gubby

My Impreza WRX 5 Door is coming up to 2 years old and I am thinking of changing to a Forester 2.5XT. (Especially having seen the Impreza replacement)

Are there any Forester 2.5XT drivers out there and can they be recommended.

The performance seems similar but I would have thought handling would be not as good but do they ride better and are they more comfortable.

The Prodrive Sportshift looks interesting but it seems to knock 2 seconds off the 0 - 60 time. Anyone offer any advice on this box?

ricardo

All your questions are answered over on Subaru Forester Owners Forum - Powered by vBulletin

The European section is where we hang out.

The short answer is that the XT is a practical and fast replacement for an Impreza, and some very minor mods improve the handling no end.

blu scoob

nice pics ricardo still lookin good

pslewis

Personally, I would never buy a NEW Forester with my own money ...... the depreciation on them is staggering.

Very fine cars they are, but a secondhand or nearly new would get my vote - the big hit has been suffered by someone else.

If you want to keep it for, say, 10 years then it's less of a problem - but, you are itching to change after 2 years now so I doubt you have that staying power.

blu scoob

the forester xt dosent realy hold its money a friend of a friend had one with leather and nav, booked at 1250 got bid 10

ricardo

I doubt whether new Foresters can outdo new Imprezas in depreciation, although I only have experience of imports.

I traded my first Forester STi for a new model after one year, the cost to change was about 15% (4k quid). Given that driving a car off the forecourt normally loses that much I thought that wasn't too bad. And anyway I had to have a black one

On that basis it would be 4k a year to have a car that is never more than a year old and always the latest model, or keep one for 3 years and lose about 12k at replacement time.

Alternatively, get one that is 2-3 years old and keep it for 3 years, much better financially.

Avalyn

gubby,

Almost have done exactly what you are contemplating .. traded in a 2 1/2 yr old MY05 wagon + PPP for a MY06 Forester STi with Litchfields Performance Pack

After clearing the HP on my old car and taking a loan on the new one my monthly payments were only £60 more.

I'd had a few XT's while the Impreza was in for servicing and thought they were excellent. More low down oomph, complete stealth mobile, a wee bit rolly-polly and lacked grip from standard geolanders but you only have to look at what Bartop has done with his 2.5XT to see what's possible with them.

My FSTi is fantastic. I wouldn't go back to the Impreza.

I was basically bored of the Impreza. They are as common as muck up here and I see at least 3 terrible examples every day. Tatty, ridiculous maaaaaasive exhaust, bits hanging off them (I saw a bright pink one the other day) and driven by complete nobbers or neds. It's quite a sad state of affairs for what was once a cult car. OK the wagon doesn't quite have the same image but oh dear what a shame

The Foz has none of the stigma attached, is as fun to drive, more practical and steathly.

I wouldn't hesitate to change again.

Avalyn.

Nich B

Ive got an older import

and its practical, pushes 300bhp, no one knows what it is, and I can park it anywhere without fear,

best Q car ive had

jinkiesjen

Ricardo you see that was your down fall... should have got a blue one

gubby

Thanks Ricardo. I have registered today.

Thanks Avalyn, Gives me something to think about however I don't think I can stretch to a Lichfields STi ( Or rather senior management won't let me stretch to an STi)

I was wondering if anyone had any experience with the Sportshift, as Ive seen a Subaru dealer advertising a three month old XT with leather and Sportshift for £18,995 and looks to be a good price. I have always preferred manuals and the Sportshift adds 2 sec to the 0 - 60 time. So does it blunt it's performance or is it more responsive on the move?

Avalyn

gubby,

I'm sure a 2.5XT with PPP, 18's and modded suspension would be a fantastic motor

I take it the Sportshift is an auto? If so I suppose usual caveats apply, won't get caught off boost often but will blunt reponse, have higher fuel consumption (and they aren't that great in the first place) and you may bore easily if you like to drive. Don't think Scoob auto's are particularly advanced

Sorry I can't be of more help, there will be many more auto drivers on the Foresters owners forum.

If it's not an auto then ignore all of the above bar the first sentence as I've just wasted a minute of your time

Avalyn.

gubby

Thanks for the reply m8.

The Sportshift is apparently developed by Prodrive and has a semi automatic mode where you can shift up and down manually.

