Motor
01-21-2008, 07:42 AM
http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/Drives/FirstDrives/articleId=124405?tid=edmunds.il.home.photopanel..1 .*#3
[QUOTE]Now It's a Crossover, Not a Wagon
First Impressions:
Looks like a cute-ute but corners like a WRX.
* 227-hp turbo engine
* 146-hp normally aspirated engine
* All-wheel drive
* Independent rear suspension
Grilling for Identity
Mamoru Ishii, chief designer of the Forester, tells us that his design team has had two aims. He says, "Firstly, we brought the car more into line with competitors' offerings in terms of size and stature while giving drivers a better all-round package. And secondly, we enhanced the Subaru identity." Ishii says Subaru's brand recognition in the U.S. is still lower than most other Japanese carmakers, and he emphasizes that his designers tried to counter this by going for a stronger look with greater street credibility.
As we see it, the result is very much a work in progress, particularly at the front where Impreza headlights have been matched to a new grille that rehashes the horizontal vanes of the Tribeca's grille. For all that, Subaru seems to have finally latched on to a design language that suits the whole range (except for the Impreza, which still seems half-baked). The front end of the new Forester isn't beautiful, but it holds its own among stronger competition than it's faced before.
Fire Up the Cutting Torch!
It's probably appropriate that the 2008 Subaru Forester should abandon its Birkenstock-style heritage because it indeed is all-new. The wheelbase has been stretched 3.5 inches and the body is 3.0 inches longer than before, 1.8 inches wider and 4.3 inches taller. The additional dimensions come from some clever engineering, as the Subaru engineers have taken the basic body structure of the Japanese-spec Impreza wagon and joined it with the rear of the U.S.-spec Impreza sedan.
It's not surprising that the Forester feels far more spacious than before as a result, and the front-seat passengers enjoy plenty of leg- and headroom. The rear seat has far more legroom as well, and the doors open to nearly 75 degrees.
To further transform the Forester into something that might be described as a crossover rather than a wagon, Subaru has jacked the whole platform into the air, giving it some 8.8 inches of ground clearance, the most in its class.
Quick, Into the Parts Bin!
"And that's just the kind of things that chassis engineers don't want to hear," says Kazuharu Ichikawa, the Forester's chief engineer. "Bigger, higher and heavier are words that the chassis guys dread." Though the Forester gained only 66 pounds in this conversion to its new utility-style shape, Ichikawa says its size and height presented dynamic challenges.
Fortunately Subaru has some useful things in its parts bin. Most important is a body engineering technique called SI chassis, Japanese-speak for a more rigid chassis that absorbs bumps, vibrations and noise while improving safety and dynamic balance as you turn into a corner.
Also borrowed from the Impreza is the new double-wishbone independent rear suspension. It not only keeps all four tires on the ground no matter what silliness the driver might undertake, but also reduces dive under heavy braking. "Don't forget that the front track is wider, too, which combines with the rear suspension and the SI chassis to improve cornering," Ichikawa reminds us.
We can confirm that the Forester's new stance makes things possible that the old wagonette would never dream of. With the front track 1.4 inches wider and the rear track 1.8 inches wider (plus the new independent rear suspension), we could throw the Forester into corners without worrying about throwing it into the trees at the same time. A vehicle so high off the ground should not be able to corner like this, yet it does. It should roll and dive, yet it doesn't. We just couldn't get over it.
Single to Twin-Cam
On snow-covered roads near Mt. Fuji, we had a chance to drive the all-wheel-drive Forester both with a four-speed automatic and with a five-speed manual transmission. The gear ratios of both transmissions have been optimized for improved fuel economy, while the manual transmission model has a viscous-type center differential and a limited-slip differential.
For the Japanese market, the Forester gets a new DOHC 2.0-liter horizontally opposed four that has variable valve timing on both the intake and exhaust cam, plus a free-breathing exhaust. The result is 146 horsepower at 6,000 rpm and 141 pound-feet of torque at 3,200 rpm. Though the U.S. will get a 2.5-liter version of this same engine, the overall increase of 7 hp and a stronger torque curve from 2,200 rpm right up to the redline at 6,600 mirrors what we can expect. And to coax any life out of this engine, you must keep it spinning above 4,000 rpm.
Meanwhile, the revised Japanese-specification turbocharged 2.0-liter four delivers 227 hp at 5,600 rpm and 235 lb-ft of torque at 2,800 rpm. You'd better be ready for barrels of torque from around 2,500 rpm all the way up to 6,000 rpm. This is a powerful engine, and it'll get the Forester Turbo to 60 mph in 5.5 seconds. You extend your right boot just to experience the turbo rush again and again. You'll be surprised at the improved sound the boxer engine makes thanks to a new intake manifold and a twin-muffler exhaust system.
