2018 Subaru Forester 2.5i Premium on 2040-cars

Auto blog

2021 Subaru Forester gets small price bump, more standard features

Information for the 2021 Subaru Forester is out, and the crossover hasn’t changed a whole lot for the new year. This will be the third year of this generation of Forester, and itÂ’s also the third year in a row without a turbocharged engine option in the lineup. Subaru dropped the more powerful Forester turbo with the redesigned car in 2019, leaving a naturally aspirated 2.5-liter flat-four as the only engine option. It makes the same 182 horsepower and 177 pound-feet of torque this year. There are a couple notable differences from year-to-year. The responsive (turning) headlights and automatic brights previously reserved for the top trims are now standard equipment. Subaru has added a rear seat reminder system as standard — all passengers will also be reminded to buckle up before the journey with visible and audible reminders, even those in the back seat. Finally, the base price creeps up by $300 to $25,845. View 20 Photos Light packaging tweaks are also part of the model year switchover. The Base trim is the only one that doesnÂ’t have keyless entry and push-button start, as Subaru added it to the Premium trim this year. Also, the Sport trim adds blind-spot detection and rear cross-traffic alert standard (it was previously optional). And thatÂ’s all, folks. Subaru says 2021 Foresters will start reaching dealers in October, so youÂ’ll have to wait until then if you plan on snatching up the latest model year. We're still chugging along with our long-term Forester tester. Most recently, it went to battle against the redesigned Subaru Outback. Related video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

Subaru WRX S4 gets big power bump in Japan

A month after originally teasing it, Subaru is finally unveiling its WRX S4 model for Japan. It's a bit more than just a plush take on the sport sedan, because Subaru is fitting a more powerful version of the 2.0-liter, turbocharged boxer four-cylinder engine than we get on these shores.
The company says that S4 stands for "'Sports performance', 'Safety performance', 'Smart driving' and 'Sophisticated feel," and it certainly looks like this Rex ticks all of those boxes. The most surprising feature is the Japanese model's 2.0-liter turbo engine boasting 296 horsepower (221 kilowatts) and 295 pound-feet (400 Newton-meters) of torque in this application. That's quite a healthy upgrade over the 268 hp and 258 lb-ft that Americans get in the standard WRX, and it's even nipping at the heels of the 305 hp and 290 lb-ft from the STI with a 2.5-liter mill that we get over here.
While extra power is always welcome, enthusiasts might not be so thrilled that Subaru's Sport Lineartronic Continuously Variable Transmission is the sedan's only available gearbox. However, it offers a simulated eight-speed shifting mode when drivers notch the car into Sport# driving mode. Of course, the S4 also packs Subie's trademark all-wheel drive with Vehicle Dynamics Control and Active Torque Vectoring as standard.

Is your new-car warranty good at the race track?

We've all heard the horror stories. Your buddy knows a girl that was dating a guy whose best friend's brother once broke his brand-new, recently purchased performance car while making runs at a drag strip or laps at a track day, and the manufacturer wouldn't cover the repair under warranty. True story? Urban legend? Complete crap? Yes, no, maybe. One thing's for sure: Automotive warranties have always come with caveats. In 1908, an ad in the Trenton Evening Times clearly stated: "All Ford Cars Guaranteed for One Year." Although it changed over time, by 1925 the Ford New Car Guarantee only covered 90 days on material and 30 days on labor, and it clearly stated that that there was "No guarantee whatever on Fan Belts, Glass, Bulbs, Wiring, Transmission, Bands, Hose Connections, Commutator Shells, Rollers, Spark Plugs or Gaskets." Whether or not Ol' Henry would pay to fix your Model T if you broke it shaving a tenth off your lap time at the local board track seems to be lost to history. We're guessing no. But what about today? Do new-car warranties in 2017 cover cars when they are driven on race tracks? We researched the warranties of 14 auto brands to find out, and the answer is yes, no, maybe, depending on the brand, in some cases the model, and whether or not your car is modified from stock. Acura has been out of the high-performance car game for a number of years, but jumps back into the party in 2017 with its hybrid-powered $173,000 NSX supercar. And Acura's warranty, as well as Honda's, clearly states that it does not cover "the use of the vehicle in competition or racing events." View 33 Photos So we asked Sage Marie, Senior Manager of Public Relations for Honda and Acura. "If the car is stock, the warranty covers it on a track just as it does on the street. No question," he told us. "However, if the car is modified, say with slick tires or other components that would put higher stresses on the vehicle's parts and systems, then we would have to investigate the circumstances further." Marie went on to say the same would be true for any Acura model or Honda vehicle, including the new 2017 Honda Civic Si. This became a common theme. Chevrolet actually started this practice with the fifth-generation Camaro on the high-performance ZL1 and Z/28 models.