Subaru Forester X vs XS (specifically sound system)

[GrootBaas]

My brother is driving with a 2010 Subaru Forester 2.5X Auto and I'm thinking of going that way as well (still considering sporty hatchback vs SUV so still a little unsure).

The Forester is a great car, awesome power and the AWD gives an amazing driving experience (especially on a gravel road).

Concerned about the sound system though as the audio in the car is really poor. So my question is, will the XS version have better audio (talking about the previous shape; I assume the new Forester is completely redone in those areas).

In fact, what is the difference between the X and the XS in general. I know the XT has the turbo but the X and XS is the same under the hood, just some luxuries differ as I understand?

 

[RudderVator]

Oh so you are considering the previous shape the SG 2006-2008? Well i have a 2006 Forester 2.5XT and the sound on the XT edition is not bad at all so the speakers are quite nice but the Headunit is the devil! No MP3/ipod support.
I would suggest you replace only the headunit, any nice Double-Din headunit with maybe touch screen would fit very nicely.
But as you say there is nothing on the road like a Subaru when it comes to handling and driving enjoyment, but you could tell in the previous years models they used to make every penny go into the Car itself the body and drivetrain.

Of course the newest shape from 2014 is to die for especially the XT model with flappy paddles and SI-Drive the car really grew up in terms of physical size and refinement, unfortunately it shows in the price aswell!
But as i always say.. what car on the market can you really compare them to? No other car on the road has a Boxer engine except a Porsche and no car on the road offers AWD as standard on all models.
I would almost describe a Subaru to that of Toyota reliability(Both Japanese) but with a lot more soul and excitement than a Toyota!

 

[Skerminkel]

4x4community.co.za is where you want to be. For cars what MyBB is for computers.

 

[GrootBaas]

Oh so you are considering the previous shape the SG 2006-2008? Well i have a 2006 Forester 2.5XT and the sound on the XT edition is not bad at all so the speakers are quite nice but the Headunit is the devil! No MP3/ipod support.
I would suggest you replace only the headunit, any nice Double-Din headunit with maybe touch screen would fit very nicely.
But as you say there is nothing on the road like a Subaru when it comes to handling and driving enjoyment, but you could tell in the previous years models they used to make every penny go into the Car itself the body and drivetrain.

Of course the newest shape from 2014 is to die for especially the XT model with flappy paddles and SI-Drive the car really grew up in terms of physical size and refinement, unfortunately it shows in the price aswell!
But as i always say.. what car on the market can you really compare them to? No other car on the road has a Boxer engine except a Porsche and no car on the road offers AWD as standard on all models.
I would almost describe a Subaru to that of Toyota reliability(Both Japanese) but with a lot more soul and excitement than a Toyota!

Thanks for the reply. The more I think about it the more it makes sense to go for a Forester - really seems like a brilliant car and those engines never seem to die.

Has the turbo ever given you problems? Probably expensive when that thing goes...

 

[GrootBaas]

4x4community.co.za is where you want to be. For cars what MyBB is for computers.

Thanks, will have a look.

 

[tcofran]

..... but the Headunit is the devil! No MP3/ipod support.
I would suggest you replace only the headunit, any nice Double-Din .....

i drive 2009 Forester, sound not bad at all (depends on what good and bad is for some people). but yes the lack of support is quite bad.

i am thinking of having on of these double din's fitted.

 

[RudderVator]

Thanks for the reply. The more I think about it the more it makes sense to go for a Forester - really seems like a brilliant car and those engines never seem to die.

Has the turbo ever given you problems? Probably expensive when that thing goes...

Nope the turbo has never given me trouble the only thing i had a minor problem with was an Air/Fuel sensor that needed to be replaced, it only gave me an check engine and disabled the cruise control.
Just change your oil every 12,500Km as per the recommended service interval with 10w-40 for our hot climate and the turbo should outlive the car!
The turbo used in the 2006-2008 XT and WRX was a Mitsubishi TD04 Turbo charger(Water and Oil cooled) and it is not really that expensive if you ever need a new one or restored one there are plenty of them on ebay and such places.
The Alternator and Turbo are made by Mitsubishi.
Most of the electronics and sensors are made by Denso (Toyota company) since Toyota owns about 20% of FHI(Fuji Heavy industry's) the parent company of Subaru. Hence why the Subaru BRZ and Toyota 86 is exactly the same car

Also any turbocharged Subaru HATES 93 octane petrol! only use 95 Octane because they have a high compression ratio and 93 just does not cut it.
I would say biggest thing to look out for on a turbocharged model Subaru from those years is the Radiator housing at the top that was plastic and has the potential to possibly become brittle and crack or start leaking slowly i would personally replace it with a Mishimoto completely Aluminium radiator for about R4000.

