ncted

I put a Pioneer in my wife's Forester, and it is a mixed bag. CarPlay works pretty well, but the UI for the Pioneer radio has a serious flaw: they put the auto-program "button" (BSM) right next to the rather small radio present buttons, so it is fairly easy to accidentally reprogram all your radio presets when all you were trying to do was change the station. There is no way to turn it off or make the preset buttons bigger by default. Anyway, I kind of wish I'd gotten her the Sony unit instead, although you really don't know what the issues will be until you use things in real-world situations.

Is the wear even? We're at ~36K on our 2011 FXT, and they probably have at least another 4K before they hit the wear bars. I know Foresters will eat tires if your alignment isn't quite right, but it is usually excessive wear on the insides or outsides of the tread, and not even.

I put Michelin Premier A/S on my wife's Forester. Best all season tires I've ever had.

I'd like the grille.

Er...where?

My 1987 Suzuki Samurai had none, but there was a flat spot behind the transfer stick and next to the handbrake where you could put something you didn't mind spilling every few seconds.

Go drive a BRZ and then get back to us. Also, I trust these guys when it comes to cup holders, and they seem like them:

I am sure it will be a big step forward. Even my refreshed 6th Gen is a bit quieter than earlier 6th Gen Legacies. https://autoweek.com/article/chicago-auto-show/2018-subaru-legacy-shows-fresh-looks-chicago "The suspension, including the dampers, was retuned on the 2018 model for a smoother ride. To limit ride noise, Subaru says it reshaped the exterior mirrors, added new sound-insulating inner film glass for the front side windows and made the rear wheel aprons thicker. Powertrain upgrades Additionally, the continuously variable transmission on models with a 2.5-liter engine now uses an ultra-short pitch chain, which is quieter, Subaru said. The automaker has also made adjustments to engine timing under acceleration to further limit powertrain noise."

The only consistent rattle I get is from the roof, and only when it is cold. I suspect the power moonroof is the culprit. I wish it were possible to get higher trim-level cars without openings in the roof these days. I never use it.

This just seems like a recipe for generating more rattles to me.

I think that is optimistic, possibly depending on engine design. VW owners that have installed catch cans have reported minor reductions in carbon buildup, but it apparently does nothing to help BMW owners. There needs to be active measures to clean the intake valves.

Aside from Toyota and one or two others, it is my familiarity with DI, and its associated carbon buildup problems, that make me want to avoid it, especially as my friend with a walnut blasting setup has moved out of state.

Between this and DI, I am going to try to keep my current cars going long enough for (hopefully) all the bugs to get worked out before I have to replace them.

Sure, but that is a bit different than an engine tech that gives Toyota a competitive advantage when it comes to engine reliability. Toyota might be willing to license it, but Subaru might not be willing to pay what Toyota wants.

I am fairly certain Toyota wasn't willing to share that tech on non-BRZ Subarus. Plus, can you imagine all the Legacy owners complaining about the "chirps" if they were able to use Toyota's DI setup?

FWIW: My 2018 Legacy seems to behave similarly to my wife 2011 Forester XT when dealing with low friction situations. Both are 60/40 power split, even if the transmissions/engines are different. Her car has better AS tires and ground clearance though, so we would choose the Forester if we had to go out in really bad conditions. We drove the Forester (carefully) 600 miles through a blinding blizzard in 2013 on the OEM Yokohamas with barely a slip. Other companies' AWD systems have gotten better and, in some cases, as good as Subaru, I am not aware of anything for the money that is actually better.

Indeed. Subaru (and presumably other car manufacturers) need to realize the reality of customer expectations now includes automatic, flawless updates to technology, like smartphones, etc. They bothered to build wi-fi into my headunit just for that reason, and then they don't enable it. Ridiculous.

I opened a customer support ticket with Subaru over my inability to register my car on subaru-maps.com. Here is their response: "There is currently a firmware update available for your vehicles unit. This update was to allow you to save presets as well as some other bug fixes. To have this update installed, you would need to visit your Subaru retailer to update the firmware of the unit itself. These type of updates need to be completed by the retailer as this changes the firmware of the unit itself, to where the maps can be updated on your own. " Needless to say I told them that sucked. I know the firmware updates are there, but they won't let me have access to them because...?

I registered on subaru-maps.com, but it says I have an invalid or unregistered VIN. Sigh.

I realized this repair resulted in my driver door frame plastic trim getting all scratched up. Needless to say, I am going to complain to the dealer.

Got mine replaced yesterday. Just in time for holiday travel.

I too have a creaky seat. I plan to get it looked at when I take it in for my first service.

Recent Subarus of all sorts have a pretty sudden throttle tip-in. I am not sure why they decided to tune them this way, but I suspect it is to make them feel snappier off the line than they really are so as to compete with all the turbo fours the competitors are selling. Compared to the CVT in the Prius we had a while back, the one in our Legacy is much more automatic-like, although you can force it to behave like a CVT if you push it.

In no way should that be necessary. This is 2018, not 1998.

The 2018 was a mild refresh. They did a number of tweaks. According to Car and Driver, they "Subaru has retuned the suspension with dampers that Subaru claims diminish both ride harshness and body roll. The automaker also says it dialed in more linear power steering and improved brake feel." Perhaps the criticisms of the 2017 are justified. https://www.caranddriver.com/news/2018-subaru-legacy-photos-and-info-news