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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#54 of 71 Re: Good article but odd pricing comparison [kurtamaxxxguy] by dcwestby Jun 27, 2008 (6:18 am)
Replying to: kurtamaxxxguy (May 15, 2008 11:35 am) I find it also weird that any comparisons so far have refrained from mentioning the Nissan Rogue, even tho the Rogue is only a first year car... Replies to this message: kurtamaxxxguy (Jun 27, 2008 7:17 am) ateixeira (Jun 30, 2008 7:25 am)
#55 of 71 Re: Good article but odd pricing comparison [dcwestby] by kurtamaxxxguy Jun 27, 2008 (7:17 am)
Replying to: dcwestby (Jun 27, 2008 6:18 am) Motor Trend addressed that in its recent 5-way compario and I remember the Rogue coming in second, mainly because of the way it handled (ride was pretty harsh, though).
#56 of 71 Re: Good article but odd pricing comparison [dcwestby] by ateixeira Jun 30, 2008 (7:25 am)
Replying to: dcwestby (Jun 27, 2008 6:18 am) I think perhaps it's because the Rogue is a tad smaller and really pushes the styling envelope, so it's form over function. Forester is much more conservative, and function over form. One's an egg, the other is a box. We're practical so we prefer the box.
#57 of 71 2009 Forester Air Conditioner inadequacies by phdewi Jul 08, 2008 (3:31 pm)
Hey Has anyone with a new 2009 forester had trouble keeping comfortable in 80 to 90 deg days? My AC is not up to the task of keeping the car cool. On a sunny day, there is so much glass that the AC will not overcome the heat load. The dealer tested my AC and says that it meets factory specs. However I am still not able to keep the inside temperature below about 80deg, even with the recirculating air setting. Replies to this message: kurtamaxxxguy (Jul 08, 2008 3:47 pm) buckhuntr (Jul 16, 2008 6:47 pm) red927 (Jul 18, 2008 7:57 am)
#58 of 71 Re: 2009 Forester Air Conditioner inadequacies [phdewi] by kurtamaxxxguy Jul 08, 2008 (3:47 pm)
Replying to: phdewi (Jul 08, 2008 3:31 pm) If you have a moon roof, the interior cover will get hot in sunlight (the moon roof is not well tinted) and put more load on the A/C. You could either have the moon roof glass tinted, or (assuming you do not open the roof very often) put a windshield reflector in the space between the glass and the interior sliding cover. Otherwise, my XT's A/C seems to do fine with our heat waves up here in Portland, OR. Then again, my XT's white (chosen to minimize summer heating).
#59 of 71 Re: 2009 Forester Air Conditioner inadequacies [phdewi] by buckhuntr Jul 16, 2008 (6:47 pm)
Replying to: phdewi (Jul 08, 2008 3:31 pm) My Forester's ac seems to handle the heat ok here in Tulsa. The onboard thermometer read 100F at 5:00 today, and the air cooled it down as fast as most any other car ac I've had.
#60 of 71 Re: 2009 Forester Air Conditioner inadequacies [phdewi] by red927 Jul 18, 2008 (7:57 am)
Replying to: phdewi (Jul 08, 2008 3:31 pm) It's been quite warm in NJ the past few days, but I have had no problem with the A/C. I leave it parked all day at the train station. The only thing I do is put a sunshade in the front windshield. If your car does not have the privacy glass, that also may cause the A/C to work harder.
#61 of 71 Moon roof tinting by kurtamaxxxguy Sep 03, 2008 (6:44 am)
Wrt the AC loads, I did get my moon roof tinted with 25% light reduction film. Made a big difference in summer heat load (sun roof interior cover doesn't get as hot) and did not obscure visibility out the moon roof all that much.). Cost was around $30. Replies to this message: ateixeira (Sep 03, 2008 8:11 am)
#62 of 71 Re: Moon roof tinting [kurtamaxxxguy] by ateixeira Sep 03, 2008 (8:11 am)
Replying to: kurtamaxxxguy (Sep 03, 2008 6:44 am) Sounds cool. We just close the shade. I know we lose the roof itself, but it's not often that it gets that warm that we feel the need to do that. Plus, that's usually only when it's parked in the sun for a while. Our car port provides shade.
#63 of 71 2009 Forester A/C by rich505 Sep 03, 2008 (10:20 am)
I took delivery of a 2009 Forester 2.5X, Automatic, last week. I thought the outlet air with the A/C on was varying by the feel. Today I measured the temperature using a digital thermometer with a thermocouple. The outlet temperature does vary. If you sit at idle with the Recirculate Off the air temp can go up to 55-58 deg or more. As soon as you start up it drops down to 40 or so. If you go into Neutral at idle the air is about 50 deg. In Recirculate On mode I saw that the temperature will sometimes rise up to 45-48 and then drop back down again. The outlet temp goes as low as 36 deg in recirculate mode. I suspect the the compressor is cycling on and off and is giving temperature swings. Also the cooling system doesn't put out as much cooling at idle as with some RPMs on the engine. The manual does state that they do shut off the compressor under hard acceleration as when climbing a hill, a number of vehicles do this. The manual states that the Auto Climate Control can maintain an inside temperature of only 65 to 85 deg. That was one of the reasons I didn't want it. I had the sun roof glass tinted today with 35% visible light transmission film. I think that there is less heat coming throught the roof panel now. The manufacturers display in the shop said that all the films block greater than 95% of the heat and UV rays and allow varying amounts of visible light through depending on the darkness of the tint. Replies to this message: ateixeira (Sep 03, 2008 10:24 am)