Forrie totaled - what now

mikesforester

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israel
Sad to say my forrie has been totaled. On the up side, it did a sterling job of ensuring my wife and daughter walked away with only a few bumps and bruises. There is no doubt, that had they been in a lesser vehicle that would not have been the case. The insurance assessor again reinforced what we all know regarding the Foresters capabilities in protecting the occupants. The SG was a fine vehicle, suited us down to the ground as a family, the offroad capability was awesome and as a farmer, it handled all the rough tracks I use on a daily basis with ease.
It is however a little long in the tooth now, however the SH being a somewhat smaller car is less suited to me with three growing kids. The Outback doesn't turn me on - too low. Maybe if I raised it I may learn to like it. Bit of a dilemma here guys. What about the Tribeca, I dont see it mentioned here too much. Any and all feedback would be much appreciated.
Cheers
Mike
 
Sorry to hear that, Mike :cry:

Glad that your family are safe.

Our SH is quite a lot larger than our SG ... Much better family car for it too :poke:.
 
Well thats great news RB, I was under the impression that the SH was on a shorter wheelbase, will double check the dimensions and most importantly get my arse into one. Thanks RB
 
Well, the European Outback, which is probably what you get, maybe lower than the North American/Australian model. What I have is as high as any Subaru other than 2009-13 turbo Forester. The Outback is an exceptional car with hardly any downsides. But, if you need clearance and you get essentially a Legacy wagon, it will not do.

I have had two Tribecas. It is way more vehicle than a Forester: far more refined in all sorts of ways. The engine and the transmission are Subaru's most reliable. The interior styling is unique even if the 2008 redesign got rid of the unique exterior design. The Tribeca has a third-row seat, which, albeit not specious, is plenty good enough for occasional use. Its official carrying capacity exceeds significantly that of the other Subies. Ditto for towing, far better than a Forester.

That said, there are downsides as well. The Tribeca has no potential to go over rocky 4x4 trails beyond easy and in fact some that are defined easy around here would push it to its limits. The OB (at least here) and the Foz have more useful clearance, not just underneath, but also at rocker panel. I have done a lot of mud in the Tribeca, however, and it was just fine.

4x4 aside, the Tribeca is THIRSTY. Get ready for about 12/100 out of town and 16/100 in town, using liters/kilometers. Secondly, the better looking, 2006-7 model is a bit underpowered for this 2t vehicle. The Tribeca's cooling, as that of 2005-9 Outbacks from which it derives, is poor. There maybe be overheating issues where you are: here, where it is over 45C in the shade (shade, what shade?) for months, the 06 needed the AC off when climbing fully loaded. The 08 does not have this problem. The one reliability concern to watch for is the front suspension, esp after 100k miles/ 160,000 km even though the powertrain is bullet-proof.

The 2010+ Outbacks are exceptional in terms of off-road ride.

If I cared for true off-road ability, I would not consider any current Forester other than the turbo version. Your average 2015+ OB is more capable than the average 2014+ Forester due to how Subaru chose to equip the lower trims of each model. Of course, I speak from a North American perspective, trim levels may be different elsewhere.

Other than that, a Foz gives you an SUV feel and an OB a car feel. Far more refined interior for the OB.

If I were buying a Subaru right now with 4x4 capability as the #1 concern, I would go for a 2009-13 turbo Forester. The Tribeca would be fine if purchased at a good price and if rocks over 7"-8" or so are not a factor (its rocker panel is so low that putting a tire over a rock helps only a little).
 
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yeah the SH is larger than the SG, and in all the right places.
the multilink rear suspension increases your cabin/ cargo space immensely as there's no big strut towers in the way
I'm 6'3" and don;t need the drivers seat all the way back, plus in my normal driving position, there is easily enough leg-room for me behind my driving position.

The accountants and fuel-consumption department have had a go at the SH though, removing lots of the sound deadening from doors/ underfloor areas, etc
especially noticeable in the Diesel model (Which I have)

for general duties my #1 advice that really increases the capability of the vehicle is tyres, The VDC does a very good job at giving you grip when you've got a wheel or two hanging in the air, but a good set of AT or other heavy tread tyres really helps keep them going in the right direction.

As for the Tribeca, I looked heavily at them before getting into my SH,
I'd come from an 06 H6 Liberty so the H6 engine appealed to me, but it's off-road capability was just a little lacking.

The fuel consumption can be brought down on the 3.6 quite significantly with a simple ECU tune,
It also has the effect of increasing low-end torque substantially,
The Engine is hamstrung by emissions testing and is just limited very heavily to meet those standards.
Funny thing is though, once a good tune is on board, the reduction in fuel consumption (close to 20% better) and the extra torque available (almost double at 2000rpm) actually reduces real-life emissions as you have no need to work the engine anywhere near as hard.
 
