2003 Subaru Baja Base Crew Cab Pickup 4-door 2.5l on 2040-cars

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What grownups drive (fast) | 2017 Subaru Forester 2.0XT Touring Review

If you look at the 2017 Forester XT Touring and don't notice the changes compared to the 2016 model, we won't blame you. They're subtle. The naturally aspirated models get a new front bumper that matches the surrounding body color, but the turbo model we drove still has the black gap in the middle. The grille gives up the wide mesh look for a pattern that subtly accentuates the Pleiades badge. Look into the updated Forester's eyes, though, and you might see a new spark of beauty, with a redesign that prominently features a surrounding strip of LEDs. There's also a new color; our test vehicle came in the new-for-2017 Sepia Bronze Metallic paint, a tasteful brown(-ish) that might let you get away with going longer between washes. On the inside, this Forester had the new Saddle Brown leather interior exclusive to the Touring trim. It's the rich sort of brown that reminds one of a rustic but well-appointed hunting lodge, where one would expect to catch a whiff of pipe tobacco and whiskey. It just smelled like a normal car, though, at least before we got in it. Touring spec also offers up a heated steering wheel and seats, the automotive equivalent to a chair in front of the fireplace. Most touch points are attended to with sturdy-feeling materials, and the most important one – the wheel­ – feels grippy and comfortable without being overwrought. The front seats are firm but comfortable, with an upright seating position. They're a bit reminiscent of those moderately expensive high-back office chairs, except in this case, the office rolls around with the seat. Sitting behind them isn't bad, either, as they're shaped in a way that carves out extra room for the knees. The door openings are large enough to make ingress and egress an easy task, which is a merciful thing, especially when wrestling a car seat into the back. As for our own rear-facing kid carrier, it fits in the Forester just fine, but, when clipped in the passenger side, means the front occupant is just one click closer to the dash than they'd be ideally. Their knees won't be crunched into the glove box, though (that's a position some of us have learned to live with in other cars with a rear-facing car seat installed). The view from the driver's seat is exceptional. Tall, wide windows let you keep track of everything that's going on around you. They also bring in a lot of light, and piloting the Forester is a bit like driving a greenhouse on wheels.

Subaru previews rally-ready WRX STI for Global RallyCross

Subaru's long and distinguished history in the world of rallying is about to get another chapter, as it's set to field a team in the Global RallyCross Championship. The car? The all-new WRX STI.
Yes, Subaru will be fielding a GRC challenger, with drivers Bucky Lasek and Sverre Isachsen at the helm. This particular car was teased earlier this week, and is a preview of the eventual GRC model which will launch this fall. The race-ready STI boasts a custom widebody kit with a carbon-fiber rear wing. The roof scoop and the mirrors are also made of carbon fiber, while the wheels are provided by Method. As with all GRC contenders this year, the WRX STI is shod in Yokohama spec rubber. It's not clear what sort of engine sits under the scooped hood, although we imagine we'll find out before the season kicks off in a few months.
Perhaps even more exciting is word that Subaru will also prepare a version of the WRX STI for stage rallies, with Travis Pastrana and David Higgins fielding the new car in the Rally America Championship. That car should arrive later this year.

2020 Subaru Impreza gets EyeSight safety tech, $100 price increase

We recently saw the Japanese version of the 2020 Subaru Impreza after a subtle mid-cycle update, and now come details of the American version, which follows the same script in appearance but has a few new tricks up its sleeve. Subaru adds $100 to the starting price for the four-door model, which starts at $19.595, including destination, while the five-door hatchback is priced from $20,095. The big news is the addition of EyeSight, Subaru’s suite of driver-assist safety technologies, as standard on all Imprezas equipped with the continuously variable transmission, which is available on all four trim levels (Standard, Premium, Sport and Limited). That gets you automatic pre-collision braking and throttle management, lane-keep assist, lane-departure and sway warning, and lead vehicle start alert, which is essentially a heads-up to hit the gas when the vehicle in front of you has started moving from a stop. New for 2020 is the option of adding a reminder to check the rear seat occupants before leaving the car. Unlike in its native country, Americans buyers can still get an Impreza with a five-speed manual. ItÂ’s available on the Standard trim for the sedan and on the Standard and Sport models in the hatchback. The trade-off for driving stick, Subaru tells us, is that you give up the option of EyeSight. Steering-wheel paddle shifters are now available on CVT-equipped Premium models and above to pair with a seven-speed manual-mode function, and drivers can now select between Intelligent and Sport modes of throttle management as a standard feature. Also new are automatic power door locks with a collision-detection unlock function, which are standard on all trims, new 18-inch alloy wheels and active torque vectoring Visually, the car looks pretty much the same as the Japanese version, with a revised grille and front bumper cover, a wide air dam stretching across the entire face of the bumper and L-shaped chrome bracket trim book-ending it. Five-door models only get a new design on the combination lights. ThereÂ’s also a new color option called Ocean Blue Pearl. The engine remains the same as before, a 2.0-liter four-cylinder boxer making 152 horsepower and 145 pound-feet of torque. Fuel economy tops out at 36 mpg on the highway and 28 in the city, with a range of 450 miles. Other standard features include the Starlink 6.5-inch multimedia touchscreen and Android Auto and Apple CarPlay integration. The 2020 Impreza arrives in showrooms later this month.