Diesel Forester soon to arrive in Oz.

Awesome!

So, anyone want a 2005 Forester X Weekender with 47,000kms. :iconwink:
 
6 speed manual :-) no low range :-( no auto :-(
 
Excellent and about time. Might have to go for a test drive to compare to the Outback.
Not sure why the Forester only gets 108 kW and the Outback is 110 kW when it's the same engine, same gearbox. Possibly the air intake?
A low range would have been good, or even just reducing the gearing on 1st and second a bit.
 
troyXT said:
Not sure why the Forester only gets 108 kW and the Outback is 110 kW when it's the same engine, same gearbox.
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Marketing! Can't have the Forester with the same power as the Outback otherwise the OB owners would get upset :iconwink:
 
Seeing that there are no Subarus here in Senegal, I recently bought a gently used 2008 Nissan X-trail with the 2.2 liter turbo diesel and 6-speed stick (to supplement our 1998 Land Cruiser).

The turbo-diesel X-trail with stick-shift is a total blast to drive. I'm sure the Forester Boxer Diesel won't disappoint. Very much hope the Boxer Diesel makes it to the US by the time we get back there in 2012.
 
No low range? Well, there goes that idea ( of this car being a likely buy). I don't think the car really needs 6 speeds. But it does need a low range.
 
I agree especially with the diesel. The only reason id buy a diesel is for the extra torque and a low range tranfers case is important for that.
 
I test drove one a week ago. First gear is reasonably low - not as low as the petrol in low range, but seemed lower than the petrol in high range...if that makes sense. The diesel is typically revving lower, as well.

You DO need 6 gears on the diesel. Real power starts at 1800 and is all gone by 3500rpm. Mind you, it really squirts through that range, definitely feels quicker off the mark than the petrol. I was shifting a lot more than in my 03 NA Forester. THe other thing was that it was pretty quiet at cruising speed, and until I got used to the relationship between the speedo and the tacho, I couldn't always work out what gear it was in.

A bit of turbo lag, which takes a bit of getting used to, particularly trying to do a lane change into faster moving traffic on the freeway. It is downshift, push the accelerator, then move - power will come in around halfway across the lane.

Oh, and reverse needs you to pull up a lever on the gearstick. A trap for young players. It took me about 5 minutes to get out of the carpark (I got to do my test drive solo without a dealer rep).
 
We have just traded our MY03 forester X on a new Diesel Forester (our 3rd Forester)

Seems to have a lot more power, is much more economical (6.6L/100K compared to 10L/100K), Quieter at cruising speed and has more room.:)

At 110Kph it is doing just over 2000RPM compared to 3000RPM in the petrol, so is very quiet and economical:)

It will be interesting to see how it goes with some extra kilometers on the clock
 
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phil said:
We have just traded our MY03 forester X on a new Diesel Forester (our 3rd Forester)
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Same here - 03 For X (white) for 10 For 2.0D (white).

After a week or so in the new Forester, I drove our Corolla to work today. I kept thinking I was revving the nuts off it...was actually shifting at around 3000rpm. The brain has obviously already adapted to diesel driving.
 
With all the advertising Subaru did about their symetrical AWD system, you'd think they would know that. Instead, they went the other way and called it assymetrical. Anyway, thanks for the link.
 
I finally got around to taking one of these for a test drive.

Even putting aside my Subaru loyalty, this is one outstanding engine. I was quite taken by the VW 2.0 TDI (in a Tiguan) engine in terms of power/torque, 'revability' and refinement but the Subaru diesel matches it for power/torque and revability and beats it for refinement. It revs past 3000 rpm with ease, though it's not often necessary to do so even for fast acceleration due to the torque on offer.

It makes for a lovely combination with the 6 speed manual as well. I think first is a little shorter than first in my car, but gears 2 to 5 are more spread out and taller. With the torquey engine this means fewer gear changes around town which makes a nice change from the closely stacked and (in my opinion) too-short third and fourth in my car. I think there is less driveline backlash than in the 5 speed as well. The gate is quite narrow and at first glance would seem likely to promote incorrect changes, but actually just needs slight pressure to the left for 1 and 2, no pressure left or right for 3 and 4 and slight pressure to the right for 5 and 6 - easy! The change is slicker than the 5 speeder as well and didn't strike me as 'rubbery' as has been reported.

My thoughts on the general SH Forester package (compared to SG) remain the same:

Pluses:

  • outstanding passenger and luggage space for external size
  • better refinement
  • modern styling
  • smoother low-speed ride
  • improved clearance and angles
  • standard VDC
Minuses:

  • more body movement in corners and over bumps when driven quickly (underdamped suspension?)
  • cheap-looking, plain and 'bluff' dashboard with some tacky details
  • overbonnet visibility slightly reduced, especially for front-seat passenger
  • VDC doesn't have an offroad mode and the traction control function takes too long to brake spinning wheels
A great car overall though and I will probably find myself in a 2.0D Premium at some point (though I will might change the dampers and add a rear LSD for offroading!).
 
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