2011 Subaru Outback 2.5i Limited Wagon 4-door 2.5l Sunroof/ Original Owner on 2040-cars

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2019 Subaru Forester First Drive Review | Hidden treasure

ASHEVILLE, N.C — Forester sales have been nothing short of spectacular for Subaru. The fourth-generation Forester sold more than double what the first three generations sold ... combined. It makes up about 20 percent of Subaru's current U.S. sales, and 58 percent globally. Clearly, Subaru has been the right thing with the Forester to bring people over to the brand, and to keep them there. So why mess with a good thing? Subaru hasn't, really. The all-new 2019 Forester looks remarkably familiar – slightly tweaking a few things to refine the experience without alienating buyers. They improved aero while maintaining huge windows. And even the small-outside-big-inside formula that makes it such a practical choice was improved, gaining interior volume with a minimal increase in length and width. Peel away the sheet metal, though, and there have been significant changes for the Forester, which shares few parts with the outgoing generation. The updated engine gets direct injection. The reworked frame, using more high-strength steel, means it has 1.4 times the impact absorption of the previous car. The geometry of the four-wheel independent suspension has been optimized for stability, the steering retuned, the transmission reworked for better power, efficiency, handling, comfort and safety. So, can this visually familiar Forester really feel all that different going down the road? More importantly, do we like it better? We headed into the Blue Ridge mountains around Asheville N.C. in order to find out. Our first vehicle for the day was the new Sport trim, with no added performance and some funkier design cues. Somehow, matte-ish orange accents have become the go-to hue to represent "sport." They stand out most around the air vents and gear shifter, in the contrast stitching and here and there in the instrument panel. The busy mix of materials and colors might find favor in youthful buyers, but were a bit too flashy for our taste. Loud as that interior might be visually, sonically the Forester is quite the opposite. We kept the radio off to enjoy, finally, a Forester interior in which we could hold a quiet conversation at highway speed. Depending on the surface, we heard some tire noise, but muted compared to Foresters — and tons of Subarus — of generations past. In normal, calm driving, the new Forester behaves like a more premium vehicle – calm and comfortable.

Subaru takes another look back, this time at the 2004 WRX STI

Here we have the followup to the rally-mimicking Impreza 22B STI that Subaru recently chronicled in its Vintage Garage series: the 2004 Impreza WRX STI. Displacement for the boxer four was upped from 2.2 liters to 2.5, and after noticing how many buyers had installed larger turbochargers on their WRXs, Subaru decided to bolt on one in-house. That gave the final product 300 horsepower and a 0-to-60 mile-per-hour run of just 4.6 seconds.
It was stiffer, it's body from nose to front doors was penned by Peter Stephens, he of the McLaren F1, it came with a driver-controlled center differential, driver-activated cooling spray for the turbos and 300 pound-feet of torque. This is a curio from a time when, after a new WRX STI came out, you started poring through magazines to see how the Mitubishi Evo was going to respond. You can find out more about it in the video below.

Reveling in the reveals: BRZ, Civic, Wrangler, QX55

It’s almost like there should have been an auto show this week. If youÂ’re an enthusiast, you know the week before Thanksgiving is when the Los Angeles Auto Show kicks off. This year, thereÂ’s no L.A. show, at least until next May. But Subaru, Honda, Jeep and Infiniti rolled out significant new products this week, making us almost nostalgic for auto shows. Serendipity, or more likely previously allocated marketing budgets, gave us a familiar feel of new products, even though we couldnÂ’t feel or touch them under the bright lights of the Los Angeles Convention Center. LetÂ’s break them down: 2022 Subaru BRZ 2022 Subaru BRZ View 62 Photos Subaru stuck to basic formula here: The 2022 BRZ remains a rear-wheel drive sports coupe thatÂ’s supremely lightweight, adequately powered and attractive. Subaru debuts its new boxer four-cylinder in the BRZ. ItÂ’s rated at 223 hp and you need to rev all the way to 7,000 rpm to achieve that output. I'd prefer a bit more than the 184 lb-ft of torque the powerplant offers (reasonably low in the band at 3,700 rpm), for some more off-the-line grunt. Say 200 lb-ft, though itÂ’s almost a cliche to argue the BRZ is underpowered.  The outgoing BRZ is one of the purest cars IÂ’ve driven, so rather than harp on the power, which will ultimately be fine, give Subaru props for focusing on chassis improvements to improve rigidity by 60 percent and aid turn-in. Admirably, the curb weight is less than 2,900 pounds, and the manual in Premium trim checks in at the lowest, just 2,815 pounds.  Aesthetically, I like it. ItÂ’s busier than before, and thereÂ’s a lot more going on with the front fascia, wheel arches and fenders. ThereÂ’s a bit of a Porsche vibe up front, which is good, and a bit of a Honda Civic vibe in back (think 2010) thatÂ’s not.  ItÂ’s impressive that Subaru resisted the urge to gratuitously power up the BRZ and remained focused on the essence of its goodness and appeal to enthusiasts. 2021 Jeep Wrangler 392 2021 Jeep? Wrangler Rubicon 392 View 75 Photos What effect will the 2021 Ford Bronco have on the Jeep Wrangler? One school of thought is that it will actually make the Jeep better, and the 2021 Wrangler 392 is proof positive that will be the case. With the Bronco attracting spectacular levels of attention, Jeep could not sit idly by and remain focused on incremental changes. It needed to make a splash.