2006 Subaru Forester X Wagon 4-door 2.5l on 2040-cars

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What grownups drive (fast) | 2017 Subaru Forester 2.0XT Touring Review

If you look at the 2017 Forester XT Touring and don't notice the changes compared to the 2016 model, we won't blame you. They're subtle. The naturally aspirated models get a new front bumper that matches the surrounding body color, but the turbo model we drove still has the black gap in the middle. The grille gives up the wide mesh look for a pattern that subtly accentuates the Pleiades badge. Look into the updated Forester's eyes, though, and you might see a new spark of beauty, with a redesign that prominently features a surrounding strip of LEDs. There's also a new color; our test vehicle came in the new-for-2017 Sepia Bronze Metallic paint, a tasteful brown(-ish) that might let you get away with going longer between washes. On the inside, this Forester had the new Saddle Brown leather interior exclusive to the Touring trim. It's the rich sort of brown that reminds one of a rustic but well-appointed hunting lodge, where one would expect to catch a whiff of pipe tobacco and whiskey. It just smelled like a normal car, though, at least before we got in it. Touring spec also offers up a heated steering wheel and seats, the automotive equivalent to a chair in front of the fireplace. Most touch points are attended to with sturdy-feeling materials, and the most important one – the wheel­ – feels grippy and comfortable without being overwrought. The front seats are firm but comfortable, with an upright seating position. They're a bit reminiscent of those moderately expensive high-back office chairs, except in this case, the office rolls around with the seat. Sitting behind them isn't bad, either, as they're shaped in a way that carves out extra room for the knees. The door openings are large enough to make ingress and egress an easy task, which is a merciful thing, especially when wrestling a car seat into the back. As for our own rear-facing kid carrier, it fits in the Forester just fine, but, when clipped in the passenger side, means the front occupant is just one click closer to the dash than they'd be ideally. Their knees won't be crunched into the glove box, though (that's a position some of us have learned to live with in other cars with a rear-facing car seat installed). The view from the driver's seat is exceptional. Tall, wide windows let you keep track of everything that's going on around you. They also bring in a lot of light, and piloting the Forester is a bit like driving a greenhouse on wheels.

Autoblog Podcast #399

Episode #398 of the Autoblog Podcast is here, and this week, Dan Roth, Brandon Turkus, and Rob Sass of Hagerty Classic Cars Magazine talk about Cadillac's move to Manhattan and new naming convention, preview the Paris Motor Show, and finish up with the 3 Guys, 3 Grand Classic Car challenge. Also included is an interview with Tom Tjaarda, prolific designer of vehicles including the DeTomaso Pantera. We start with what's in the garage and finish up with some of your questions, and for those of you who hung with us live on our UStream channel, thanks for taking the time. Check out the rundown below with times for topics, and you can follow along down below with our Q&A. Thanks for listening! Autoblog Podcast #399: The video meant to be presented here is no longer available. Sorry for the inconvenience. Topics: Cadillac relocates to NYC and changes its model names Paris Motor Show preview Tom Tjaarda interview $3,000 classic cars In The Autoblog Garage: 2015 BMW 428i Gran Coupe 2014 Subaru XV Crosstrek Hybrid Jensen Interceptor Hosts: Dan Roth, Michael Harley, Brandon Turkus Runtime: 01:47:56 Rundown: Intro and Garage - 00:00 Cadillac Move - 24:02 Paris Motor Show - 39:22 Tom Tjaarda - 52:12 Hagerty $3000 Classics - 01:15:43 Q&A - 01:27:45 Get the podcast: [UStream] Listen live on Mondays at 10 PM Eastern at UStream [iTunes] Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes [RSS] Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator [MP3] Download the MP3 directly Feedback: Email: Podcast at Autoblog dot com Review the show in iTunes Podcasts Paris Motor Show BMW Cadillac Subaru Classics cadillac ct6 rob sass cadillac lts

Forgotten 1990s Subaru showroom is still full of new ghost Imprezas

Every now and then, stories and photos surface of car dealerships simply forgotten by time. Sometimes it's due to the dealer in question ceasing trading, for one reason or another, sometimes it's because of political tensions in the area — like with the Cypriot Toyota dealership which still has 1970s J-tin laying dormant, ravaged by opportunistic parts hunters. Years ago, photos appeared of a complete, 150-car, zero-miles Chrysler Neon shipment in Singapore. And no matter what the backstory, it's always fascinating to see completely everyday cars remaining undriven for decades, as if they were frozen in time while the world revolved around them. How about these as-new, unregistered, first generation Subaru Imprezas? Somewhere on the island of Malta in the Mediterranean, as reported by CarsAddition.com, there's a forgotten Subaru dealership with new mid-1990s stock still on the showroom floor. Judging by the unpainted bumpers and steel wheels, the right-hand-drive cars on display are absolute base spec, with likely the 90-horsepower 1.6 flat-four powering just their front wheels. They are almost all white, which adds to the appliance appearance. A couple Justy 4WD hatchbacks keep the Impreza saloons and wagons company, along with some Kei car vans and pickups. But the star of the showroom is the still-dazzling, late-'80s XT Turbo 4WD coupe, which has probably had been there originally to draw attention. It still does, and it's likely barely used. There are Subaru posters on the walls, all faded to blue, depicting Subaru's rally program and Leone/Loyale models which were originally replaced by the rounder Impreza in 1992. It's likely that all other base-model, first-generation Imprezas ever made have faced a quarter of a century of careless use, dents and rust. They were no fancier than a similarly priced Corolla, and it's unlikely any others have been preserved in a condition anywhere near these. Were the dealership owner ever to sell these, they would need complete overhauling after sitting for 25 years with their factory liquids and lubricants, but something tells me they won't leave the place anytime soon. It's unclear what the story behind this seemingly forgotten dealership is. CarsAddiction.com, the source for these photos, says it's probably due to a competing Maltese Subaru dealer upstaging this one, and the cars' era places them in the time of the 1990s economic downturn, which might have thrown a spanner in the works for this "Fuji" dealer.