Subiesport Magazine - April/May 2008 - (Page 23)

DRIVELINE DOWN & DIRTY PEOPLE LOVE THEIR Foresters. This is what the folks at Subaru kept reminding us throughout the presentation leading to our first drive of the all-new Crossover Utility Vehicle. Despite this love, there were a few things that owners wanted, like more room fore and aft and a larger loading space. But if you are reading this magazine, you want the straight meat and potatoes, and you will want to know how the new rangetopping XT 5-speed drives. I can’t tell you anything about this car, because it does not exist. That’s right, the turbocharged, 2.5-liter EJ255 powered shoebox is only available with an automatic. Now, there will be some who will wail and moan that the 5-speed turbo is another special car that Subaru has killed all in the name of being more bean-counter friendly, and rightly so. Subaru never sold many 5-speed Forester XTs; at times sales never topped more than 10 units a month nationally. Do not fret, though. The Subaru performance lineup is set to get a lot more exciting in the next few model years. So before you curse the name of Subaru for killing your favorite, hot cute-ute, look at yourself in the mirror and ask yourself if you bought one. The good news is that the new car is better in almost every way than the one it replaces. Not merely a box body on an Impreza chassis, the Forester can handle off-road situations well. The car comes loaded with lots of standard features and more interior room while not becoming too much of a bigger overall car. Subaru has managed to do this for less than $20,000 with 2,400lbs towing capacity, AWD and VDC (Subaru speak for stability control) standard. Our testing ground was the rugged and remote Catalina Island off the coast of Southern California. We were afforded a rare glimpse of the island’s hinterlands of rough dirt tracks carved into the sides of the island’s heights, which climb vertically out of the ocean. Often times, we would find ourselves climbing straight up one of these roughly-hewn tracks, only to crest the precipice and clamber down the other side. Travis has his way with the all-new 2009 Subaru Forester. Subaru was very clear in that the car has not lost any of the wilderness utility that previous owners have come to rely on. In many ways, it has only gained more user-friendly ability. There are two ways to get to Catalina: by boat, or by air. And if you think Delta has an hourly shuttle, think again. The airstrip — and I do mean strip — is carved into the side of a hill with a drop-off on either end, and is just long enough to accommodate a twin Beach with room enough for seven passengers; in other words, Tribeca territory. From there, it was off into the dirt tracks that crisscross the island. One of our first challenges was to make our way to the top of a very steep and rocky grade. While rock crawling is not exactly the forté of the turbocharged automatic, it handled the hill easily. While it did not have the awe-inspiring off-road ability of a Defender 90, it clearly shows that the Forester has the ability to handle the rough terrain that one might find on an unimproved forest service road or rough track, while leading the active lifestyle that Forester owners are known for. The overall feel and quality is what you have come to expect from Subaru: good-quality plastics with good ergonomics. The seating position is a bit higher now, by about four inches, which makes ingress and egress much easier; the doors also open wider to aid this. Headroom is also increased a bit and is comfortable for taller drivers. In the rear, legroom has increased by just over four inches as well. Rear passengers will also get the comfort of reclining rear seats along with a snack tray that can be used in conjunction with the center armrest. The rear seats also fold down in a 60/40 split configuration. SUBIESPORT MAGAZINE 23

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Subiesport Magazine - April/May 2008

Subiesport Magazine - April/May 2008 Contents Travis Geny Letters Readers' Rides Subaru News Wicked in White Pink Rules Harman Motive Nouveau Tuning the 2008 STI 2008 Rally Guide Alcan 5000 Rally Alcan Unleashed WRC Rally Monte Carlo WRC Rally Sweden WRC Rally Mexico 100 Acre Wood Kumakubo! D1 Drifting Where to Buy Subiesport 2008 Impreza WRX 2007 Legacy GT 1993 Impreza Wagon Fueled Up Ad Directory Spotted!

Subiesport Magazine - April/May 2008

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