There is a 4-page article in the August issue of 'C&D' on the new Forester XT. They got a 0-60 time of 5.3s and a 1/4-mile time of 13.8s @ 97mph. Not too shabby. They said the shifter was 'sweet as a peach,' the clutch was 'nice and light,' and they described the engine as 'heroic.'

They also said handling was confident, but definetly not sporting.

Seems pretty impressive, on paper at least. Price as tested: $25.5K. I'm going to have to test-drive a 5-speed model.