 

[RudderVator]

Thanks, will have a look.

http://www.foresterforum.co.za/ also look here

 

[Skerminkel]

Just not that those boxer engines and permanent AWD are not frugal.

 

[RudderVator]

Just not that those boxer engines and permanent AWD are not frugal.

I assume you are talking about fuel consumption?

Yes as to be expected a permanently all wheel drive car would not give the same fuel economy as a FWD or RWD car.
Do i think the fuel consumption is bad? not at all! i would say 10 L/100 on the open road and 13L/100 for purely stop start 5 minute drives are not bad..Not for a car that has an automatic transmission develops about 175Kw (2.5L) and weighs about 2 Tonnes.

 

[Fazda]

Brilliant cars!

If you are worried about consumption, stay away from the XT.

The X radio is different to the XS in that the XS has a 6 shuttle DVD set-up and extra speakers, so if you want to go that route, you can, but it's expensive getting OE.

Be careful of these fancy aftermarket touch screens - we fitted a couple to our demo models, and they were nowhere near as good as the OE.

Having owned 3 prior to spending 4 years selling them, I can highly recommend a Forester to anyone.

 

[Skerminkel]

I assume you are talking about fuel consumption?

Yes as to be expected a permanently all wheel drive car would not give the same fuel economy as a FWD or RWD car.
Do i think the fuel consumption is bad? not at all! i would say 10 L/100 on the open road and 13L/100 for purely stop start 5 minute drives are not bad..Not for a car that has an automatic transmission develops about 175Kw (2.5L) and weighs about 2 Tonnes.

Yes, you are completely correct. What I am warning against is that a Forester appears to be a fairly light weight station wagon. It is actually more comparable to a AWD mid-size SUV like a XC90 or ML Merc.

 

[GrootBaas]

Brilliant cars!

If you are worried about consumption, stay away from the XT.

The X radio is different to the XS in that the XS has a 6 shuttle DVD set-up and extra speakers, so if you want to go that route, you can, but it's expensive getting OE.

Be careful of these fancy aftermarket touch screens - we fitted a couple to our demo models, and they were nowhere near as good as the OE.

Having owned 3 prior to spending 4 years selling them, I can highly recommend a Forester to anyone.

Thanks, this is what I wanted to know.

OE means original, correct?

 

[Fazda]

Thanks, this is what I wanted to know.

OE means original, correct?

Correct Original Equipment.

 

[silver6933]

Has the turbo ever given you problems? Probably expensive when that thing goes...

All the 2.5L turbo engines die in SA. It is only a matter of time(our heat seems to aggravate the condition). Generally the TD04 turbo(12K) is very reliable. It is the ringland on the piston that fails. Google subaru ringland failure.

Ask Fazda about the Forrie owner that went through 3 engines.

It is the N/A engines that are truly bullet proof. So buy a N/A boring and slow forrie and you will be happy for long. Also life will seem longer because it takes so much longer to get there. Or buy an awesome 3.6 Legacy or tribeca(that is one under rated car in SA-used they are cheap as chips).

 

[RudderVator]

All the 2.5L turbo engines die in SA. It is only a matter of time(our heat seems to aggravate the condition). Generally the TD04 turbo(12K) is very reliable. It is the ringland on the piston that fails. Google subaru ringland failure.

Ask Fazda about the Forrie owner that went through 3 engines.

It is the N/A engines that are truly bullet proof. So buy a N/A boring and slow forrie and you will be happy for long. Also life will seem longer because it takes so much longer to get there. Or buy an awesome 3.6 Legacy or tribeca(that is one under rated car in SA-used they are cheap as chips).

Absolutely! The Legacy is a massively underrated car in our market, Pity they didn't continue with the tribeca line and improve its looks it could look rather nice and fill the gap of the 7 seater market that the Forester and Outback cant address.
Yes the ringland failure was a problem with the EJ255 turbocharged engines, But so far ive never come across massively big complaints from someone with the EJ255 and besides that engine and design has largely been phased out starting around 2011 Afaik the only new model that still uses an EJ engine is the 2015 WRX STI but so far the general view is that the new 3rd generation engines are even stronger now compared to the EJ series of before, but of course time will tell.

What would be interesting would be to see how these small 1.0, 1.2 and even 1.4 engines from Ford(ecoboost) and Volkswagen(TSI) will fair in reliability over the next couple of years in our conditions.
As it seems like all the manufacturers are insisting on using turbos now and how those engine would deal with the extra stress and also the general Ford or VW consumer that might not even be aware the car has a turbocharger, insisting on driving around with 93 because its not a "Performance car" not changing the oil per schedule etc.. also some turbo engine designs suffer from oil coking where the car is driven hard and the engine is immediately stopped after driving oil stops running and the oil cokes inside the flaming hot turbo restricting oil flow=Blown turbo.