Article Comments - 2009 Subaru Forester XT First Drive and Full Test

71 messages, Last post on Aug 26, 2009 at 11:14 AM

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What is this discussion about? Subaru Forester, Wagon, SUV

First Drive: 2009 Subaru Forester XT - First Impressions: The style factor is up, but so is the practicality.(more)

Full Test: 2009 Subaru Forester 2.5XT Limited - Bottom Line: Bigger and better, the quirky little Forester has become a grown-up SUV. (more)

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#4 of 71 Granola by ateixeira Mar 28, 2008 (11:53 am)
Subaru demonstrated the Forester's cargo capabilities (not to mention its keen appreciation of its target audience) by showing us a 2009 Forester with 4,590 granola bars stowed in the rear cargo area Hilarious! I spit the granola I was chewing out of my mouth when I read that. 175 lbs on the roof, cool. Need to buy cross bars, though. At least you can use Subaru Bucks. I was happy to read this, too: When we hit the pavement, we found the Forester base model with its five-speed manual transmission to be even more to our liking. It has an eager-to-please liveliness in terms of engine response and handling that seem more in character with a compact, go-anywhere utility vehicle
#5 of 71 First ever CUV? by unkownuser Mar 28, 2008 (12:11 pm)
The 83 Toyota Tercel wagon was an upright boxy wagon- to the point of being funny looking for its time- with AWD (ok, 4WD, since it not only could be shifted into 4wd or 2wd, but also had an ultra-low gear and inclinometer). The original Forester was based on the, what we used to call, sub-compact Impreza as an upright boxy wagon with AWD. We can probably Replies to this message: ateixeira (Mar 28, 2008 12:51 pm)
#6 of 71 Re: First ever CUV? [unkownuser] by ateixeira Mar 28, 2008 (12:51 pm)
Replying to: unkownuser (Mar 28, 2008 12:11 pm) That was a spiritual predecessor for the RAV4, sure, but AMC had the car-based Eagle in the late 70s, and Subaru put 4WD on their GL wagon way back in 1972. So I wouldn't say Toyota came first.
#7 of 71 Not twin scroll turbo by aaykay Mar 28, 2008 (9:08 pm)
Neither the Forester nor the Impreza WRX has a twin-scroll turbo-charger. Only the Japanese 2.0L Turbo versions come with twin-scroll turbos.
#8 of 71 Others by unkownuser Mar 29, 2008 (4:34 am)
Besides the upright boxy awd wagon Eagle and Tercel having justifiable precedent for being called crossovers or CUVs, there is also the Dodge Colt upright boxy AWD wagon of the late 80s/early 90s. This was a Mitsubishi what-we-then-called 'captive import.' We will ignore any of the jeepy vehicles of the late 40s as well. Probably the Forester gets the nod because it was still a current model when the industry started to market the new term 'crossover' at a time when nobody wanted mini vans or utility vehicles anymore, and Sub adherents could say, hey, that new marketing segments includes us as well. But the first?
#9 of 71 No Manual with Turbo = no Subie for me by vwtodd Mar 29, 2008 (7:03 pm)
Why in the world, with the outdoor demographic, did Subaru drop the manual with the turbo? This car was at the top of my list - and is now no longer on it at all. Sigh...... Replies to this message: kurtamaxxxguy (Mar 29, 2008 7:09 pm) h2k2f2 (Mar 30, 2008 5:56 am) p0926 (Mar 30, 2008 10:48 am)
#10 of 71 Re: No Manual with Turbo = no Subie for me [vwtodd] by kurtamaxxxguy Mar 29, 2008 (7:09 pm)
Replying to: vwtodd (Mar 29, 2008 7:03 pm) Subaru apparently didn't sell enough of them to justify continuing that configuration.
#11 of 71 Re: No Manual with Turbo = no Subie for me [vwtodd] by h2k2f2 Mar 30, 2008 (5:56 am)
Replying to: vwtodd (Mar 29, 2008 7:03 pm) More of you folks should have spoke up with your wallets when they were available. Replies to this message: p0926 (Mar 30, 2008 10:48 am)
#12 of 71 Another misleading statement by aaykay Mar 30, 2008 (9:56 am)
and as much as 100 percent of power can be directed to the wheels with the most grip. What the above means is that UPTO a 100% of the power can be sent to the front wheels and a maximum of 50% of the power can be sent to the rear wheels (under extreme conditions, for short durations). In such front-wheel-biased vehicles (Forester Turbo and 08 WRX Auto), you can actually pull a simple fuse and make it a 100% front-wheel-drive vehicle. Completely unlike the prior generation WRX Auto (which had a planetary gear center differential and clutch packs, which the Forester Turbo and 08 WRX 4EAT lacks) and the Legacy GT Auto and the Outback 3.0L/2.5T Auto, which drive with a rear wheel bias in the torque split. Replies to this message: kurtamaxxxguy (Mar 30, 2008 11:32 am) ateixeira (Mar 31, 2008 8:47 am)
#13 of 71 Re: No Manual with Turbo = no Subie for me [h2k2f2] by p0926 Mar 30, 2008 (10:48 am)
Replying to: h2k2f2 (Mar 30, 2008 5:56 am) More of you folks should have spoke up with your wallets when they were available Hey I did my part