While I am looking at a Forester for the extra space, my car is the sedan version, the part I'm looking for opinion on is how the performance compares. I know the suspension, weight and dimensional differences will affect handling and I'm curious if anybody can chime in about that.
It is most definitely the 04 and 05 XT I'm looking for also. The refreshed front end on the 06+ doesn't agree with me and the New models are too close to SUV proportions for my taste.
Have you actually driven an 09+ yet? I haven't.
I was really disgusted when the new ones 09+ came out and I don't care for the front end of 06-08s too. The 09+ look too generically styled, more like a Toyota Highlander or Mitsubishi Outlander or something. :icon_mad:
I went from '00 MT 5 spd L to '04 MT 5 spd X recently. I got a darker green exterior and beige interior like I wanted and the car had relatively low miles. I started looking harder to make this switch when I realized that beige was removed as an interior option in the newer ones. (I hate gray and think it is depressing). The '06+ greens are lighter than I prefer as well (would probably go blue instead if I had to get a newer one). I like that the base X does not have dual cams or variable valve timing because I work on my cars myself, plan on keeping it awhile and wanted to keep it simpler. Also, I prefer the "manual" controls vs automatic climate control.
Before I got my '04 X I did test drive an '04 XT and while the power is nice, I just didn't like the overall
suspension feel compared to non-turbo. It felt noticeably heavier in the front end and maybe a little unbalanced. "X" Stock suspension seems a little soft at first on highways but still firms up good off-road. The "XT" seemed too firm on the highway, but maybe you like that if you really want a sportscar but have to settle for a wagon?! That particular XT had a little of the rear differential whine that some have complained about, but I don't think it was about to break down or anything. The gas mileage is probably a few mpg better on the X than the XT. Can't help you to compare with the sedan version, though.
I do pull a 2000 lb pop-up with my family of 5 a few times a season. It has enough power for me even without the turbo. I wind it out a little more than normal, but not too bad. In many cases I find I'm still passing plenty of people. :icon_eek: Of course it takes a little longer to regain speed so I pass left-laners on the right at times (and try to see their looks when I drive by :biggrin: ). I did add electric brakes to the popup. It stops better than a Suburban before I put the extra brakes on the popup. It doesn't seem much more strained than the Suburban did taking off.
Of course the bottom line is the XT will smoke cars that the X can't touch.
