Traded: 08 Subaru STI >>> 14 Forester XT Touring

[gathermewool]

I planned on keeping the STI for a very long time, but an accident last year (and the issues I've been deal with since then) caused me to look into trading. I won't get into the details; suffice to say that trading in the STI was a very hard decision that I've been spending a year thinking about (and bothering my coworkers and wife about to no end.)

I've always selected practicality and power over gizmos, but I decided to change things up. My wife makes fun of me, saying she never thought I'd be the type to drive a fully-loaded SUV. I can't think of a better fit, however.

I still remember the visceral feel and wicked smile on my face when I drove my STI home that first day, but this brings a smile to my face in a much different way.

A week later, here are my thoughts:

Things I like:

1. Keys in pocket, grab the door handle and get in. The same goes for the auto rear hatch.

2. Keys in pocket, push a button and the engine comes to life.

3. Keys in pocket, all doors shut, tap handle and all of the doors lock.

I never thought I'd give two hoots about such features, but only a week in and I love it.

4. 30 MPG highway indicated (only one 40 mile highway trip home from the dealer, so not anything conclusive as of yet.) Around town, indicated is mid 20's (after 170 miles, dash gage indicates 25.5 with 70% of the miles city.) With similar driving styles, I'm hoping to gain 3-4 MPG over my STI MPG ave.

5. The ride! On my way home from the test drive I noticed how freaking loud my STI was. It's that way for a reason, and it almost never bothered me around town, but on long trips I would actually wear ear plugs halfway in to prevent excessive fatigue over long hauls (don't worry, even with the earplugs I could hear traffic - I was only compensating for the dearth of sound deadening.) I can actually speak with a passenger in the FXT without having to literally face them or raise my voice. :lol:

Things I'll miss:

1. Speed/handling: The new FXT is surprisingly nimble and has some balls, but it's not even close to an STI. If you need that kind of raw power, then you will never be happy in an FXT. Fortunately, it was still an enjoyable ride and not as much of a tradeoff as I was expecting. Unless they offered a really nice gear box (yea, right!) I'm not sure I'd prefer rowing my own gears over the CVT in something like this. It was nothing like when I test drove the non-turbo Forester 2.5i - nothing. So, while the performance and fantastic CVT make the trade-off minimal for some one like me, the thrill of the STI will be missed.

2. The noises: I'm glad that you can hear the turbo spool in the FXT, but not much else comes close to what emanates from an STI. I'll miss the gear whine and pretty much every other low-speed (or high boost) sound that the STI made. I always thought the gear whine while engine-braking down a hill in second during traffic was great (even though most passengers probably expected that noise to portend a tow truck and cab in our very near future.) Driving the STI felt like driving a heavy machine, whereas the FXT is as about as refined as a Subaru can be (in this regard.)

3. Play: I'm sure I'll catch the mod bug with the FXT soon enough, but it has enough to play with to keep me busy for a while. Besides, there's no tuning solution as of yet, and I won't play Guinea pig when they do first release a solution, anyway, so I'll be spending a good amount of time on the stock tune, if I ever even decide to tune.

4. The wave: Without the hood scoop, I'm not so sure any one will wave to me any more. I've waved at two STI's so far and neither waved back. Newbs probably don't know I'm special, too! :lol:

First and last Auto-X:


[URL=http://s381.photobucket.com/user/gathermewool/media/DSCN0038_zps0e0855ef.jpg.html]

Team O'Neil Winter Driving/Safety School:



Quick pics of the new XT:

 

[simple_gifts]

Cherish the memories. My father still tells me things about his cars from the 1930s.

 

[gathermewool]

Originally Posted By: simple_gifts
Cherish the memories. My father still tells me things about his cars from the 1930s.



I remember my dad's loud Chevy conversion van while growing up. My dad was ALWAYS on time to pick me up from football practice, so I'll never forget the sound that signaled 15-20 minutes before practice ended. Without fail, he'd show up and we'd begin sprints 5-10 minutes after.

I have some good memories with the STI (as well as old cars like an '88 Ramcharger, '80s Sunfire, and a '92 Paseo that would run on pocket change for the week,) but I'm hoping to start a family soon, so the FXT may be more memorable than any of them!

 

[webfors]

The hood scoop really does make that new xt blend into the crowd so to speak. It's a nice cuv though, and I can just imagine a turbo in my NA forester, it would be dreamy

 

[silverrat]

I mourn for you

 

[gathermewool]

Originally Posted By: silverrat
I mourn for you [

]


Fixed that for ya!

 

[Blue_Goose]

Nice!

A lot of Foresters were going out the door when I picked up my Crosstrek last week!

 

[Hokiefyd]

Originally Posted By: gathermewool
My wife makes fun of me, saying she never thought I'd be the type to drive a fully-loaded SUV. I can't think of a better fit, however.


