[Varis]

My first Subaru (2011 TD), Finland

Hi, hailing from the land of ice&snow&thousands of frozen lakes. This week it's been a balmy +6 C though.

Taking delivery of my 2011 fore next week, so thought about writing a bit as I'm not yet busy driving :icon_wink: I'm new to not only SUVs, but Subaru and even cars as well, used to get around with a bicycle and a trike for long years, works wonders if you're hauling just your own butt.

Subaru is one of the small brands here, 1% market share and is best known for its AWD, which comes in handy with local conditions. SUVs are not common but medium/compact ones have gained some popularity gradually, Forester is now one of the best selling SUV models. Volkswagen Golf is ATM the car that gets the most new registrations.

Tried the Impreza 5 years ago when I got my first car, didn't find it appealing and eventually went with the Volvo S40 (10mm lowered eco chassis, 3.9l/km consumption). Nearly perfect car at the time. However things changed since and the missus wanted an AWD. We tried quite a few, most not very exciting. We liked the feeling of Forester quite a bit on the first try. Tiguan and Kuga were good to drive on roads, but the reliability data kinda scared me off:

Best Cars - Car Reliability Index | Reliability Index | How reliable is your car?

Looking forward to what we can do with this car. We have a fair interest in different outdoor activities, so could put it to good use. Wondering which ownership badges I should put on, maybe gardening, this should fit a fair amount of Mom's flowers and plants - or bags of horse manure :icon_biggrin:

 

[orienteer]

Hello and welcome! Sure you'll find the Forester great, I use mine to transport bikes inside, including a Moulton tandem.

Check out the Europe section for local issues.

 

[Duderotomy]

Welcome to the forum from Niagara Falls! :bacon:

 

[Varis]

The weather swung to -15C pretty quick when I got the car! Have had it for a week now, and its heating system sure comes handy. This car actually has 2 engine heaters, quite a rare combination I think, even here. The block heater is not terribly effective, except in terms of cost, but the diesel heater (4-5 kW) quickly warms up the engine and the cabin. There's some other equipment beyond the norm, like a grille for the trunk and a fixed charging system for the battery (especially handy for us city dwellers as the diesel heater can drain your battery).

Looking forward to the rest of the winter, the car seems like a great drive in these conditions, it warms up pretty nicely too, although in some respects my old Volvo was a better winter car. Anyway, looking for some nice quiet country roads and would like to try an impreza or something some day! :icon_biggrin:

Some pics from a little excursion to our rural surroundings in Sipoo: