Test Drives: Forester XT & Golf R

"sellphones2493" (sellphones2493)
07/10/2015 at 22:36 • Filed to: None

So I’m in the midst of considering a replacement for my Volvo. While I’m gonna try to go a few more months without a car payment, I’m impulsive so I’ve already started shopping.

#1 2005 Subaru Forester XT (Manual): First, let me tell you this dealer is the most overpriced place in the world, as seen !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! and !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . I know, I know - it’s Boulder: everyone and their mother drives a Subaru. Demand is high - but definitely not this high. Overall, I really enjoyed driving this thing. The interior had a lot more hand plastic than I hoped, it didn’t have a trip computer, and the leather was super hard, but I liked not having to worry about speed bumps or potholes. In a sense, you feel like you’re driving an SUV because of the roofline and height, yet it’s really fast and feels somewhat planted like a car. Something I like is that the shifter shakes during idle...my car doesn’t do that and for some reason I like that. However, I feel like an Outback XT would be a better option - better quality interior and not as tall.

This one in specific was in pretty good shape, despite having 4 past owners and an accident. One thing the dealer did that wasn’t good was that they replaced the rear bumper with one from a Forester X. It started out black plastic, and they literally just painted over it with silver paint. Even in the pics it’s bubbling. In person it’s already peeled in a few areas. I’ll keep the car on my short list, but not this specific one. Especially for !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! .

#2012 Volkswagen Golf R: I liked the R because it’s similar to my R...not just in name. It’s a somewhat rare, AWD, european car that has traction control that doesn’t turn off, and comes in a weird shade of blue. I took advantage of getting one transferred to my local Carmax from a Carmax back in Maryland for free (Carmax offers free nationwide shipping for AWD cars to Denver Area). It’s a red 2-door - two things I don’t want, but this one just so happened to be my old neighbors, so I figure I’d move it across the country.

I wasn’t that impressed. It didn’t feel that much quicker than GTI’s I’ve driven in the past. Also, I thought it would come with power seats. I really don’t have that much to say because it wasn’t all that eventful. The VW shifted beautifully and the clutch was so much more compliant than my R’s. The car, itself was a lot quieter and more comfortable than I thought. All along, I always assumed it was a meaner GTI when it just so happened to be a more composed one...yet that’s pretty much the same as the S60R compared to an S60.

Next Look: 2012 Wrangler Sahara

DISCUSSION (6)

Drakkon- Most Glorious and Upright Person of Genius > sellphones2493
07/10/2015 at 22:48

That Forester is Crackalicious. First off:

I OWN a 2005 FXT. Great car. Love it. I don’t sweat the plastic thing. I honestly never touch it. The shaky shifter seems odd and you have pointed out several reasons not to but that particular car.

HOWEVER! you ought to think long and hard about it. Here is what you do. You spend $13500, but instead, you drive to Kansas City, you stay in a swanky place downtown. You eat at Oklahoma Joes BBQ, you enjoy a wonderful weekend for about $1000, then you drive home in this.

https://kansascity.craigslist.org/ctd/5071222358… for $12400.

Then, you get on Craigslist or NASIOC and you look for someone selling the rear STi anti-roll bar. Your FXT has a rear bar about the thickness of a pencil. The STi bar bolts right in with no mods.

In the first 200 feet, you will swear that’s how Subaru should have shipped the Forester to begin with. It goes from hopeless understeer to the very mild understeer that you can kick out with the use of the throttle.

Great car. Great for hauling, easy to get people (and kids) out of the rear seat. Sunroof the size of a ZIP code. Love it. Get it.

ps. I’m in St Louis and I shop used cars in the KC market. They are ALWAYS cheaper than they are on my side of the state. I bet they are cheaper than Denver too. Go enjoy a weekend holiday for the same money.

cazzyodo > Drakkon- Most Glorious and Upright Person of Genius
07/10/2015 at 23:00

Awesome to hear from an owner cuz I frickin love the looks of these things. I should have gone into the used market when I was looking for my car and gone with one. Hindsight is 20/20 though.

Drakkon- Most Glorious and Upright Person of Genius > cazzyodo
07/10/2015 at 23:02

It’s a stupid teenage car in sensible clothes. It drives like it’s pissed off.

wunderwagen wants a longer roof > Drakkon- Most Glorious and Upright Person of Genius
07/10/2015 at 23:20

I like this description. Makes me want a Forester XT.

cazzyodo > Drakkon- Most Glorious and Upright Person of Genius
07/11/2015 at 00:07

That’s basically what I was looking for. Got the FoST instead.

Also, that description is gold.

Dusty Ventures > sellphones2493
07/11/2015 at 00:35

I love Subaru’s XT wagon siblings but that FXT price is CP for sure. I got my ’08 OBXT (134k miles, single owner, dealer serviced at manufacturer intervals, not so much as a fender bender) for $8,500.