2014 Subaru Forester

**supermanila** · April 17th, 2013 11:50 AM

Originally Posted by 8BRZWRX

I wouldnt put too much thought into. Enjoy the car, show it to your cronies.

Based on my readings the Forester is the most powerful stock compact SUV in the Philippines. If Toyota brought in the V6 Rav4 then it would be outdone.

I honestly felt silly asking the station employee to put in P1,000 XCS and P1,500 Blaze to get 98+. At least now I can just tell him to fill it up with P2,000 95 na lang.

So still no solution to soften the suspension?

Agree sir. Thats what i plan to use rin talaga when i get my unit na, 95 ron. If ever it will be a very minor performance hit that we probably wont notice naman. There was no indication of a fuel mileage hit between 95 and 98 ron sa manual...although how big a hit ethanol has on mileage is hard to say.

In any case sorry no solution so far on suspension...all i can suggest is play around with your sitting position...but i doubt it will help much

Btw, i think wala naman na v6 version yung new rav4 right, even in other countries...so if ever only the ecoboost turbo escape can match the xt if ever ford brings it over.

One question though, does changing the head unit into a multimedia one lead into voiding of warranty? Also will it be able to retain the steering controls, including bluetooth hands free calls? This is for me one of the negative things on the forester xt since im a sucker for multimedia touch screen center displays

**lumberjack0** · April 17th, 2013 05:20 PM

Hi new to this forum but have been a lurker for months I just thought I'd chime in this topic. I got my 2014 FXT last month. I'm very happy with the car. First time to own a Subaru after driving mostly Honda's and Toyota's for over a decade. Comparing FC of the most recent cars I have have owned:

New FXT 7.00/L
2009 Honda CRV 6/L
2012 Toyota Altis 9/L

My daily commute is different from the others who have posted though. I travel from Pasig to the mean streets of Ortigas extension Rizal and back. Mean streets because this whole stretch is notorious for bad traffic, and a lot of starts and stops because of intersections going to various subdivisions in the area.

Regarding the question about the head unit. I asked the sales agent in MI about getting a 3rd party HU because I found the stock radio a little too plain, she said not to do it because it will void the warranty. Bummer right?

**supermanila** · April 17th, 2013 07:57 PM

Originally Posted by lumberjack0

Hi new to this forum but have been a lurker for months I just thought I'd chime in this topic. I got my 2014 FXT last month. I'm very happy with the car. First time to own a Subaru after driving mostly Honda's and Toyota's for over a decade. Comparing FC of the most recent cars I have have owned:

New FXT 7.00/L
2009 Honda CRV 6/L
2012 Toyota Altis 9/L

My daily commute is different from the others who have posted though. I travel from Pasig to the mean streets of Ortigas extension Rizal and back. Mean streets because this whole stretch is notorious for bad traffic, and a lot of starts and stops because of intersections going to various subdivisions in the area.

Regarding the question about the head unit. I asked the sales agent in MI about getting a 3rd party HU because I found the stock radio a little too plain, she said not to do it because it will void the warranty. Bummer right?

Thanks for sharing your inputs sir. May i ask what fuel you are using? It is good to know that despite your daily traffic drive, you are still getting 7km/l. Btw sir, is this manual or computer figures?

I will try to ask my agent about the head unit. I reserved from alabang, which i believe isnt from MI. And if ever i think ang mawawala lang na warranty is for the radio, not for the whole car.

**lumberjack0** · April 17th, 2013 10:37 PM

Originally Posted by supermanila

Thanks for sharing your inputs sir. May i ask what fuel you are using? It is good to know that despite your daily traffic drive, you are still getting 7km/l. Btw sir, is this manual or computer figures?

I will try to ask my agent about the head unit. I reserved from alabang, which i believe isnt from MI. And if ever i think ang mawawala lang na warranty is for the radio, not for the whole car.

I got the FC data from the onboard computer of the 3 cars. I know i should get better mileage from the forester if drive the way I drive the altis and the crv but im still breaking the FXT in so i try to reach higher speeds even if its just by short spurts. As for the type of fuel i use, ive been using 95 octane from shell. I was told by the tech guy from the dealership not to go over 97 octane and not under 95 although i did not bother to get an explanation why.

Id be interested to know what the agent from subaru alabang has to say about changing the head unit. I might be tempted to switch mine as well if MI just voids the warranty for the radio.

**8BRZWRX** · April 18th, 2013 01:52 AM

No idea about the HU warranty thing. My main complaint since 2002 is that all cars I have been driving never sported a USB port. Either naka CD sila or AUX in.

This includes the 2008 WRX and Forester XT.

Since the 2013 Forester has a USB port already I'm fine with it. The thing is to charge my 4S I must select USB on the head unit. Hassle siya if you stream your audio from the cloud.