Gidday Mike

mikesforester said:
Well thats great news RB, I was under the impression that the SH was on a shorter wheelbase, will double check the dimensions and most importantly get my arse into one. Thanks RB
Click to expand...

Our SH has about 90mm longer wheelbase and is about that much wider as well.

The cargo area is very slightly ( ~25mm ... ) shorter than the SG but wider and higher. We discovered this when buying a new stove for a rental property! Just fitted in our SG, but would not fit in the SH ...

All the increase in w/b has gone into the passenger compartment, as Rob has already said. My wife has had a friend who's 6'7" tall sitting in the back of hers, and he wasn't cramped! The rear doors are about 100mm longer, making entry/exit far easier and more comfortable than my SG.

The SH has about 1" more ground clearance (necessary because of the longer w/b) and is about 100mm higher roof line, with commensurately more internal head room.

Ours has much the same EJ-253 as my SG and the 4EAT Sports shift auto. I think from mid-2010 onwards the engine changed to the FB-25 and CVT ...
 
Another consideration re Tribeca is that it is no longer produced.
 
Great feedback chaps, thank you. Well it has settled my dilemma of getting another Forrie. Was somehow thinking the SH was smaller, and that is was putting me off. After researching a little I don't believe the Tribeca would suit me due to its very reduced offroad capabilities. Somehow the Outback just doesn't do it for me, so Forrie it is - Yay!!
Just to clarify, the SH was first produced late 2008, correct?
Thanks again
regards
Mike
 
Glad that it's coming together for you, Mike.

SH starts in July 2008.

Our SH is a Sep 2009 build date, last of the EJ-253 + 4EAT sports shift. Later models from mid-2010 onwards have the FB-25 engine + CVT ("Lineartronic"). I personally am not a fan of either the FB-25 or CVTs ...

SG dimensions are 4485 x 1735 x 1590 (h), w/b = 2525, with a GVM of 1950 Kgs.

SH dimensions are 4560 x 1795 x 1700 (h), w/b = 2615, with a GVM of 2015 Kgs.

These dimensions are from the Australian OMs.
 
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WhooHoo! Great decision. (unless you brought a ute for the farm!)

(Robbks - there's been a larger SUV on the drawing board for a while now; I'd be surprised if they kept the Tribeca name - maybe we can ask our MotorCulture friends for some insight)
 
RB,
The SH did not have the CVT, mine is a 2011 September build date and it definitely has a 4speed auto, as does the 2012. The SJ has the CVT. Having had a New XV on loan from Subaru for the last two weeks I am rapidly becoming a fan of the CVT. It craps on the XTrail with the CVT which I have at work.
 
Gidday HC

I was under the impression that the 'Lineartronic' was a form of CVT. If not, is it some variation of the Jatco based 4EAT?
 
Hi RB,
The 2012 SH brochure only refers to a 4EAT with gear ratios, whilst the S series SH has a 5 speed EAT. The 4 & 5 EATs both have the sports shift. The Lineartronic CVT was introduced in the fourth generation SJ Forester.
The FB 25 engine was introduced in 2010 as you stated. As I understand the FB 25 has timing chain as opposed to a timing belt. I am not sure of the other changes.
Cheers,
 
Thanks for all the info guys, My minds made up, a SH Foz it will be. Unfortunately over here only available as a 2.0 N/A or 2.5 Turbo. I will going 2.0 N/A as I will do a LPG conversion as I had on my previous Foz. The 2.5 Turbo's are also rarer than hens teeth. Another strange observation is that most of Fozs here are black -strange. My last Foz was also black, but I really want to get into a lighter color, doesn't make sense here in the Middle East to be in a black vehicle.

Cheers for the help
Best regards
Mike
 
I hear that white is the new black ;-)
 
havachat said:
Hi RB,
The 2012 SH brochure only refers to a 4EAT with gear ratios, whilst the S series SH has a 5 speed EAT. The 4 & 5 EATs both have the sports shift. The Lineartronic CVT was introduced in the fourth generation SJ Forester.
The FB 25 engine was introduced in 2010 as you stated. As I understand the FB 25 has timing chain as opposed to a timing belt. I am not sure of the other changes.
Cheers,
Click to expand...

You're right, HC. Thanks for your correction :poke: :).

I was looking at the 2011 OB specs, not the 2011 Forester specs ... DOH!
 
MY11 S-Edition is a nice bit of Kit, as it has the proper 5speed Auto trans

2.0D or 2.0D Premium get a unique (Ratios) 6-speed manual which is the same box used in the late model WRX. with mountains of torque from 1400rpm.
Mine is getting an ECU tune this weekend to remove the low-end torque limiters, a smidge more boost, tweak the fuelling and limit the EGR.

I'll report back on how much better the car is next week.
I've spoken at length with Brett from MRT regarding power and efficiency mods for the Diesel after the R&D they put into their 2.0D Rally car.
With no other mods, 25% more torque from 2500rpm upwards and 30% more power from a similar rpm.
 
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