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Author Topic: 2011 Subaru Forester; Day 1  (Read 17626 times)

Offline Autos_Editor

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2011 Subaru Forester; Day 1
« on: February 23, 2011, 06:43:00 am »



James took delivery of a Subaru Forester yesterday, and then immediately took off for the hills of Mont Tremblant, Quebec, where we suspect his tester will come across many of its assembly line siblings.
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Offline 5 Wheel Drive

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Re: 2011 Subaru Forester; Day 1
« Reply #1 on: February 23, 2011, 08:36:01 am »
Wow, Subaru had added some goodies to the Touring package that my '09 doesn't have.  I'd like to have the 17" rims, the upgraded audio with Media Hub, and auto-up window for the drivers side.  I'm pretty sure that the msrp is less than $1k more than what it was in October '08 when we got ours.

James, if you're up for a direct comparision of he old 2.5 to the new one, let me know.  I'd also be curious to see if there's really any difference between the 2 engines.
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Re: 2011 Subaru Forester; Day 1
« Reply #2 on: February 23, 2011, 12:38:56 pm »
I suggest reviewers include the freight and PDI costs in the price of a vehicle. After all, that is what the customer is expected to pay. Not including it is a psychological trick to make people think the vehicle is cheaper than it really is.
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Offline Blueprint

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Re: 2011 Subaru Forester; Day 1
« Reply #3 on: February 23, 2011, 12:42:56 pm »
Finally!  A non-WRX Subie with a stick that makes it to the press fleet!

Exact config I would consider for a Forester, as this is the top manual version.
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Offline JohnM

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Re: 2011 Subaru Forester; Day 1
« Reply #4 on: February 24, 2011, 06:06:21 am »
And the "glaring negative" point is???
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Offline wing

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Re: 2011 Subaru Forester; Day 1
« Reply #5 on: February 24, 2011, 07:11:59 am »
Seating position but I guess it wasn't so glaring
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Offline Ex-airbalancer

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Re: 2011 Subaru Forester; Day 1
« Reply #6 on: February 24, 2011, 07:13:33 am »
Have they raise the passenger seat position?
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Offline wing

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Re: 2011 Subaru Forester; Day 1
« Reply #7 on: February 24, 2011, 08:31:29 am »
Not really it is very low.
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Offline safristi

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Re: 2011 Subaru Forester; Day 1
« Reply #8 on: February 24, 2011, 11:16:46 am »
..fixed that for ya.............. :P
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Offline Ex-airbalancer

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Re: 2011 Subaru Forester; Day 1
« Reply #9 on: February 24, 2011, 11:29:35 am »
Quote from: safristi on February 24, 2011, 11:16:46 am
..fixed that for ya.............. :P

FRONT  SEAT  ::)  :P
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Offline 5 Wheel Drive

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Re: 2011 Subaru Forester; Day 1
« Reply #10 on: February 24, 2011, 02:50:12 pm »
I agree on the visibility out, it's great.  Even out the back, the back glass goes down far enough to be able to easily see behind you.

As for the seats, I had no problem finding a comfortable position in our's.  We go to Maine for a week every summer, which is about a 9 hour trip for us with 2 kids.  I find the driver's seat perfectly comfortable for me.

My only beefs with the interior is the position of the controls for the butt warmers, which is more awkward if you have the armrest slid forward, and the lack of an auto up for the drivers window (fixed for the 2011)
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Offline wing

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Re: 2011 Subaru Forester; Day 1
« Reply #11 on: February 24, 2011, 03:01:13 pm »
Ah yes the butt warmers are in a really odd location.
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Offline safristi

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Re: 2011 Subaru Forester; Day 1
« Reply #12 on: February 24, 2011, 03:49:22 pm »
...On the roofliner.......... ??? ::) :P
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Offline mrthompson

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Re: 2011 Subaru Forester; Day 1
« Reply #13 on: February 24, 2011, 04:11:55 pm »
^^A$$hat.  :rofl2:
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Offline johngenx

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Re: 2011 Subaru Forester; Day 1
« Reply #14 on: February 24, 2011, 04:12:11 pm »
Quote from: wing on February 24, 2011, 03:01:13 pm
Ah yes the butt warmers are in a really odd location.

Really?  The ones in my older Forester are located in the seat cushion and back.  Excellent location that seems intuitive to me.  In fact, all of the cars with seat warmers that I've owned have had them in those same locations.  Seems nearly universal to me...
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Offline wing

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Re: 2011 Subaru Forester; Day 1
« Reply #15 on: February 24, 2011, 05:57:29 pm »
Haha
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Offline saint_satan

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Re: 2011 Subaru Forester; Day 1
« Reply #16 on: February 25, 2011, 07:48:21 am »
This is a great rig for anyone in a snowy clime.  The lack of power was the main turn-off for me on this vehicle.  The maintenance costs were also a little high.  When at the dealer, I noted that the new 2.5 requires synthetic oil, but the maintenance intervals remained the same.  The Stealer wanted $90 + tax ($100+ all in) for an oil change :o
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Offline johngenx

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Re: 2011 Subaru Forester; Day 1
« Reply #17 on: February 25, 2011, 08:59:53 am »
Quote from: saint_satan on February 25, 2011, 07:48:21 am
The maintenance costs were also a little high...

Dealers also tend to make up their own schedules that are ridiculous.  If you look at the "official" schedule my local dealer has on their service dept. wall, you'd anticipate spending most of your life having your car serviced.  Oh, and giving them any money you did manage to make.  I haven't been to my dealer in a while now, but last time I was there I left in disgust after they had the balls to charge me $120 for a synthetic oil change and gave me the bonuses of breaking my hood guard and belly pan.  "No, they were broken when you arrived."

Two things that have driven some away from the brand...

1. Subaru's complete refusal to acknowledge a design flaw in the DOHC and early SOHC engines that led to premature head gasket failure, giving customers the finger instead of a long term repair.

2. The horrific dealer network.

As my 01 ages, I have been considering replacing it (even though it runs strong and is still reliable) but every time I visit the dealer, I'm reminded of why I hate buying new cars, and why I hated dealing with the Subaru dealer more than any.
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Offline 5 Wheel Drive

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Re: 2011 Subaru Forester; Day 1
« Reply #18 on: February 25, 2011, 10:31:51 am »
When we were shopping I found that the Forester was closest in handling to the CR-V.  Not as stiff as the Rav, and not nearly as soft as a Santa-Fe.  There's been a few times when I wished the engine had a little more oomph.

The stability control will allow you to slide the back end a bit before it hauls you back in.  But, you can turn it off.   ;D

I'll be curious to see what sort of gas mileage you get with it.  How many km's are on your tester James?
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Offline wing

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Re: 2011 Subaru Forester; Day 1
« Reply #19 on: February 25, 2011, 10:57:57 am »
On my trip to Tremblant and back I averaged 9.0L/100km, I think my tester has about 7000km on it.
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