New 2009 Subaru Forester

[badtlc]

Originally Posted By: Norm Olt


I happen to like the new WRX and the absolute $leeper car around is an Impreza 4-door 5-speed: $16,051 + $218 lic. & title fee in last Sat.'s paper

All-wheel drive, 170hp, 170lbs/ft, 3,050 lbs. You only need the AWD if you happen to live somewhere where it rains or snows.


I'd agree except that the gas mileage is [censored]. That is enough to turn me away. It is sad the bigger legacy gets better MPG.

 

[Saturn_Fan]

Originally Posted By: badtlc
Originally Posted By: Norm Olt


I happen to like the new WRX and the absolute $leeper car around is an Impreza 4-door 5-speed: $16,051 + $218 lic. & title fee in last Sat.'s paper

All-wheel drive, 170hp, 170lbs/ft, 3,050 lbs. You only need the AWD if you happen to live somewhere where it rains or snows.

I'd agree except that the gas mileage is [censored]. That is enough to turn me away. It is sad the bigger legacy gets better MPG.


Checked fueleconomy.gov and the Impreza is listed as having 20city/25highway mpg. That is poor for that size of car IMHO. My Honda 3.5L rated at 250 horsepower gets me 21.5 city and 26-27 highway. Too bad AWD has so much of a parasitic effect on mileage, but that is the nature of the beast.

 

[rpn453]

Originally Posted By: Saturn_Fan
Checked fueleconomy.gov and the Impreza is listed as having 20city/25highway mpg. That is poor for that size of car IMHO. My Honda 3.5L rated at 250 horsepower gets me 21.5 city and 26-27 highway. Too bad AWD has so much of a parasitic effect on mileage, but that is the nature of the beast.


Using only automatic transmissions:

The regular 2008 AWD 170 hp Impreza hatchback is EPA rated at 20/27 (3120 lb), while the AWD 224 hp WRX hatchback does 20/25 (3207 lb). For 2006, the 250 hp Vue is rated at 17/23 in AWD form (3631 lb), and 18/25 in FWD (3478 lb). The 143 hp Vue only gets 19/25 in FWD (3111 lb).

I'd say the mileage of the Saturn is just as poor, but maybe that's just because I'm using the same source for all the mileage figures I presented.

 

[badtlc]

Originally Posted By: rpn453

Using only automatic transmissions:


The Subaru automatics have better EPA mileage ratings than their manual counterparts.

 

[Saturn_Fan]

Originally Posted By: rpn453
Originally Posted By: Saturn_Fan
Checked fueleconomy.gov and the Impreza is listed as having 20city/25highway mpg. That is poor for that size of car IMHO. My Honda 3.5L rated at 250 horsepower gets me 21.5 city and 26-27 highway. Too bad AWD has so much of a parasitic effect on mileage, but that is the nature of the beast.


Using only automatic transmissions:

The regular 2008 AWD 170 hp Impreza hatchback is EPA rated at 20/27 (3120 lb), while the AWD 224 hp WRX hatchback does 20/25 (3207 lb). For 2006, the 250 hp Vue is rated at 17/23 in AWD form (3631 lb), and 18/25 in FWD (3478 lb). The 143 hp Vue only gets 19/25 in FWD (3111 lb).

I'd say the mileage of the Saturn is just as poor, but maybe that's just because I'm using the same source for all the mileage figures I presented.

The 20/25 is still [censored]. The VUE has 80 more horsepower, yet only gets 2 mpg less than the 170 horsepower car per government estimates. How does your post go to show that the Subaru doesn't get bad gas mileage for how small the engine is. We'll have to just agree to disagree on this one.

 

[2002 Maxima SE]

Originally Posted By: dhise


ej25's up until 2003 are notorious headgasket eaters. Your dad would have better spent the money swapping in an ej22 and enjoy a bullet proof motor. My ea82 leaks some oil, but it still gives me all of it's 90hp and I fear the motor will long outlast the rest of the car.



-Doug


The 2004+ aren't much better. We have a 2004 XT and Subuaru still recommends a bottle of "Subaru Coolant Conditioner" (essentialy bars leak) with every coolant change.

 

[doitmyself]

Quote:
Almost all Subaru's are ALMOST idiot proof if properly serviced, the older designs almost tractor-like in their ruggedness.


Off topic, but.......actually, Foresters are part tractor. Or, maybe my John Deere is part Subaru!

In a post I had 2 weeks ago requesting help diagnosing a JD battery charging problem, I found out that it was not the voltage regulator, but instead, a simple relay.

JD wanted $72 for the match box size part. A google search showed the very EXACT relay was a Subie Forester part. Only $32 from the the Subaru dealer.

I also installed a Subaru hood ornament on my John Deere.

 

[Saturn_Fan]

Originally Posted By: 2002 Maxima SE
Originally Posted By: dhise


ej25's up until 2003 are notorious headgasket eaters. Your dad would have better spent the money swapping in an ej22 and enjoy a bullet proof motor. My ea82 leaks some oil, but it still gives me all of it's 90hp and I fear the motor will long outlast the rest of the car.



-Doug


The 2004+ aren't much better. We have a 2004 XT and Subuaru still recommends a bottle of "Subaru Coolant Conditioner" (essentialy bars leak) with every coolant change.


That is crazy as Subarus are very expensive vehicles. That shouldn't happen.

 

[moving2]

Originally Posted By: rjundi
Originally Posted By: simple_gifts
Quote:

MPG is 26 HWY.

A tad better than my 1991 caprice wagon.


What is listed as EPA is lot different than actuality. What is listed EPA of your vehicle adjusted for current #'s?


Listed EPA for his 1991 Caprice Wagon is 15/23, so using the new method according to:
http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/ratings2008.shtml

this converts to approx. 14/21 for his caprice.

The 26MPG highway (city is 21) posted for the Forester is highway mileage for the turbocharged Forester. Unless his Caprice is turbo'd, that is not a valid comparison. The standard Forester engine gets: 23/28MPG. In addition, the Forester comes with AWD, which is a huge advantage vs. his Caprice's RWD for those of us with snow, and that AWD comes at the expense of some fuel economy.

So now comparing apples to apples, we see that the 2009 forester gets:

- 64% better city mileage
- 33% better highway mileage

...than his 1991 Caprice Wagon. Makes a lot more sense now, doesn't it?