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.

 

what is this thing, and does it look any different than the regular forester?

 

Motor Trend, the current issue, estimated the car's 0-60 with an AT at 8.6, which is ridiculously slow. But that 5.3 time sounds kinda outrageous too. I don't know what it is with C&D, but their acceleration times are always faster than everyone else's.

 

Yes, I agree. The 'Motor Trend' times seems way too slow and the 'Car and Driver' time seems a little too fast.

 

C&D tests on a slight downhill, but still...5.3 and 8.6 is a huge difference!

 

5.3...Thats TOO quick IMHO

Id expect a time of 6 seconds for a car with that weight

 

Um...well, put it this way.

If you have a good tranny and know how to drive, a 5.3 second 0-60mph time is entirely possible.

Remember, AWD hooks up nice and quick, and this thing has the 2.5 liter F-4, not the 2.0.

And I've always found Car & Driver to have accurate driving times...Bedard can shift retardedly quick (he used to professional racing). Motor Trend seems to be off.

 

Doesnt AWD lose something like 20% of the power.

I thought it was suspect, cause not even the WRX can pull 5.3, although the XT DOES have the 2.5

 

well, it does have s detuned version of the STi engine. they claim it is only putting out 210 hp ... rumors are it is they are vastly understating the power output which is actually more like 265

 

Went to a subaru dealer and he was bragging about it being faster than my roomates wrx. He said he was really surprised how fast it was. The dealers advicce was if you see one on the street don't try to race it in the wrx But of course that was the dealer talking.