AWD + Snow = WEEE!

[Stealthcb]

Decided to go out this afternoon, once the blizzard had blow off to our southeast, and play with the MS6 in the snow. Now keep in mind that I have all-season tires that Tire Rack calls summer tires on, but I have to say -- this car is damn good in the snow. I kept it to 4-inch drifts and smaller, but it plowed right through them without even thinking about getting stuck. Even when I stopped in a drive for this photo, when I got in and drove off again, it did great.

When I actually have decent all-seasons, or better yet snow tires on this beast, it'll be amazing in the white stuff. Fun fun!!

Yes, the car is dirty in the pic...but it is HAPPY.

[REBinc]

Mazda's are always happy, they have the smile built into their front bumper.

[TSi+WRX]

Looks great there, bro! Zoom-Zoom !

[Stealthcb]

Originally Posted by REBinc

Mazda's are always happy, they have the smile built into their front bumper.

Not as big a smile as the new Lancer's open-mouth grin!

Originally Posted by TSi+WRX

Looks great there, bro! Zoom-Zoom !

[TSi+WRX]

Originally Posted by Stealthcb

Not as big a smile as the new Lancer's open-mouth grin!

+1.

Actually, a lot of current-generation vehicles do that.....come to think of it, Sara's new car (which we're going to pick up tomorrow evening, hopefully - a Spark Silver Metallic 2009 Subaru Forester 2.5XT) also has this kind of grill/overall aesthetic.

Everyone loves a smile!

[Stealthcb]

Originally Posted by TSi+WRX

+1.

Actually, a lot of current-generation vehicles do that.....come to think of it, Sara's new car (which we're going to pick up tomorrow evening, hopefully - a Steel Silver Metallic 2009 Subaru Forester 2.5XT) also has this kind of grill/overall aesthetic.

Everyone loves a smile!

Your wife is getting a Forester? Done with the WRX?

I saw a Forester STi one time...I think I told you about it. Hella fast.

[TSi+WRX]

^ Apparently, the 2nd-generation Forester, swapped with the STi-turbo/TMIC, was a popular mod.

There were no true Forester STis here, stateside, but as we indeed talked about before, it could've very well have been a guy like me, who upgraded the USDM Forester turbo variant either to (very, very easy) or beyond (very easy) the performance level of the stock Impreza STi, and then put some stickers/badges on it.

Yep, the lease on her WRX is up. Four years. Man, how time flies.

We went in looking at the Legacy sedan, Impreza 5-door, and the Forester. Based solely on sizing, these vehicles are all very, very similar (which excluded the Outback wagon [the wagon variant of the Legacy] and the Tribeca), and she would not only feel comfortable driving these vehicles, but also parking, in her work garage, which is very, very narrow and congested - think parking garages in Washington, DC.

The Legacy she rejected right-away, saying that the ride was just too pillowy (I currently run progress-rate fronts and rears in my Legacy, albeit "improperly," on the stock struts - but I do so just for looks, as I don't drive the car nearly hard enough to require major suspension rework) and over-dampened.

The Impreza 5-door she liked. It still handled differently than her WRX, but she felt decently comfortable in it. She complained of an excessively heavy steering and brake effort, which, strangely enough, I concurred on (even baby-Anna remarked about the steering!!!).

The Forester she took to, immediately. The driving position and sightlines, she said, were the best of the 3.

While test-driving, we had the dealer work-up the leases for the Impreza and the Forester. The dealer said that for us to be in the turbocharged variant of either (Impreza 2.5GT, which, in-theory, would have been "identical" to her current automatic WRX; Forester 2.5XT), we'd be looking at payments of around $450-$500, given what we were ready to put as down-payment - neither Sara nor I could understand why we'd want to pay so much, for a Subaru, despite both of us being fans of the marque - so we downgraded to the Impreza 2.5i Premium 5-door and the Forester X, with All-Weather package, both of which carry payments of around $300 per month.

When we got home, I did some research, and confirmed that the pricing the dealer gave us for the leases was fair - and furthermore, indeed, the lease rates for the Impreza 2.5GT would have been outrageous, mainly due to the horrible depreciation and resale that this vehicle is projected to have.

I also found, however, a model of the Forester that the salesman totally overlooked, the base 2.5XT - which is what both I wanted, a turbocharged engine, and what Sara wanted, cloth seats (the Limited variants carry with it standard leather seats) - and the price came in right at around the $330 mark, which is what we'd been paying for Sara's WRX for the past few years.

The Forester XT isn't all that fast, but it is decently quick, with a sprint to sixty that should come close to her current autobox WRX. The extra half-liter of displacement and the revised gearing and torque-band easily offsets the minimal difference in weight. It should come in at under 7 seconds, with a full-boost launch, but compared to the Acura RDX, it is still likely to be a couple of tenths slower.

An AccessPORT should take car of that rather easily, but currently, I'm undecided about whether to pursue this route. Although the "Stage I 93-octane" off-the-shelf map will give me the performance I seek (i.e. equal or better than the RDX), it is an expensive proposition, at $670 or so - and without a downpipe (which, if I do go that route, would allow the truck sub-6-second 0-60 sprints), the cost-to-dollar performance gain really isn't realized.

The thing that sways me with the AccessPORT is that it can also function as a datalogger and a nice and discrete OBD-II based multi-gauge, which I can remove from the car when I'm not driving on longer trips (during which it would be nice to have the gauge), etc.....

[Stealthcb]

So you're getting a new car too? Non-turbo?

That's my primary complaint about Subies -- overpriced. At least for the GT/STi models. If they were more reasonable, I might be in an STI right now.

[sequoiasoon]

I think the Outbacks are awesome (always like wagons for some weird reason) as well as the Foresters. The Legacy GT's also beautiful. Whe I went car shopping in '07 the 3 problems were price, size of rear seats, lack of stability control. Price I could have worked with but the other 2 just wasn't an option. Maybe in the future......

[TSi+WRX]

Originally Posted by Stealthcb

So you're getting a new car too? Non-turbo?

No way. Winky's staying!

That's my primary complaint about Subies -- overpriced. At least for the GT/STi models. If they were more reasonable, I might be in an STI right now.

^ Certain models, yes. It really depends on the specific model and trim level. Some see much more severe depreciation. That Impreza 2.5GT's resale value plummets - it's residual was horrible, leading to outrageous lease payments.



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[quote=sequoiasoon;14030]I think the Outbacks are awesome (always like wagons for some weird reason) as well as the Foresters.[/qutoe]

^ I started liking wagons about 3 years ago. I sometimes wish - OK, every other week - that I'd gotten my car in wagon form.

The Legacy GT's also beautiful. Whe I went car shopping in '07 the 3 problems were price, size of rear seats, lack of stability control. Price I could have worked with but the other 2 just wasn't an option. Maybe in the future......

The price is still pretty harsh on the LegacyGT.

And unfortunately, they've not yet changed the platform, so the rear seat issue is still present (the Forester is much roomier, despite being on a hybrid of a half of the JDM Impreza front and half rear USDM Impreza chassis) - the '10 change may be what you're looking for, but I honestly don't know, as there's been nothing of that outside of the show circuit.

Stability control, though, has been taken care of, thanks to the US government mandate.