Rover555

I am in the market for a new Forester and I am leaning towards a diesel model. Are these still as suitable as the petrols for the beach? As I understand it, dual range is not available with the turbos, is this right? I also have a query about the small trips with the diesel. I will hopefully be in the market in the next month and I am super keen! Any other tips or hints will be very much appreciated, I am hoping to get one for approx. $37000

waggaclint

As far as im aware the Diesel is just as capable of road as the petrol and you are right the Petrol manual is the only Forester avaliable with the dual range g-box..

I have a Petrol Auto without dual range and mine is great for light off-road/beach work..

One thing to keep in mind is Subaru are about to release an all new Forester early next year, so if you where looking to go new it might be worth waiting or even you could get a deal on runout model as well..

And from all reports the Diesel foresters are pretty good..

NTMID8

I have a diesel forester which i have owned since new, now has 8,000km on it. Overall im happy with my car, there are a few little things that annoy me about it but nothing significant.
I personally have only ever noticed a DPF clean once, my main complaints are the total lack of low end torque. I have taken mine off road and the stall speed (RPM) is quite low, unlike other diesels i have driven this wont lug about at slow speeds. Pulling my boat out of the water is a bit of a headache, it tows well but at the ramp its lots of revs, clutch slipping and tyre screeching.
I get between 6 and 6.4ltr per 100km (about 800 - 1000km per tank) its comfortable to drive and for a diesel has enough go for city driving. I live in SA but bought my car from QLD as thats where i got the best deal (less than 37k drive away).
Here is a link to my off road trip to give you an idea of what they are capable of:
Turbo diesel - Bendleby Ranges SA

Thierman

Coming Soon Subaru forester 2013

2013 Subaru Forester Summary

Checkout the model and then you can move forward or dismiss this option…

NTMID8

That link shows nothing more than american version of the current 2012 model.

drwormy

Ive owned my Fozzy Diesel for 20 months, and have done 60,000 km averaging 6.0 L / 100km. Its pretty slow off the mark but once cruzing it simply eats the hills!

You should be aware of the diesel 'drivetrain shudder' or called "DFP issues" - several threads on here and other sub forums. Basically if you dont lug it (ie keep the revs up) and drive reasonable kms its usually fine. I personally havent had any issues, but you would be able to see im doing a fair bit of driving.

I havent taken mine on soft sand - was very temped in Sept when i was at Stockton. One thing I dont like the Subi manual that the synchro going from 2nd to 1st isnt great. Sometimes i cant get it in unless im stopped or really force it (which i dont like to do). My old 2006 Outback manual was the same.

As the previous poster said, there isnt much torque under 1500 rpm, so you need to keep the revs up.... no low range.

I bought it via novated lease so was eligible for fleet price, so new it was less than your budget.

Did see a news release re a completly new 2013 model due out soon. Might be worth it to wait.

My 2c.

waggaclint

Im pretty sure the New Forester that will be avaliable soon will offer an Auto option for the Diesel as well, which could be a good thing hey...

NTMID8

I had my car dynoed the other day, max torque is 274nm @1850rpm however at 1500rpm it is making less than 100nm!! I do like my car but will probably sell it in the next 12months to buy a prado which would suit my needs better. I would recommend this car in auto but as it is the complete lack of low end torque makes towing difficult. For interest max kw was 83@3500rpm.

dpm

Dyno isn't right. The torque curve is hard programmed into the ECU and you're quoting WHP (111hp, waay low.)...

Subaru quote torque as 350 @ 1600-2400 for the later EE20s and that is what you should see on the graph.

Diesel Foz, 87kw at the wheels?

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2009 SH XCdiesel 6MT

Rover555

Thread Starter

Thanks for your help guys, after much deliberation I'm leaning away from the diesel as we do a lot of small trips (school, shopping, etc) and long term I don't think this will be suitable.

I'm waiting to get the money but in the mean time the runout model is well... running out. I'm pretty happy with the current model, I love the shape and I've seen them for sale at $30,000 but if they keep selling them I might not have a choice, except to get the new Forester. Is any body else waiting to get a new Forester? I'd be keen to hear your thoughts.

Biesel

I'd say the new diesel foz will be cvt not the current auto.

guzzla

Interesting - what sort of dyno was it done on? I recently had my XT dynoed and in stock tune it maxxed out at 126kW around 5500rpm and torque was 330Nm at around 3500rpm. With a Chip Torque Ezy-Flash on 98RON this went up to 142kW and 380Nm. I would have thought the diesel would have been putting out more torque than the XT.

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07 Forester XT 5 speed 236,000km

NTMID8

Subaru can quote whatever they like, and torque curve being "hard programmed"? Ill post up the dyno sheet, subaru figures are all quoted at the engine, this doesnt take into account drivetrain loses. Under 1800rpm the diesel forester struggles to pull the skin of a rice pudding!! Ive owned many cars and been involved with dyno's and tuning, dyno's may vary from dyno to dyno but i can assure you this dyno is not 100nm wrong. Subaru quote max power as 103kw and torque 350nm so what i quoted is right on par with the industry accepted rule of thumb 15 to 20% loss through drivetrain

dpm

Diesel engines are driven off a number of IQ ( injection quantity) tables. Smoke, boost, altitude, gear position, rpms, torque, driver request. All are compared, and the lowest mg/stroke wins. Truly DBW.

Your problem isn't the torque curve on the dyno, but the fact that it isn't the same as the curve in first gear- which is lowered to protect the drivetrain. Also you need to confirm that the ECU has the latest software as each incarnation has had radically different available torque at the clutch biting point around idle rpms.

I'm bemused tho why you are quoting torque at the wheels? The engine is in fact performing as per spec...

edit: I should add that you'll find the same response from all modern sub-2l diesels. The protection of the DPF and DMF from overloads is a universal concern. Torque below idle rpms destroys DMFs, excess fuel before boost builds kills DPFs.

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2009 SH XCdiesel 6MT

NTMID8

Bemused? The dyno reads power at the wheels..... Who gives a rats arse how much power it makes at the engine! Its no good to me if it makes 1000nm at the engine if only 100nm of USEABLE torque is at my wheels.

My ECU has the latest flash, the car only has 9,000km on it.

For all the maps and "smart ECU features" the simple fact remains, the diesel makes next to NO torque at useable revs, its no good me dropping the clutch or "slipping" it upto 1800rpm to get into my torque. This would lead to FAR greater drivetrain load and premature wear of the already weak clutch. The car lacks so much low end torque that you cannot take off in second gear, my 4cyl toyota corolla cold do that!