New Subaru

[sfhogman]

I'll be leaving San Francisco for the Sierra foothills, probably within the year, so off went the little Corolla...best car I've ever owned.

Replaced it with a Forester: more room, power and full-time AWD. We shall see how this works out...

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That's the Subaru, by the way....

Jeff

 

[Jim Puke]

Looks nice and all I have heard about them is good.

 

[steveodtw]

I bought a new Subaru wagon back in the '70s, when no one even knew what they were. What a great car. Wouldn't hesitate owning another. Innovative company. I used to get a kick showing folks the transverse mounted 4-banger under the hood, with the spare tire mounted on top of it. Doubt if that's still the design, but clever.

 

[sfhogman]

The spare is under the rear deck, but yes, that's still the design, albeit DOHC. The intake manifold atop the engine looks like some kind of plastic octopus (quadrapus?).

 

[Kevin]

Not a bad picture for your cell phone really. Nice car too by the way.

 

[Sagebrush Burns]

I've owned Subaru Outbacks since 1997 - best car I've ever driven for winter highway conditions - reliable and reasonably cheap to run, too.

 

[Buckeye Bill]

They have a great reputation. Congrats!

 

[Rick Courtright]

Hi, Jeff

That looks like the identical twin to the Forester a buddy bought recently. He's probably put as many dirt road miles on it as highway over the last four months, and is very happy so far. 30+ mpg on the highway seems to be an overall normal, though he pulled 34 on the "tailwind half" of a trip to Sacramento with his wife and light luggage, trying to drive civilized. Unlike the "Will this thing climb a tree?" F-250 Super Duty he sold when he got the Subie, I THINK there are places he won't try to take it, but I wouldn't bet too much on that quite yet! Hope yours treats you the same way...

Rick C

 

[Rick Courtright]

I bought a new Subaru wagon back in the '70s, when no one even knew what they were. What a great car. Wouldn't hesitate owning another. Innovative company. I used to get a kick showing folks the transverse mounted 4-banger under the hood, with the spare tire mounted on top of it. Doubt if that's still the design, but clever.

Hi,

Were they transverse back then? My '90 and '93 wagons are inline boxers. Far less complicated setup than the sidewinders so many mfrs just love. Dunno whose idea that engine compartment spare mount was (I think Subaru stole it), but they were still using it at least well into the '90s...

Rick C

 

[Pat-inCO]

Replaced it with a Forester: more room, power and full-time AWD.

I got one in Feb. and have been very pleased. Not great for L O N G trips, but really
good in nasty weather. On top of that I have an overall average of 30mpg, which
doesn't hurt the pocket book. 8)

P.S. Mine has a removable roof rack and taking that thing off made a HUGE difference
in wind noise (and I'll bet mileage).

P.P.S. Be sure to check the oil level at least every thousand miles. The first three
thousand on mine used a bit of oil. I found out that there are . . two . . oil indicator
lights in the dash. A red one that says SHUT OFF THE ENGINE, and a yellow one
that says "check oil level". Other than the color/location, there is very little difference
in them.

 

[wunbe]

My 2010 OutBack has more leg room than my Ford E150 van, nearly twice the mileage, plus adjustable, heated seats for my bad back. Guess which one gets used regularly -- exce[pt when hauling 4 grandkods, two dogs, and my wife's daily shopping.

wunbe

 

[graygun]

That's amazing fuel economy for the vehicle type. What engine does it have? It has a cvt doesn't it?

 

[Jimbo357mag]

The only thing I know about Subaru's is that back in the early eighties a girlfriend had one and it was a PITA. The aluminum head or block warped and it blew a head gasket and was never right after that. Funny how old memories can spoil a persons thinking. That Rosie O tried to kill me. I won't hold that against your nice car though. Happy motoring. :D

 

[sfhogman]

It sounds like your girlfriend overheated an aluminum engine. They warp when that happens, and you're quite right, they're never the same afterward, as in ruined. Not like our old cast iron Chevys and Fords.

Graybeard: yes, it does have a CVT which actually is supposed to get better mileage than the six-speed manual. The feel is different than a standard auto. The engine is an opposed 2.5 liter four, DOHC.

 

[graygun]

How did you know I had a beard? My 2014 Civic has a CVT...it "feels" different than a geared auto...sort of good/bad to me.

 

[Mike J]

I don't really know anything about Subarus but that is a nice looking ride. The idea of 30+ miles to the gallon doesn't hurt either.

 

[sfhogman]

Sorry Graygun. AM coffee deficiency....

