2009 Subaru Forester 2.5x Limited Wagon Burgundy Exterior With Black Leather on 2040-cars

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2019 Subaru Forester Touring Long-Term Update | Wet carpet

I hadn’t been doing much driving, so the Forester had spent a good chunk of the rainy/snowy spring week relaxing in my driveway. Finally, it came time to pick up a birthday dinner — Indian food, curbside to-go. As soon as I sat down, I noticed something new: a small crack in the windshield. That fix will have to wait until more businesses reopen. As I eased out of my driveway, another issue emerged. I heard what sounded like water sloshing. Braking for the stop sign at the end of my street Â… yep, definitely liquid. It sounded like it was below or in front of me. Later, I was parked in the alley behind the restaurant waiting for my order, and I accidentally dropped my phone down into the black hole on the righthand side of my seat. I reached down and groped for it, but instead of a rectangular personal computer, my fingers found nothing but carpet, seemingly soaked to capacity. My first instinct was to use a disinfectant wipe on my wet digits, but then I got out to inspect the underside of my seat from the second row. There was my phone, sitting in a fabric swamp under the seat. I retrieved it, and, of course, stuck my hand back in the spongy mess for an inspection. The water was cool to the touch. I sniffed my hand and found no noticeable smell. I wiped my hands dry, got my food situated on the passenger seat (seat warmer set on high, of course) and headed home. That night, I told Road Test Editor and fleet manager Zac Palmer about what I found. The next day, there was still no smell, but the water was still pooled, and the Forester got an appointment at the dealership (Dunning Subaru, where I used to take my '04 WRX — good people). I dropped it off Monday morning, and it spent a full week at the dealership. First, a part had to be ordered (something about a missing grommet; we'd learn more later). Second, the car wasnÂ’t ready until just before closing time on Thursday, and I didnÂ’t have time to pick it up before they closed for the weekend (temporary coronavirus hours) at 3:45 p.m.  “Subaru service told us that it tried to soak up and remove as much of the water as possible,” Zac relayed from Dunning, “but cleaning up the mess isnÂ’t something the service department usually does. Instead, it normally gets sent to a detailing shop that is now closed due to the coronavirus. The dealer apologized over the phone for the incomplete job, and warned us that the carpeting could still feel damp and possibly smell when we pick it up.

2021 Subaru Impreza gets new driving modes for a mild price increase

Subaru has announced pricing information for the 2021 Impreza. It costs a little bit more than the outgoing 2020 model, but some trim levels gain a new feature named SI-Drive that adds two driving modes. Pricing for the 2021 Impreza sedan, the company's entry-level model, starts at $19,720 including a mandatory $925 destination charge. For context, the 2020 model cost $19,595. Putting a 2021 in your driveway will cost $100 more, but Subaru increased its destination charge by $25, so the next model year will bring a $125 increase. That figure corresponds to a base variant equipped with a five-speed manual transmission. Motorists who want two pedals need to plan on spending $1,120 more for a continuously variable transmission (CVT). The lineup still includes four trim levels called base, Premium, Sport, and Limited, respectively. The CVT-only range-topping model costs $26,820 including destination, a $125 drop compared to 2020. On the hatchback side of the portfolio, the base model costs $20,220 and the more upscale Limited carries a price of $27,320. Subaru gave the Impreza a mid-cycle update for 2020, so the 2021 model is essentially unchanged with the exception of an SI-Drive performance management system. Only offered on cars equipped with the CVT, it adds two driving modes that "allow the driver to maximize engine performance, control, and efficiency," according to the brand. This technology is already found in several global Subaru models, including the WRX. Although the Crosstrek entered the 2021 model year with a bigger engine, the Impreza it's based on remains exclusively available with a 2.0-liter flat-four engine rated at 152 horsepower and 145 pound-feet of torque. Subaru's symmetrical all-wheel drive system comes standard regardless of trim level or body style. Subaru will begin sending the 2021 Impreza to its American dealers in October 2020. It will join the rest of the lineup with one exception: the BRZ. Production of the enthusiast-approved coupe is ending, and the company has stopped taking new orders for the model in Japan. It's again working with partner Toyota to bring a second-generation model to the market, and we hear it might make its debut in time for the 2022 model year. Related Video:    

Drive-up bank robbery perpetrated with Cayenne and WRX

Thieves carried out what appears to be a movie-script-perfect robbery of a bank in Sydney, Australia early on Friday morning, using two stolen high-performance vehicles in the process.
At around 11:15 AM local time, in near mid-day light, reports say that two men in masks smashed into the side of a Westpac bank in a confirmed-stolen black Porsche Cayenne. The perpetrators were armed with sledgehammers according to witness reports, and took only about five minutes to take what they were after inside of the bank.
The rapid getaway was executed in a Subaru WRX, also confirmed as a stolen vehicle, while witnesses snapped camera phone images of the illicit goings on. One Twitter user posted a few of the images to his social media feed; you can take a look at them in our small gallery below. Follow on down for the full video report, from The Sydney Morning Herald.