Subaru Forester

[kaisen]

When I think of Subaru.......

[vash]

this day still cracks me up. my wife wouldnt let me pass her. we went camping, and i had to leave early.

[RWebb]

I'll admit to something of a hair trigger on anti-gay remarks. My cousin is gay - he drives an old Dodge Dart tho.

I'm also a firm believer in 2 things:

1. do whatever you want (just do it over there, away from me)
2. I'm a big believer in functionality, not cosmetics or what others have as socially constructed opinions on how a car looks. To me it is nearly all about how it works. I'll admit to a taste for clean lines however - the original 911, the original Boxster, the first version of the 996 even.

[RWebb]

drove the '09 Forester (on a familiar road, back to back with a Ford Escape; same 'course' as I drove the '07 on, tho there were no Bicyclers or women in Volvos to scare that time)

it might have felt better than the '07, hard to be sure

it was miles above the Ford Escape on bumpy roads and much quieter in terms of engine noise

on the fwy, it just does not have much passing pow-pow

salesboy also told me the '09 has 1.5" more gnd. clearance than the '07

they got rid of the timing belt (in favor of a chain), so that $$ maint. item is gone

unfortunately, they have few on the lot and are trying to tack on $3,000 to the retail price

[kaisen]

Did you mean Ford Escort? Or Ford Escape?

I assume you weren't able to drive the turbo version....

[RWebb]

Originally Posted by kaisen

Did you mean Ford Escort? Or Ford Escape?

I assume you weren't able to drive the turbo version....

Escape, sorry - fixed

no turbos avail. & they'll jack the price up anyway

[RWebb]

ok, since you guys killed my dream of an Allroad for $7,000.... (thanks, BTW)

I got a used 2010 Forester. It seemed the best one of these things overall. I'd rank the Honda CR-V 2nd, with the Toybota RAV-4 3rd...


Now, I need to know how to kill off all the warning chimes on the thing...

[azasadny]

My wife and I spent a few days in Traverse City, MI last April and it seemed like every other car on the road was a Subaru! I cannot believe how many there were, I can only assume it's because of the snow they get up there. Traverse City and Ann Arbor are really the twp places you'll see Subarus in MI...

[RWebb]

yup - they have very good traction - claimed to be better than any electronically controlled AWD

the ESC (Subaru calls it VDC) function is new to me on Subarus - with luck it is as good as the Teves system I had on a '99 ML450 - I hope to try out in a couple of days if the snow storm holds up...

[NutmegCarrera]

FWIW -
I'm on outback #3. Have driven Foresters, but they seem very rough riding by comparison (shorter wheelbase), not to mention "buzzy" in my opinion. The biggest draw for me is much more usable space (longer cargo area) in the Outback, which is really more of a true wagon.

Very durable, easy (and inexpensive) to maintain, and good for winters in WI. This one has had plenty of snow.

My preferred strategy is to buy new (at a "known" invoice price), and run well into the 100k+ milage. Good value in that approach.

Audi's seem nice, but seem to be a train wreck regarding upkeep and maintenance. I have not owned one, but the VW Golf (2000) that I owned started going batty (electrical stuff) at about 60k miles.


Good luck, in any case....

[RWebb]

the newer Foresters are pretty good - '09 & up have a multi-link R suspension (!)

the newer Outbacks are spendy and are trying to be luxury cars it seems -- if Volvo ever intro's an XC-40 that will pressure the Outbacks pretty good

see the need me a car thread for the story of the demise of my beater Outback

[Racerbvd]

Originally Posted by RWebb

the newer Foresters are pretty good - '09 & up have a multi-link R suspension (!)

the newer Outbacks are spendy and are trying to be luxury cars it seems -- if Volvo ever intro's an XC-40 that will pressure the Outbacks pretty good

see the need me a car thread for the story of the demise of my beater Outback

Should have bought one of these...



Post some pix...

[look 171]

Originally Posted by Racerbvd

Should have bought one of these...



Post some pix...

My buddy back in high school had one and I learned how to drive in that little thing. It had all of 27 horse power going downhill with a tail wind.

[RWebb]

Originally Posted by Racerbvd

...

Post some pix...

ok

here it is doing its duty as Dawgmobile:

[RWebb]

[RWebb]

a sampling of what the locals drive to the most common road head I use for backcountry skiing:




a lot of cars for a Friday - I guess many figured, like me, that they'd get out ahead of the 3 day weekend crowd.

Note the beater Volvo wagon & Cherokee - another F'er just like mine and the high ratio of Subes to other cars in snow country.

I've also seen G-wagons, flat bed "farm/ranch" trucks and Vanagons in this same parking area for XC.

[dd74]

A Subaru dealer once told me the hardest place to get a deal on a new Subaru is a city like Los Angeles, mostly because the weather is better and the roads here don't get effected as often by snow. If a person in L.A. really wanted a deal, buy a Subaru in New Mexico, Oregon or Seattle and drive it back.

I like Subaru. But no diesel offering for the U.S. as in Europe and Asia

[RWebb]

they seem very spendy around here - mine is 1 year old BTW

on the way to the mtns. I kept thinking about how nice it would be to have leather and a TURBO - esp. when a WRX whizzed right past me

this one does have the ability to pass a few sluggards as I was able to demonstrate on the way up

[dd74]

I was going to suggest you look at the little VW SUV with the turbo diesel engine, but you already bought the Forester.

[RWebb]

I had a quick look at the VW item. Maybe someday

Here is a fun pic: