK soon and will be getting a car. He's read a few negative reviews about the interior quality. Before he came here, he had an S3.
-Dennis
your co-worker must be fabulously well paid to afford an STi in the UK... what's he drive here, a 911?
~c
see subaru responded to crash test on media site
The staff over there get a car lease allowance and the amount depends on your position. The more he looks at prices though, the more he is thinking something about something sensible. :-) I'm trying to push him to the new Legacy Spec B (or whatever it's called).
-Dennis
This Car for 2k less than MSRP is really a good deal.
The dealer confirmed that Nav is coming next year. He says 7-seater is due this Sep/OCt in MAss , what's up with this ?
http://www.mondial-automobile.com/index2.htm?movie=home.swf&n- om= going to show?
Bob
Not quite sure how responsible that is, I know I wouldn't be happy if the car I bought was driven at speeds close to 100 during the break-in period...
-Brian
but i see your point.
I got into the power a bit on my Evo during the test drive-- not rev limit in any gear and not 100 mph, I think, but definitely over 80 mph.
it's perfectly fine 2500 miles later.
~c
So what do you do? Rely only on published magazine reports? They will certainly give you the "numbers" but won't give you the "feeling," and besides, their take may differ from yours, as much of this is very subjective.
Frankly, I don't think a little "what'll-she-do" kind of driving is out of line. Having said that, don't overdo it, or abuse the vehicle. That I don't advocate.
Bob
Living north of Boston, and dealing with an extremely congested Route 93 on a daily basis, I almost have to question the sanity of anyone test driving a car at 100 mph.
Guess who else is on that road? My wife and 9 year old son. Rob M.
TWRX
And the highway is a straight one.
~c
The Car Connection just released an article with spy shots of the new 7-passenger SUV. In fact, the dateline is dated tomorrow, 8/2/04, but I just got the e-mail a few minutes ago.
SURPRISE! They're calling it the Tribeca, not the Halifax.
Here's the link...
http://www.thecarconnection.com/index.asp?article=7368
It's hard to tell what it really looks like from the pix, but the article mentions that consumer feedback groups have been extremely positive with the design and versatility.
Elliot
Unrelated to teh judder problem, the force limiting valve was added in 03 to prevent people from dropping or sidestepping the clutch and shredding gears.
Craig
-Brian
Great catch! You must have woken up a bit earlier than the rest of us today.
Bob
Bob
• It appears to have a built-in Class III trailer hitch. If so, that's great.
• The center part of the grille appears to be shaped more like that of the R1e.B9SC, rather than the R2/B11S; also good (I think).
• It's sitting very low to the ground which makes me wonder if it has a height-adjustable suspension of some sort?
Bob
Bob
Judging by the tone of the article, I'm not convinced that will be the final name.
Bob