Jeff

 

[Rick Courtright]

Hi,

Jeff, both my buddy with his 2014 Forester and some friends with a 2013 Impreza wagon tell me that CVT has a bit of a learning curve involved. Any thoughts on that yet?

Rick C

 

[Mobuck]

Did it come with an OBAMA FOREVER bumper sticker?

 

[Thumbcocker]

got ours in 2007 and we have driven the snot out of it. 204,000 and going strong. While not a dedicated off road vehicle it does have good ground clearance and we do drive it around the fields on the farm, Great in snow and bad weather. Lots of neat extras like weather radio, power ports, storage areas etc. I WLL be buying another one.

 

[sfhogman]

No learning curve whatever for the CVT as far as I can tell, though I've still got less than 300 miles on it. If you keep an eye on the tach you can see the pulleys moving quickly when you stomp it...it also slows on compression much like a regular automatic. It does hook up quickly. It's not like anything else though - not even the old man's Dynaflow which was also "gearless".

As far as the Obama sticker goes, maybe I should drink a few beers to better understand what's being got at...or not...

Jeff

 

[Tweety Bird]

Did it come with an OBAMA FOREVER bumper sticker?

At the very least, it needs a FREE TIBET sticker!

:D

 

[sfhogman]

My neighbor's car is covered with those things...I could probably steal one but that would be wrong.... :D
All we have so far is NRA and CRPA....

Jeff

 

[graygun]

Honda CVT-2 observations: Takes longer to engage going from N or P,slower from the hit,likes to stay at the same speed/load (seems slightly resistant to increases and decelerates slower when foot off gas pedal)but will "downshift" or step quickly enough with moderate to heavy throttle pressure so simulates a geared AT fairly well. On CC it's a little less annoying maintaining speed up/down than a geared AT,considering the 1.8L smallish engine. YM(and vehicle)MV

The Civic Si was much more fun to drive. I traded it in for this reg fuel,higher-mpg car.

I think you'll really like your Forester.

 

[Ale-8(1)]

There were some head gasket issues back about ten years or so. As far as I know those were resolved.

I'm still driving my 2001 Forester, and I love it. It might not go where a hi-rise F-250 4X4 could go, but I don't need that capability. The AWD is essentially "transparent" in operation. With the automatic tranny and limited slip rear differential, I just drive it and it handles sloppy footing with no drama.

I hear the new For'strs are much improved and have better interior room, but I can't see getting rid of "old faithful" just to find out.

:)

 

[WendyZXZ]

Nice looking new car, SUV!

 

[Pat-inCO]

I hear the new For'strs are much improved and have better interior room, but I can't see getting rid of "old faithful" just to find out.

Mine is a '14 and is quite roomy. The '15s are the same size, but get 2mpg
better on the highway. What I LOVE is the height. I had a Nissan Altima for
over a decade and just flat out got tired of climbing down into it, and then
having to climb back up to get out. The Forester is a simple slide in and slide
out. You can also see through most cars in front of you, unless it is a real
econo-box, in which case you just look over the top of them. :D

Trips over about six hours tend to beat you up a bit, but anything less is not
a problem.

One other nice thing about the 2.5L "boxer" engine is that they have replaced
the fiber timing belts with a chain. No more changing out timing belts every
75K miles. 8) . :D

 

[Rick Courtright]

One other nice thing about the 2.5L "boxer" engine is that they have replaced
the fiber timing belts with a chain. No more changing out timing belts every 75K miles.

Hi,

That's great news, Pat! All the Subie 2.5 engines are reported to be "interference" engines, meaning a broken belt pretty much means a destroyed engine as pistons and valves collide. Any engineer who uses a belt on such an engine--of ANY make--should be tied to a tree and horsewhipped IMO.

My Subies are "non-interference," which means broken belts just result in coasting to the side of the road, but at 108 deg F, even that's not pleasant. Upside? Such an event may offer the driver plenty of waiting time to dream up innovative tortures for an engineer or two! Don't ask how I know...

Timing chain, good!

Rick C

 

[graygun]

You learned about interference engines the hard way. I changed the belt in my 93 Civic at about 96k. I believe the 1.8,which is the current engine and came out in 2006,has a chain.

 

[Harvey]

I have a 1998 legacy wagon which I purchased new. It currently has 143,000 miles on it (don't drive much since I retired.) Simply put, it is an excellent car. Mininal problems over the years with most maintenance based on age of the vehicle rather than performance. I hope it lasts forever, but when I have to replace it, there is no question that I will buy 1. a Subaru, and 2. probably a Forester.