geldy

I need a quick but practical family car but I need torque - car is to be used in the alps and low speed torque very important for the mountain roads. Prev cars are Outback 3.0, legacy 2.0 turbo estate & lotus esprit & looking for something with the best of each.

Idea is WRX SL 5dr +/- PPP, but will this be good enough? Guess the 2.5l US version will never appear here so do I try the 2.0l or do I play away?

OllyK

Well if a "legacy 2.0 turbo estate" was up to the job a PPP'd WRX isn't going to have any trouble! You are looking at a car with circa 260 bhp with the WRX so a bit of "hill climbing" really isn't going to be a problem. Have done the Alps and Pyrenees in cars with far less grunt with no trouble.

If you want lots of low down torque, because you are towing a caravan or something then look at some big 4x4 diesel, a Jeep or Discovery maybe, if not choose the car that meets your requirements.

Danny B

Get a new Jap spec Legacy GTB (twin turbo, 280bhp, estate) what more could you possibly ask for?

Supercue

iTrader: (1)

I tried out the new Forrester on a Subaru corporate day and with just odrinary road tyres the car was amazing. The driver reverseded it up (yes I did write reversed) a sheer drop of about 35'.

As a practical every day off road vehicle with grunt for getting up and down hills this really was the Daddy.

PPP and this motor would fly

Butty

iTrader: (2)

I would also say look at the US Forester - its 2.5 litre with a turbo and will be LHD for the continent.
Japan have also released the Forester STi - it has 300 bhp/lbft! but is only in RHD.
Bags more torque than even the UK STI, super ride, albeit higher than the Impreza, loads of room for the family does something like 0-60 in 5.5 secs.

See subaruforester.com/forum fro other info.

Nick

geldy

thanks everyone

1. need RHD for looking over the edge of the winding mountain roads
2. need warranty (cambelt went on legacy - wife'll kill me if I'm not covered)
3. legacy 2.0 turbo & chipped wasn't really up to it
4. Jap cars sound scary in terms of engine failures/insurance
5. I had the impression front of Forester was more cramped than WRX

which I suppose means the choice is between WRX PPP vs Forester PPP unless anyone wants to dispute the above.

Two Qs:
Any opinions of comfort for 6ft driver in either WRX or Forester
Anyone driven a PPP Forester - how does it compare with the WRX +/- PPP

Gary C

Not driven the scooby in the alps, but have driven my EVO which should be a similar experience.

Low rev grunt is a bit lacking (ie less than 3k rpm) but the mid range was fantastic. Absolutly flew up the passes, occasionally had to drop to a lower gear than expected on the sharp up hill u-bends but a turbo car should have no problem towing a caravan at warp 12, you just may need a slightly lower gear than a 5.0ltr diesel 4x4.

Without a caravan, these cars are in their element, they are PERFECT, lots of power, good torque, wideish track and shortish wheelbase, 4wd with LSD's stops wheelspin in the tight uphill bends.

I loved it, did 3500 miles at 14mpg with a maximum range of 180 miles to a tank, still did Milan to Lancaster in less than 17 hours ( and that includes waiting for the ferry

Oh and I'm 6'3", and find my STi is fine.

Supercue

iTrader: (1)

I've got the WRX SL +PPP and would say there's little difference between the cars on comfort but obviously the ride height is way different. I did try persuading my good lady that she needed to part ex her car for the new Forrester +PPP but she wasn't wearing that

I'll just have to make do with WRX for now.

Butty

iTrader: (2)

The Forester interior is same dimensions as the Impreza, whether its the pre or post 2001 model.
What you will notice is that it feels a lot bigger and airyer inside with the higher headroom.
As a 6 footer, I found no problem with the inside for comfort, but the passengers suffered with legroom due to the ECU being in the footwell - but then this is the same problem with the Impreza.
Boot size is the same length and width as the Impreza wagon, but the height makes a lot more room.

Warranty wise, Litchfields are importing the RHD JDM Forester STi and they offer some sort of cover.

Nick

Rewolf

One thing to note about WRX SL is that the sunroof takes about 1.5" of the headroom for driver and front passenger.

Its OK for me because I am only 5'9", but I am expecting a few complaints from 6'2" father in law. Wife says she doesn't care what her dad thinks, she just wants the heated seats.

I suggest that you get down to a dealer and sit in an SL to see if you can get into a good driving position where you won't get scalped if you stop a little quicker than expected.

The Forester while sharing the same engine with WRX has a different mapping from WRX, which provides more low end torque which is why XT only gets 165 BHP while WRX gets 225. The Forester interior is much lighter than WRX and feels much bigger - the AWP version has a sunroof that goes back about 3', and unlike the WRX the sunroof doesn't feel as if it is cutting into your headroom.