More Good Stuff
To enhance both handling and performance, Subaru once again went to the parts bin and pinched two technologies first employed on the Legacy and then on the Impreza
[QUOTE]Now It's a Crossover, Not a Wagon
First Impressions:
Looks like a cute-ute but corners like a WRX.
* 227-hp turbo engine
* 146-hp normally aspirated engine
* All-wheel drive
* Independent rear suspension
Grilling for Identity
Mamoru Ishii, chief designer of the Forester, tells us that his design team has had two aims. He says, "Firstly, we brought the car more into line with competitors' offerings in terms of size and stature while giving drivers a better all-round package. And secondly, we enhanced the Subaru identity." Ishii says Subaru's brand recognition in the U.S. is still lower than most other Japanese carmakers, and he emphasizes that his designers tried to counter this by going for a stronger look with greater street credibility.
As we see it, the result is very much a work in progress, particularly at the front where Impreza headlights have been matched to a new grille that rehashes the horizontal vanes of the Tribeca's grille. For all that, Subaru seems to have finally latched on to a design language that suits the whole range (except for the Impreza, which still seems half-baked). The front end of the new Forester isn't beautiful, but it holds its own among stronger competition than it's faced before.
Fire Up the Cutting Torch!
It's probably appropriate that the 2008 Subaru Forester should abandon its Birkenstock-style heritage because it indeed is all-new. The wheelbase has been stretched 3.5 inches and the body is 3.0 inches longer than before, 1.8 inches wider and 4.3 inches taller. The additional dimensions come from some clever engineering, as the Subaru engineers have taken the basic body structure of the Japanese-spec Impreza wagon and joined it with the rear of the U.S.-spec Impreza sedan.
It's not surprising that the Forester feels far more spacious than before as a result, and the front-seat passengers enjoy plenty of leg- and headroom. The rear seat has far more legroom as well, and the doors open to nearly 75 degrees.
To further transform the Forester into something that might be described as a crossover rather than a wagon, Subaru has jacked the whole platform into the air, giving it some 8.8 inches of ground clearance, the most in its class.
Quick, Into the Parts Bin!
"And that's just the kind of things that chassis engineers don't want to hear," says Kazuharu Ichikawa, the Forester's chief engineer. "Bigger, higher and heavier are words that the chassis guys dread." Though the Forester gained only 66 pounds in this conversion to its new utility-style shape, Ichikawa says its size and height presented dynamic challenges.
Fortunately Subaru has some useful things in its parts bin. Most important is a body engineering technique called SI chassis, Japanese-speak for a more rigid chassis that absorbs bumps, vibrations and noise while improving safety and dynamic balance as you turn into a corner.
Also borrowed from the Impreza is the new double-wishbone independent rear suspension. It not only keeps all four tires on the ground no matter what silliness the driver might undertake, but also reduces dive under heavy braking. "Don't forget that the front track is wider, too, which combines with the rear suspension and the SI chassis to improve cornering," Ichikawa reminds us.
We can confirm that the Forester's new stance makes things possible that the old wagonette would never dream of. With the front track 1.4 inches wider and the rear track 1.8 inches wider (plus the new independent rear suspension), we could throw the Forester into corners without worrying about throwing it into the trees at the same time. A vehicle so high off the ground should not be able to corner like this, yet it does. It should roll and dive, yet it doesn't. We just couldn't get over it.
Single to Twin-Cam
On snow-covered roads near Mt. Fuji, we had a chance to drive the all-wheel-drive Forester both with a four-speed automatic and with a five-speed manual transmission. The gear ratios of both transmissions have been optimized for improved fuel economy, while the manual transmission model has a viscous-type center differential and a limited-slip differential.
For the Japanese market, the Forester gets a new DOHC 2.0-liter horizontally opposed four that has variable valve timing on both the intake and exhaust cam, plus a free-breathing exhaust. The result is 146 horsepower at 6,000 rpm and 141 pound-feet of torque at 3,200 rpm. Though the U.S. will get a 2.5-liter version of this same engine, the overall increase of 7 hp and a stronger torque curve from 2,200 rpm right up to the redline at 6,600 mirrors what we can expect. And to coax any life out of this engine, you must keep it spinning above 4,000 rpm.
Meanwhile, the revised Japanese-specification turbocharged 2.0-liter four delivers 227 hp at 5,600 rpm and 235 lb-ft of torque at 2,800 rpm. You'd better be ready for barrels of torque from around 2,500 rpm all the way up to 6,000 rpm. This is a powerful engine, and it'll get the Forester Turbo to 60 mph in 5.5 seconds. You extend your right boot just to experience the turbo rush again and again. You'll be surprised at the improved sound the boxer engine makes thanks to a new intake manifold and a twin-muffler exhaust system.
More Good Stuff
To enhance both handling and performance, Subaru once again went to the parts bin and pinched two technologies first employed on the Legacy and then on the Impreza