(My initial thoughts after a couple of days with the Forester) I just picked up my new 2010 Subaru Forester Limited in Spark Silver with black leather interior and I am in love. This mini SUV is not perfect but it is a lot great things. As far as looks I am pleased with it but the Forester would look better in my opinion with the sports grill and ditch the chrome nose straight from the factory. I am also not a big fan of the euro style tail lights again I would have like to see them in a solid red or something similar to that.

The interior….the seats are super comfy and the leather looks and feels like it came from a high end European car. The heated seats are freaking great with both front seats having 3 different levels of heat from warm to roasting nuts. But the controls for the heated seats could be placed in a better location. Lots of space and visually pleasing and at night the dash looks great with the blue from the gauges and red from the center council. Some of the plastic feels a little cheap for being a limited model. The radio is a little on the cheap side but so was the one on my 30k+ STI but it gets the job done. The moon roof is enormous and a nice little adds on to the interior. One thing I noticed is the front passenger seat is a little lower than normal but maybe it’s just me.

The Drive…..This is where the Forester shines in all its glory and you soon a start to forget all the little things that you didn’t like about it. The steering feels solid like you would feel in a sports sedan very, responsive and agile for a vehicle of this size. The little 2.5 H4 NA is very perky and feels great for a DD but for those want a little more power the turbo version is perfect. The AWD system feels like you can take this thing anywhere under any weather condition and drop kick Mother Nature in the face while you laugh at her. The suspension feels great, not too soft but not too harsh it’s the perfect combination for the way a sporty SUV should feel. The only thing I have to complain about is the lack of a diesel or turbo diesel option in the United States.

 

Let me know about fuel usage, a lot of people in Tahiti are complaining the 2.5L N/A suck fuel. But mostly driven uphill, stop and go here... city usage

So now they are switching to Diesel.

 

My wife drives a '10 XT Limited and the while the mileage doesn't absolutely suck, it's not the greatest either. I know there are much better options out there for fuel efficiency, but I do love our Suby too. I think the performance, looks, and practicality outweigh the marginal fuel efficiency.

Haha, after going to HellaFlush this weekend and seeing all the VIP lexus's, my wife was commenting about how she missed her IS. I think eventually when the baby gets older and doesn't require a rear facing car seat, we may look into another sedan, and I'll take over the Fozzy. Then, all hell will break loose with that one.

 

so far it has been great with gas but then again this is the NA motor not the XT. I will post how it does on gas at the end of the week.

I see a Lex GS in your future

 

Haha, I know she does....

 

Our rear facing seat works just fine in the WRX. Would work even better in virtually all the current Subaru models. It helps that I am short when compared to all the tall white people here in OH.