Almost sold on a Forester
 

At first, I was a little skeptical, especially on the looks. But I've been homeworking them for a few days now, and they've really grown on me. An 04+ XT with some tint and decent rims looks good. I think you've gotta be the kind of guy who also likes Volvo Wagons to appreciate the lines, but I'm that guy.

The practically unlimited interchangeability with the WRX family means cheap performance by buying OEM STi takeoff parts. The wife mandated a manual tranny when we were looking at sedans, and loves her MS6. Foresters before 2009 came with 5-spds, and I'm sure we'll end up with a low-mileage 2006-2008 model. Black or White are the best looking colors so far... even seen a few with the gold STi rims on them and it really wakes up the exterior.

NASOIC is a huge forum... but SubaruForester.org is way more my style. There are some true enthusiasts there, very mt.net style (without Hustler) for content... but as you can imagine, the demographic is a little different. The car is really for the wife, but I'm sure I won't be able to resist some basic performance stuff at some point.

There's plenty of time left, but I've definitely found the #1 candidate for purchase when I get back... and to think, a week ago, I'd never considered one. Funny.

Sounds like you're going to have two kiddies in the back, but if not, there's not a lot of leg room back there. I installed a pet gate in my ex's '05 forrester, went in easy and worked great. Oil changes were a sinch, even did some body work after she crashed it into a suburban. Rear lights are $245 btw.

They are absolutely great. I have wrenched on a few and tuned a few as well. Lots and lots of parts availability, interchangeability, and an overall healthy performance market. Its almost like a wrx with an suv body. I say go for it. Make sure its the 4cyl turbo. Turbo back exhaust is about 400 total for a good quality used one. Tactrix cable for tuning is 120. Software is free. There are also a ton of off the shelf maps available. If you need any let me know.
TBE+OS tune = +45whp +40wtq. While being not even 1% less reliable than stock. Can't go wrong:)

I like it! Post up some prospect pics...

Came across this vid a few months back and was kinda impressed...

I knew you would like them once you did some research. :) The guy I know who did the STi mods to his posts under the name Maestro on that forum.

Doesn't the XT use the WRX engine? Seems like a good alternative to a WRX. I'd rock the shit out of an XT. AWD SUV with a turbo boxer engine with plenty of mods.

That was a cool video! 400awhp in that thing doesn't seem that fast though :( To be as fast as a 400hp miata a forester would need 530hp..

There was a very good article on forester modding and sti part swapping in the last issue of Modified-- the one with the camo 240 on the cover. I had no idea it was actually lighter than an sti! Crazy. And then, the article said that if you swap in STI springs, you end up dropping the car a whole 3!!!! inches.

I'm in Seattle now and have a regular non turbo forester rented and the interior is actually pretty decent. If I got one though, I'd have to take out the back seat since I would never ever use it. Maybe I could take out the rear seat, all the plastic shit in the rear, and Rhinoline the rear :p Anyways I'm considering one for my new daily driver since the Miata may be retired from that duty post engine install.

sti is lower than wrx by 1 inch. wrx is lower than fxt by 2 inches. it makes sense:)

Seems plenty fast to me. A Forester in that range of power would be my ideal daily driver.

A forester with that kind of power will run 11's at around 120. Not slow by any means.

Actually, I'd be plenty happy with a 300hp Forester. My friends stock 04 WRX wagon is pretty fun at only 230hp from the 2.0L engine. I can imagine a 300hp 2.5L would be incredible fun. I'd take either WRX or Forester, or any newer Subaru with a turbo for that matter. Love the boxer sound.

OK Edumacation time please. How can it run times that fast when JayL's car runs similar times with almost a thousand pounds less? Is it AWD helping with traction and launches? Aero? More fender room for tires?

Obviously I don't know anything about drag racing..

A lot plays into a cars acceleration and speed other than HP and weight.

How much do they go for?

The awd paired with launch control and good tires allows for 1.5-1.6 second '60 times. You could also wot shift every gear without any traction issues. The gears are a WHOLE lot longer so you shift less. I'm no engineer or huge drag race guy so I don't know EXACTLY what it is, but I've seen a TON of 400whp subaru's run 11's at 120. It is very common for that power level.

Not sure about the newer ones but the pre-06 ones are around 8-10k used.

Also have to figure in the engine size, which brings the torque into the equation. And where that torque is usable. The 2.0 and 2.5L boxers make killer torque very low in the rpm range. Traction issues could be a deciding factor. Drivetrain loss... Too many variables to really determine how fast a car will run based only on hp and weight.

I was just looking, and within 200 miles from my area, there was 1 XT for $8k at 176k miles, all of the others were the non turbo models. Its BULLSHIT!

Damn. They are a bit cheaper here I guess.

Only option in the southeast is ATL. Easier to find cars their. If I could find an 04-06 XT with ~100k miles or less for under $12000 I would be all over it like white on rice.