So many are quick to discount a small CUV/SUV as nothing other than a "jacked up sedan" or whatever the slander of the day is. As you are finding out, they can be very agreeable vehicles, doing so many things well, and offering a ton of versatility to an active family. Though mine doesn't have near the power yours has, the small one I drive is as enjoyable to drive as any car I've owned, and certainly out-handles any car I've owned.

Enjoy yours in good health. You made an excellent choice. I like Subarus more and more everytime I see them. I know four owners of <1 year old Outback wagons.

 

[webfors]

Originally Posted By: Hokiefyd
Originally Posted By: gathermewool
My wife makes fun of me, saying she never thought I'd be the type to drive a fully-loaded SUV. I can't think of a better fit, however.


So many are quick to discount a small CUV/SUV as nothing other than a "jacked up sedan" or whatever the slander of the day is. As you are finding out, they can be very agreeable vehicles, doing so many things well, and offering a ton of versatility to an active family. Though mine doesn't have near the power yours has, the small one I drive is as enjoyable to drive as any car I've owned, and certainly out-handles any car I've owned.

Enjoy yours in good health. You made an excellent choice. I like Subarus more and more everytime I see them. I know four owners of div>


Agreed. You can't do this with a sedan, and this is the NA Forester. That car has served our family extremely well. The van will now take over towing duty after 5 years of adventures, across some of the worst gravel/sand roads you can imagine

Enjoy that Forester!

 

[gofast182]

Originally Posted By: Hokiefyd
Originally Posted By: gathermewool
My wife makes fun of me, saying she never thought I'd be the type to drive a fully-loaded SUV. I can't think of a better fit, however.


So many are quick to discount a small CUV/SUV as nothing other than a "jacked up sedan" or whatever the slander of the day is. As you are finding out, they can be very agreeable vehicles, doing so many things well, and offering a ton of versatility to an active family. Though mine doesn't have near the power yours has, the small one I drive is as enjoyable to drive as any car I've owned, and certainly out-handles any car I've owned.

Enjoy yours in good health. You made an excellent choice. I like Subarus more and more everytime I see them. I know four owners of div>

We had a '10 CR-V before we got our MDX and we loved it, we both wished it had more power or at least an extra gear but it more than made up for it in handling. That car had a personality, it was like a loyal friend, it took insane amounts of cargo, never visited the dealer for anything other than oil changes, and got us through very deep snow that 4wd trucks were stuck in. Now we have a similar feeling with the MDX, with the SH-AWD I can take a local on-ramp literally as fast as I can in my S2000! Anyway, to the OP, the '14 FXT is a nice vehicle and I don't doubt you'll discover similar attributes to become fond of.

 

[Mykl]

I still miss my '04 STi from time to time. The car was an absolute monster, and so much fun to mash the throttle in mid-corner... such an easily controlled slide that you feel like you're cheating, like no car should be able to do that.

I had to give mine up because my beater car got hit at an intersection and totalled. As it turns out I'm not hard-core enough to use an STi as a daily driver on imperfect roads, so I traded it for the GTI.

No regrets, but I do still kind of wish I had the STi in the stable. Maybe one day I'll be rich enough to afford to do that.

 

[supton]

Originally Posted By: webfors

Agreed. You can't do this with a sedan, and this is the NA Forester. That car has served our family extremely well. The van will now take over towing duty after 5 years of adventures, across some of the worst gravel/sand roads you can imagine

Enjoy that Forester!


That's one well loaded Forester! I tried pulling a similar sized camper with my Jetta and gave up.

 

[SevenBizzos]

There's cars I've missed and there's a Mustang in the garage that's never going anywhere. I had that feeling when my modified Probe was traded in and I still wish I kept it, because it was mine. I'm even moving to an adult car soon, as I asked for advice right here.

I would be pretty broken up trading a performance car for a modern station wagon too.

 

[gathermewool]

Great looking family, Webfors, and cool to see the Fozzy taking on so much!

SevenBizzos, I would be broken up, had it not been in such a bad accident. I've only had the Forester a little over a week, but so far I love it and don't miss the STI at all. I look forward to buying something sport in the future, when I have more time (and a garage.)

 

[rjundi]

Congrats on that car.

Subaru used to offer the grown up STI in a Legacy GT or Legacy GT Spec B. But that stopped in 2010 with redesign into large floaty Legacy sedan.

My wife is thankful we snatched up 2005 Legacy GT wagon 5mt brand new. She is dreading having to get different car as hers is at 165,000 miles.

 

[gathermewool]

Originally Posted By: rjundi
Congrats on that car.

Subaru used to offer the grown up STI in a Legacy GT or Legacy GT Spec B. But that stopped in 2010 with redesign into large floaty Legacy sedan.

My wife is thankful we snatched up 2005 Legacy GT wagon 5mt brand new. She is dreading having to get different car as hers is at 165,000 miles.


I thought I would be a diehard MT guy for the remainder of my days, and while I do still reach for that phantom third pedal, I don't feel that I miss it too much. The HTCVT and SI-drive seem to fit my driving moods well, and leave me satisfied. I feel like I can wait for a time when a little MT fun car makes more sense for us.