Forester: Why get a turbo? What about the back seat?

[Danny Russell]

From their 1/4 mile timeslips (and I think G-Tek too) people are estimating
actual power is higher. I've seen estimates of 240hp at the flywheel. Don't
recall what the dyno-measured WHP is.

SNIP

Bingo. Car & Driver ran a 0-60 time .1 second quicker than they achieved the especially fast
"ringer" WRX they tested a year prior. The moment I read those figures I realized something was up
with the official power rating. The XT is heavier than the WRX.

For some reason Subaru saw fit to substantially underrate the power on the XT. All I can figure is
that they must be aware of some general Insurance industry formula regarding power/weight ratio that
was to not be "exceeded" to keep premiums in check. Smart move, borrowed from the muscle car era
(Mopar Hemi). Apparently Chrysler is still doing it with the SRT-4.

 

[Lord Drool Rockworm]

I have an '04 XT It's fantastic!!

I often carry passengers in the back seat. They range in height from
sprogs to 6' - 1" adults. It's a little cramped in the back for the
taller ones, but I've had no real complaints. I am 6' - 1" myself, so
the driver's seat is back a bit.

For the Turbo, it really depends on what you want. It's a sleeper,
and so fun to drive. I got the turbo because I tow a trailer around
guite a lot, and the extra power is a BIG bonus. It's so cool to be
able to actually pass other cars while going UPHILL towing a trailer.

The car does move.

Cheers,
Michael

 

[Spinifex]

May I ask what you earn per year???

Without it being a private question, or sounding condescending..... over
an entire yearly period, is $500 (Canadian, or otherwise) going to
make THAT much difference to you, in terms of paying more for premium fuel?

That's $10 per week.....just don't buy that extra bottle of milk or
packet of cigarettes each week and you'll never notice.

The turbo will certainly give you a bigger smile on your dial

Spinifex

For me: XS only. I wanted to make a practical choice. Might not have
been able to otherwise. Anyway, I bought mine slightly used. XTs were
rare on the used market late last year.

By "practical choice", you mean you might have bought the turbo just
because it's fun? I keep wavering, the difference in cost is about
C$3800 on list prices and about C$500 a year for premium gas and more
of it. Easy to lose sight of that when you're driving the vehicle and
having fun.


andrew [(e-mail address removed)]

 

[Andrew Webber]

May I ask what you earn per year???

Without it being a private question, or sounding condescending..... over
an entire yearly period, is $500 (Canadian, or otherwise) going to
make THAT much difference to you, in terms of paying more for premium fuel?

That's $10 per week.....just don't buy that extra bottle of milk or
packet of cigarettes each week and you'll never notice.

The turbo will certainly give you a bigger smile on your dial

Yeah I know. And no, $500 isn't going to kill me, at least not this
year (self-employed, so who knows from year to year). I just figure
it's also the cost, the repairs are presumably more expensive, maybe
insurance will cost more, I'll burn most gas (but still less than in
the Explorer), and so on.

But thanks for your comments, I'm still back-and-forth on this. Maybe
I'll just buy the X-Trail so I don't have to worry about a turbo.



andrew [(e-mail address removed)]