Looks interesting but it still reduces the 0-60 time to 7.6 seconds, although this isn't everthing, if it makes it more responsive on the move and improves overall accelleration.

Avalyn

I suppose my first question would be is the Auto box capable of handling the torque increase given by the PPP .. or does this rule it out

Suppose the proper things to do first would be 18's, brakes, suspension before more ooomph but power corrupts

I know this may not be your first question but at some point you may want it

Pretty sure in day to day driving the auto would be fine, can't remember the last (or any time) I did a 4.8 secs 0-60 in my FSTi so I wouldn't worry too much about a 2 seconds increase ..... I'd be more interested to see rolling start figures

Avalyn.

Elad

Hi
I currently own a 98 uk classic which I love to bits but my wife as just bought a 2.5XT 05 plate balck with leather sat nav etc and it such a nice comfy car to drive. More body roll than impezza but still an exciting car to drive. Only one problem at the moment and it seems to make a knocking noise from the rear offside wheels when the steering is at full lock. Anybody any ideas if it could be the same strut problem as 05 imprezzas.

What are the simple mods to improve the handling that have been recommended?

ricardo

The original tyres are entirely unsuitable for a performance car, so most people improve those. Going to a better tyre or wheel/tyre makes a big difference.

The rear anti-roll bar is a bit squidgy, so the body roll is controlled much better by a stiffer bar such as the Whiteline one. That tightens up the handling.

Lots of answers over in the Forester forum, as you'd imagine that's exactly the sort of thing that people compare notes on...

Regarding the noise, is that at very low speed, forwards or reverse ? Does it depend on the suspension moving in order to happen, would it happen while parking (say) on a flat surface ?

Elad

Thanks for reply ricardo

The noise seems to come from the rear at slow speeds usually with a righthand full lock of the steering wheel on a slight incline. My wife notices this the most while navigating the ramps in a multi storey car park or while turning in a junction to return back down the road she;s just come from.

What size wheels but be a good choice 17 or 18? Is the whiteline anti roll bar the same as for the impreza?

elad

stevem2k

Knock

http://www.scoobymods.com/forums/att...4&d=1137541600

or the rear version of this

02 -03 Impreza front strut noise 05-35-05 - ScoobyMods

Either will allow the fitment of decent front brakes which is a particularly good side effect , 17's will mean 225/50 profile rubber ideally.

Arb is the same as a newage impreza equivalent. Might as well do the droplinks while you are there too

Most of us are waving from further down the slippery slope of mods

Steve

SRX

Had a 2005 2.5 XT and it was great fun to drive.

Removed the sign 2.5 XT, so the car was totally "invisible".

Until you got it out on the Autobahn and BMW and Mercedes-Benz drivers could not believe their eyes when they were outpaced at 235 km/h.

Even in the rain was 220 km/u not any problem for the Forrie.
And that in contrast to that so called modern German cars.

On the German tv I saw once a Audi A5 who came of the Autobahn.
At what speed? They told it was a lousy 160 km/u that did the tric.

So, let me drive an "old" car and you me have that fantastic supercars that the Europeans supposed to make.

By the way, my dealer regrets Rover does not exist anymore.
Why? Because they needed so many repairs.

His brother sells Opels.
And is constantly overloaded with reparing them.
Very good for the economy, those European cars.

But I have not got the money - and the time - to pay for all that fun.

Greetings,
SRX!

David Taylor

No doubt this is an excellent bit of kit and it will really perform, particularly in a straight line. It can make 30mpg and more easily 20ish. But depreciation is your biggest issue. I bought mine at 2yrs old for £13K,(nearly half price). Parkers say its worth half that now for trade in, ie. I lost 6.5K in 21 months! So for about 8K you should get a perfect 55plate at a non main dealer.
I agree with others about depreciation and I'm keeping mine, mainly because it's just brilliant and partly to reduce the cost of ownership over time. Perhaps in about 6 years the Government will be offering us serious scrappage to take them off the road!!??

David Taylor

You asked about the Auto box; with a quick nudge on the lever changing up and down gives almost manual like driving control and the power boost button gives that extra punch. This is the best auto I've driven, great for cruising but engaging when driving cross country with 'purpose'. Turbo lag is a little annoying coming out of bends in auto. I just accelerate a tad sooner than normal, drop a gear or flick to 'manual' if I'm moving at a pace.