Subaru AWD Fuel Consumption question

"Bond Trader Victor" wrote in news:a6484$4239bf4c$d1cc596c$ snipped-for-privacy@snip.allthenewsgroups.com:

My wife is getting about 16mpg on her H6. Mostly driving around town. Highway mileage is in the 22 - 26 mpg range, depending on traffic conditions.

Oh, and it takes premium.

Posted gov't mileage is a joke.

Al

I'd guess the fuel consumption will be the about same. My '03 5-speed

Normally I buy cars a little older, but with the Forester I thought the improvements in the '03 model year would be worth the extra $$. Didn't drive the older model though.

I love the Forester, but if you don't have a use for AWD, for the extra ground clearance, or for the utility of the wagon, the Forester probably isn't the optimal car for you.

I have an '03 (non turbo) 5 speed Forester. I drive mostly highway and get in the neighborhood of 26 - 29 mpg based on how fast (or how slow being here in NJ...) the traffic travels. Once...I got just over 30 mpg. The AT will get a couple mpg less than the 5 spd. I also use regular...so its alot cheaper than the premium. I know the turbo XT version prefers the premium.

I get just under 10L / 100km on 98RON premium in Australia.

You guys must have gotten the down-spec Forester, mine will easily flog a maxima or accord if you choose to.

-mark

Yours is a turbo then?

My US spec Maxima was 190hp. Newer ones are heavier, and IIRC 265hp. US NA Forester is 168 hp (California models maybe 165). Turbo is estimated at 240hp.

Only have I wanted a granny gear or low range. Nothing a little clutch smoke wouldn't solve...

wouldn't solve...

Oops. Should be "Only once..."

Thanks for all the comments an links guys (and gals too!) I'm leaning to buying the car from him, as it is in great shape plus he's the original owner and from what I can see from the EPA website, the Subaru does not qualify as being a 'gas hog". Thanks again. : ) Vic in W. PA

No, 2.5XS.

You do have to give it a gutful if you want to beat someone, but it's quite feasible most of the time.

Certainly does a good job against the kiddies in dad's old car.

-mark

I find that my Subie (2.5l auto "250T" wagon, 123 KW) *really* gets up and goes immediately off the mark, just by stomping on the gas with no advance preparation, and that makes all the difference. Many other cars don't start going until they get over 3000 rpm or so (and there's no point if they're FWD anyway...). A friend has the twin turbo 2.0 version with 70% more maximum power but he can't beat me to 80 or 100 km/h unless he is prepared and really abuses his clutch.

In overtaking *starting* from that sort of open road speed though there is no comparison. The turbo walks away from me.

True. It's got the get up and go from idle, no point trying to dump the clutch. I tend to start off as usual then hold it in gear higher than usual for 'drag' starts.

-mark

Sad that we tolerate worse mileage than we used to!

Ouch!

Well, they do say, "your mileage may vary". Maybe they should list standard deviation and certainty probabilities. But they would be hard to measure, and few people understand those statistics.

Interestingly, I do get their estimated ratings! Maybe I drive more gently than others do. In fact, I probably do.

I hope I don't offend anyone, but what is the point of a Forrester? The ground clearance seems to be very very slightly higher than a Legacy. The Forester has less room and costs more. So what's the deal? I'm sure I'm missing something.

Aren't you disappointed that you put more fuel in and get less out of the Forester, compared with the Maxima?

Not sure I believe that a Forester is more expensive than a Legacy

Impreza-based wagon

Forester

Legacy wagon

Outback wagon

The Outback you might eliminate due to cost. The Forester might come out ahead following this rationale: it has more cargo room than the Impreza wagon due to height & square shape. The Forester is faster than a Legacy wagon with the same 2.5L H4 engine, because it is lighter --- not by much, but the 2.5 in the Forester can be described as "adequate" where as a Legacy wagon begs for the H6. You can pay for the H6, but there goes your gas mileage and a couple more thousand dollars.

So, if you don't need a big car (we take my wife's minivan when we need room) and want a bit more cargo room than the Impreza wagon, you might pick the Forester. Other considerations are standard equipment on the Forester compared to the Impreza and the fact that Foresters are made in Japan.

-R.

I can answer this question. Before the forestor, I owned a 2002 Passat. Nice car (same class as a maxima). I loved the passat. I too, love my Forester. They are 2 completely different cars.

My passat was a nice highway cruiser. My forester is much more fun in the twisties.

My passat had nice big back seats. My forester, though will smaller back seat accomdatations has much more space for hauling things...especially odd sizes (like lawn mowers and such).

My passat was a great dry pavement car - but was not so hot in bad weather - especially snow. My forester with AWD is awesome in all weather conditions.

My passat cost me $28,000 (loaded V6). My forester XS cost me $22,000 (loaded XS).

My passat car insurance ran $1200 per/yr. My forester car insurance costs $1000 per/yr.

The routine maintenance on the forester has also been quite a bit cheaper.

I wont even go into the reliability differences between the passat and forester ...forester wins this one hands down. However, a maxima probably doesn't have much (if anything) on the forester reliability wise. They have a good track record.

So...there are my reasons for liking the forester more than a sport sedan. Granted, its not a sport sedan - but it is definitely a fun car to drive none the less.

Dom

Uh, that's less output on the same amount of fuel.

Anyway the Forester works well for me. We have excessivly conservative chain controls in my state (they're often required on 2WD vehicles when they're not at all useful). I've been exempt from every chain control I've encountered in the Forester. I occasionally camp in the back (which I couldn't do in the Max). Inside I carry snowboards, and sometimes bikes, and I've even carried plywood. The Max could deal with some dirt roads, but it was tricky. The Forester handles dirt & mud much better. And unlike any truck/SUV I've driven, the Forester is agile and pleasant to drive.

what kind of mileage do you do in a year? any car's already costing you a couple of grand a year in depreciation, maintenance, insurance and licensing. unless you're driving for a living, fuel costs are the least of your problems - plus or minus 5 mpg won't add up to $50 a month. a blown head gasket is much more of a worry than $10 a week at the pumps.

my idea of "going through the roof" isn't 10-20%, but 200%, like what they're paying in europe.

....... tom klein

ps. just be grateful that your neighbour actually BELIEVES that trad> I am contenplating the purchase of a pre-owned (2002)

The gov't readings do not take into account weather, windage, altitude and the like. They are done on a dynometer in a nice lab. In the late '60s, a friend of mine had a Porsche. His gas mileage dropped dramatically when he put the ski rack on it and we went skiing.

I once drafted a semi for about a hundred miles in my '66 Corvair out in Montana. I got 26 mpg that day. I bet the semi driver was fuming.

Al

wouldn't solve...

My Forester Turbo, the very first version back in 1998, has constantly making a mileage of 11L/100KM record.