1. Home
  2. Ford Mustang Forum
  3. Fear Soccer-Mom's SUV

Fear Soccer-Mom's SUV

I couldn't believe it! I just kept looking at the photos and re-reading the article. Could this be some funky misprint? How could this performance data belong to this... this... this bread box on wheels? I mean this thing is freakin' ugly! I mean so ugly, most people would rather _walk_ up a uphill, on a muddy dirt road, in a torrential thunderstorm with golf-ball size hail, before asking for keys to this thing. What vehicle am I talking about? I'm talking about the new Subaru Forester. Oh, you've seen it before? Okay, maybe it's not _that_ ugly--not Aztec ugly--but it sure isn't pretty, that's for sure. And I know what you're thinking now... where's does the "fear" thing come from, Patrick? What's this Forester pushing...

140 horsepower or something? Wow, like I'm really scared. Well then get this! You know that new 300-horsepower Subaru STi? Well, detune that motor a little bit (the turbo's boost has been lowered) and you have what's under the hood of the Forester 2.5XT. In the Forester the motor is only _rated_ at 210 horse and 235 lb feet of torque, but check out these acceleration numbers!!

0-60 in 5.3 seconds

1/4 mile in 13.8 @ 97 mph

(Other interesting notes: Curb weight is 3,200 pounds. Price $25K.)

Those acceleration numbers are better than any '94-'98 Mustang, and only the most well-driven no-option 5 liter, or post '99 GT is going to be able to hang with it. (Note: This Forester is faster and quicker than the rally-inspired 2.0 WRX because the Forester uses the STi's larger 2.5 liter.) And you know vehicles with turbos...? Crank the boost up a little and watch the e.t's plummet. Shoot, after a little tuning, you could take this thing street racing one night and make a killing! Just cruise it into some local Friday night hangouts (wearing some nerd gear) and talk about how fast your mom's Forester is to some late-model Mustang GT owners. Then mention if you could just drive a stick a little better you could probably kick their Mustangs' butts. Once the laughter starts you defend your honor by asking them to put their money where their mouth is. You'll have so many bites you'll have to ask them to take a number. But only race the guy with the biggest mouth... he'll be the dumbest one. When you line 'em up he'll probably even give you the jump. Hook, line, and sinker... Then after the race ask him to double the winnings or threaten to go back and tell his buddies his Mustang just lost to your Subaru SUV. Onto the next hangout... Morale of the story. Beaware of the Subaru Forester 2.5XT.

Patrick '93 Cobra '83 LTD

Reply to
Patrick
Loading thread data ...

Those small displacemnt high output engines will not last when abused. Even the much weaker Ford Focus ZX3 has more horepower per liter than the

4.6L GTs. bg

Reply to
BG250

While if this were the 1970s I'd rush out and buy up good cars for cheap. But now adays what's going to be out there to pick up cheap? SUVs? 4WD station wagons... blah. Why bother.... All that could be hoped for are a vipers, cobras, vettes, and some exotics to drop to low low prices.

Reply to
Brent P

Let's hope so. I could have fun with an extra viper, cobra, vette, or some exotic. And since it wouldn't be a daily driver for me, I couldn't care less about the mileage.

LJH

95GT

Reply to
Larry Hepinstall

Let's see, 210 HP pushing a 3,200 car to 60 in 5.3 seconds. It has to be kilometers per hour because NO FREAKING WAY will it push a car that heavy that fast. In miles per hour, 210 hp pushing a 3,200 lb car may crack the upper 6s but that's it.

John

Reply to
jriegle

Good point. But I was thinking more like picking out teen-owned bolt-on Mustangs. A tweaked Sube Forester would be pretty deadly against that sort of crowd.

11.8s is pretty serious though. If it was my new Sube Forester, I'd stop in the high 12-second boost range. Running 12s with that element of surprise would be plenty entertaining.

I guess they design them for the clutch to be the "fuse" instead of the tranny.

I've been spoiled. My old LX's clutch was still going strong after

105,000 miles when I sold the car. My Cobra's clutch has 77,000 and is still in good shape.

A hell of a sleeper! I wouldn't be surprised to see a cult-like following with these things.

The reason I posted was to maybe help prevent one of our Mustangers from getting caught off gaurd be a sneaky Sube. Patrick '93 Cobra '83 LTD

Reply to
Patrick

Exactly what I was thinking. The 4WD would probably give a good launch, but not enough to chop a second or more off the 0-60 time.

Chris

Reply to
Chris1

No, it's mph per hour. Have you heard of factory horsepower being underrated? Current examples I know of off the top of my head are Dodge's Neon SRT-4 the Ford's '03 Cobra. I'd guess and say that so is Forester's turbo'd 2.5. Why? I don't know. Maybe they weren't able to turn down the wick on the STi's 300-horsepower motor enough before slipping it into the Forester.

I agree, but again, factory ratings are not always accurate. Patrick '93 Cobra (underrated at only 235...?) '83 LTD (definitely not underrated, it's as slow as it's 115 hp rating suggests)

Reply to
Patrick

MotorsForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.