Yung hassle rin sa USB is that the HU treats it like a dumb USB mass storage device liks a USB flash drive rather than a Phone.

To treat it like a phone you must connect to it via Bluetooth but I have yet to figure out a way for it to connect automatically when I enter the car.

Anyway overall I am happy wit hthe car other than the fuel economy, ride quality and other items of concern.

I hope the LTO can deliver the plate soon so I can use it during office hours. I do not want to deal with the hassle of being asked to pull over due to govt inefficiencies.

**supermanila** · April 18th, 2013 02:57 PM

Originally Posted by 8BRZWRX

No idea about the HU warranty thing. My main complaint since 2002 is that all cars I have been driving never sported a USB port. Either naka CD sila or AUX in.

This includes the 2008 WRX and Forester XT.

Since the 2013 Forester has a USB port already I'm fine with it. The thing is to charge my 4S I must select USB on the head unit. Hassle siya if you stream your audio from the cloud.

Yung hassle rin sa USB is that the HU treats it like a dumb USB mass storage device liks a USB flash drive rather than a Phone.

To treat it like a phone you must connect to it via Bluetooth but I have yet to figure out a way for it to connect automatically when I enter the car.

Anyway overall I am happy wit hthe car other than the fuel economy, ride quality and other items of concern.

I hope the LTO can deliver the plate soon so I can use it during office hours. I do not want to deal with the hassle of being asked to pull over due to govt inefficiencies.

Sir have you checked your tire pressure already? Have read numerous instances where new cars are delivered by dealers with a very high tire pressure reading. Sa ibang international forums they are claiming nasa 40-42 tires ng xt nila kaya matagtag daw. Just a suggestion if you havent done so yet

Also yes i think with android phones you need to pair it via bluetooth...usb doesnt work daw.

**supermanila** · April 18th, 2013 03:02 PM

Originally Posted by lumberjack0

I got the FC data from the onboard computer of the 3 cars. I know i should get better mileage from the forester if drive the way I drive the altis and the crv but im still breaking the FXT in so i try to reach higher speeds even if its just by short spurts. As for the type of fuel i use, ive been using 95 octane from shell. I was told by the tech guy from the dealership not to go over 97 octane and not under 95 although i did not bother to get an explanation why.

Id be interested to know what the agent from subaru alabang has to say about changing the head unit. I might be tempted to switch mine as well if MI just voids the warranty for the radio.

Hmm thats interesting. They dont recommend higher than 97ron? I wonder why. I would assume na if you go higher it wont harm your engine at all. In fact subaru recommends premium fuel pa nga for the xt.

Wll let you know about the head unit sir when i get back.

**LoBudget** · April 18th, 2013 05:40 PM

Originally Posted by 8BRZWRX

I hope the LTO can deliver the plate soon so I can use it during office hours. I do not want to deal with the hassle of being asked to pull over due to govt inefficiencies.

You shouldnt as long as you treat the last digit of the conduction sticker as the coding day number. LTO and MMDA are informed about the problem with the plate number supply so they should not bother you, also the casa should have provided you a waiver regarding the registration so showing that should be enough to silence the kotong cops. Up to now I can still see a lot of white conduction cars with no plates and they arent being pestered, even in Makati.

**LoBudget** · April 18th, 2013 05:47 PM

Originally Posted by supermanila

Hmm thats interesting. They dont recommend higher than 97ron? I wonder why. I would assume na if you go higher it wont harm your engine at all. In fact subaru recommends premium fuel pa nga for the xt.

Probably because you dont get anything extra in terms of performance so it would be a "waste" of money, probably in relation to how the engine is tuned for PH settings. XCS is a premium gasoline, at least that is what their website will say. Im not sure but I think anything with 95RON and up is considered premium gasoline, and 93 and below is regular.

Does anyone use fuel not from the big three on their Subbies, like the Seaoil Extreme?

**lumberjack0** · April 18th, 2013 06:30 PM

Originally Posted by LoBudget

You shouldnt as long as you treat the last digit of the conduction sticker as the coding day number. LTO and MMDA are informed about the problem with the plate number supply so they should not bother you, also the casa should have provided you a waiver regarding the registration so showing that should be enough to silence the kotong cops. Up to now I can still see a lot of white conduction cars with no plates and they arent being pestered, even in Makati.

While it's true you should not get into trouble driving your car without the plates, it seems Makati has it's own rules. Our company bought a Toyota pickup last year and until we got the plates first quarter of this year, the driver complained that he gets stopped by Makati police when he goes through Makati. The driver explained to them about the shortage of plates and even shows them a memo from the LTO that the dealer provided about said plate shortage. They just told him: "Makati to boy. Iba patakaran dito" Gotta love the cops from the Republic of Makati.