gareth

Hi,

Looking at a Forester as an alternative to going the MPV route. Having driven both the S-Turbo and XT my only reservation is on space. Need to get three kids in the back (one in childseat)...

First impression is that overall width is not much more than my WRX. Most MPVs seem to have around 1600mm internal width... anyone care to measure their XT across the back seats????

Also, anyone know if the XT's front passenger airbag can be disarmed?

Cheers,
Gareth

Toerag

I've an S-Turbo, and AFAIK you can't disarm the airbag. I assume you want to fit a kiddyseat in it?

gareth

Yep - that's it. Family about to expand by one so kiddy-seat required in the front initially, then into the back later on.

I work with a girl who's 7 months gone, just taken delivery of a new Focus and never considered whether the airbag could be disabled. As it's her first she thinks she'll be able to stick the kiddie in the back instead - dream on

Shame if it can't be disabled - I'm grasping for excuses to keep some decent wheels instead of going the full pipe'n'slippers...

njb

What's the problem with having the kiddyseat in the back ?
Just curious. I always felt it was too distracting to have it next to me in the front.

btw - Just ordered a Forester XT have to wait until May


[Edited by njb - 2/11/2003 10:50:46 AM]

[Edited by njb - 2/11/2003 10:51:16 AM]

All Talk

Our kiddie always goes in the back, doesn't seem to mind - maybe its to do with what they get used too.

Width across the back for 3 will be tight in a normal saloon especially if you have more than one child seat. The seats for 2 year olds are huge !!!

J4CKO

iTrader: (1)

Replaced a Volvo T5 with a Sharan to fit 3 kids + dog and related crap in, dont see it as pipe and slippers, more an advertisement as to how virile and stupid I am....

Drives really rather well and does 35 mpg, have an old lightly modded Golf GTI for running about in so not completely without any motoring fun, Golf more fun than the T5 in my opinion and not that much slower in the real world.

58GT

It's true that in a Forester the space is mostly 'upwards'. Doesn't seem to need a bigger parking space than any saloon car.

ianc

Looked at the forester myself for the same reason, then found something better (in my opinion):

Skoda Octavia 4x4turbo £16200
Remap £340

222bhp, 231lb ft, 0-60 in 6.4, and space for three seats across the back

(plus better fuel economy, better build quality)

IanC

Flat 4x4

Ian

Have you had any problems with the Scud (I'll let you off a coil-pack problem!)?

I saw a low mileage '02 one for £11500 the other week which I thought was serious value - especially with AMD/Jabba available to work their magic !

What are your honest pros and cons after owning it for a while ?

Flat 4x4

Ian

Thanks for that - I'll definitely consider it next time.

If the 'Forester & kids' bloke is still around, I've just seen
a March 2002 one with 6500 miles for £9795 at a Skoda dealer.
That has to be some kind of bargain against £16k new.

Make sure you are colour blind though and you'll have the ultimate in stealth !

gareth

Flat,

I'm still around, and thanks for the tip-off. Can't see the missus going for the old-look Forester unfortunately. Still mighty tempted by the XT, but the MPVs make more sense.

G

ianc

umm, did you read my post? He was talking about an Octavia not Forester I think.

Take one for a drive, you may be surprised (I know I was )

Ian

gareth

Ian - I read your post but misread his...

How does the Octavia shape up on interior space?

G

ianc

Great, bigger boot than forester certainly, did not measure width as I only had two nippers then, third on way now!

The only downside (did not look at this on forester) is rear legroom not great if behind a tall driver, tho not a problem for us as only kids in the back 99% of time.

Flat 4x4

To clarify / add to Ian's comments, I've owned 12 different 4x4 'cars' and very nearly bought an Octavia last year.

I had a Quattro A4 Avant from new and rear leg room is similar in the Octavia - ie poor for adults unless you move the front seat off the back-stop. Build and materials all 'very good'

I also have a neighbour who I talked into buying a Forester (now on his 3rd) who swears by them.

The route Ian has taken makes a lot of sense to me - you get a sport drive with VAG components and A4 3.0-beating performance when re-mapped.

I'd pick up a year old one and minimise any depreciation concerns.
The £9750 one (a true bargain this one) is in puke green (really foul) but they're commonly around for £11-12 if you search. You'd struggle to get an 00/01 facelifted Forester Turbo for £14k.

Toerag

Rear legroom in forester is poor too, but improved in the current model.

njb

I was tempted by the Octavia RS - but I tried one and found the seats to be very thin and uncomfortable. Wasn't too convinced by the interior quality either.

Flat 4x4

I would say it matches or betters current Subaru stuff - its similar to my other Scoob - Legacy - which is well put together

ianc

<Deep breath>

Well I bought mine for £13000, it was a 6month old demonstrator \ dealer owned car with 10k on the clock. It also had everything from the accessories brochure thrown on so was nicely specced.

It's now done nearly 40k, only problems have been:

Windscreen x2 (stress fractures, not impact fractures)
Bonnet catch seized
Rear wiper motor playing up.
Coil pack failure.

All the above were done under warranty, no fuss, customer service of my dealer (Horners in Manchester) 2nd to none.

Modifications done \ needed:

Remap or chip - not gonna get into a tuner argument, I prefer a "remap" on a rolling road over a "off the shelf" chip, but other than that just make sure the boost level is safe, ie under 15psi on the K03 turbo.

I used Jabbasport, their RR has been shown to give identical results to others, so either multiples out by the same degree or pretty reliable.

Brakes - standards will fade and boil under fairly light use (in my opinion) so swapped for Ferodo's DSC2500 and Castrol super dot four fluid, been fine since both on road and track.

Thats all that *needs* to be done, anything else is down to personal preference.

Pro's:
It's economical, gives 37mpg on Mway easily enough, or 12mpg on track

It's very low key, police \ boy racers give you no attention, you can leave it parked in city centres without worrying about it.

It's solidly put together, not quite VW or Audi, but very close, sound deadening could be slightly better compared to Audi's.

It's relatively quick, been out on a few runs with scoobies of various descriptions and not had any problems with pace.

The suspension is firm by forester standards, tho probably soft to impreza owners, it's very capable at three figure speeds on rough country lanes, wet \ mud \ leaves don't bother it. Traction \ grip not a problem either, power oversteer nice if you provoke it, and ESP cannot be underestimated in fast "real world" road driving.


Cons:
On track you feel the body roll more, may think about stronger ARB's at some point, but then I prefer "real world" driving to track anyway, where a stiffer setup may skitter and struggle.

A nicer engine note would be nice, the whistle and chatter is sweet but the revs pretty anodyne.



If I wanted to change it I don't think I could find the same package in anything else, especially at this budget.

IanC

[Edited by ianc - 2/12/2003 4:31:30 PM]