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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.

2019 Subaru WRX and WRX STI Series.Gray revealed, look a bit blue

Subaru mentioned that it would make special Series.Gray versions of its WRX sports sedans, but it wasn't until now that the company showed what the special cars actually look like. The 2019 Subaru WRX Series.Gray and WRX STI Series.Gray cars are certainly less bold than some of their predecessors, such as the Series.HyperBlue models. But their Cool Gray Khaki is still a sharp color, one that actually looks a little blue in the right light. And if it looks familiar, that's because it is. The same color is available on the Crosstrek. In addition to the gray paint, the cars come with black badges and black wheels, while the WRX STI gets silver-painted Brembo brake calipers. It's not just cosmetic additions, however. The WRX gets the optional Performance Package as standard, it loses the power sunroof, and it picks up some Jurid front brake pads. The STI gets some performance enhancement, too, in the form a sportier Bilstein suspension setup. Inside, both cars come with Ultrasuede Recaro seats, with driver power adjustment, along with adaptive LED headlights, LED foglights and keyless start. The STI gets an Ultrasuede steering wheel, too. Complete pricing with destination charges for the WRX Series.Gray starts at $33,455 and $40,555 for the WRX STI. You'll also need to act quickly. Only 750 of the WRX and 250 of the WRX STI will be available. The cars go on sale this fall. Related Video: Featured Gallery 2019 Subaru WRX and WRX STI Series.Gray View 10 Photos Image Credit: Subaru Subaru Performance Sedan

2019 Subaru Forester vs. 2020 Honda CR-V Car Seat Test

We've had our long-term 2019 Subaru Forester Touring for some time now, and I've had my large son's car seat in it — and out of it, and back in it — a fair number of times. Installing a car seat over and over is a pain, but the Forester is actually a pretty good car for it. The rear seat is roomy, the door opening is large and the car seat is generally easy to install. For a few short days, though, I also had a 2020 Honda CR-V Hybrid in the driveway alongside the Subaru. Mostly stuck at home in quarantine, I wasn't getting a lot of chances to drive the two cars back to back, but comparing something like a child's car seat in each car is easy enough without unnecessary trips and potential exposure to coronavirus. So, with my son along for moral support, I lugged his car seat out of the garage and got to strappin'.  In terms of backseat roominess, the Forester and CR-V are competitive. On paper, they're very close, with the Forester offering 39.4 inches of rear legroom and 39.6 inches of headroom, and the CR-V providing 40.4 inches of legroom and 39.2 inches of headroom (the fact that I tested a Hybrid makes no difference). For each, I moved the front passenger seat forward to a reasonably comfortable seating position, keeping a sizeable gap between my knees and the dashboards, and eyed them up. They look damn near the same, each offering lots more space in the second row than my wife's 2013 Mercedes-Benz GLK that I'm usually putting the car seat into. Even the openings are close in size and shape, perhaps with the Forester getting a slight advantage in ingress/egress for one's feet, which matters little when installing the boy's Chair Force One (officially a Britax Frontier ClickTight). First, I tried the car seat in the Subaru. It's really easy. There's no angling the seat to wedge it in the door. Just walk up and plop it down. I thought for sure the Forester would take the win here, but when I went to put it in the CR-V, it was equally simple. Once installed, both still offer plenty of room behind the front seat for a child to swing their legs around without kicking the seat back. With just one child, we often find ourselves putting one of the rear seats down to accommodate more items, like when we're hauling gear up to our cottage for a vacation — or just going to Costco. If we're picking a side of the car, we usually put our boy on the passenger side.