First of all, let me tell You about some very important advantages of new Forester '09:
1)Engine: 2.5L Single Overhead Cam (SOHC), 16-valve, horizontally-opposed, 4-cylinder SUBARU BOXER engine. It’s very good, that we can buy now this engine in Ukraine. It’s a perfect engine, a compromise between 2.5XT and 2.0X, on fuel economy and power.
2)Brakes (rear): Solid discs on Ukraine version of Forester ‘09. It’s great! Thank you for this improvement.
4) Audio system: Much better, with MP3/WMA player and auxiliary audio jack for portable media players. It’s very nice!
5) Design: A new Forester ’09 is very good-looking and beautiful! It’s great work of FHI designers.
6) Interior: It is more space for passengers. Rear seats are very comfortable. Climate Control working much better then before. Telescoping steering wheel. It’s wonderful!
7) Safety: Standard features now include 6 airbags (dual front, dual front side, and front and rear side curtain airbags with a rollover sensor), VDC (Vehicle Dynamics Control) electronic stability control and TCS traction control system. Nice work!
Sorry, but I have tell you about some problems, which, we very much hope, will be corrected in 2010 model year, and about some improvements, that we hope you will do:
1) Do You plan to install a more advanced automatic transmission? We have a problem with current E-4AT - if we ride vehicle with a speed 40-60 km/h in “D” mode, and sharply accelerate in a mode kick-down – we have a 1-2 seconds delay. That is not critical, but in some road situation this may affect traffic safety, when we need go out very fast.
We think, 6 – speed automatic, like on VolkswagenTiguan, or CVT, like on Nissan X-Trail and Mitsubishi Outlander XL will be very good for new Forester, and with diesel engine of course to.
2) Please don’t forget, for diesel engine very important to have heated fuel-main and fuel filter for good start engine in winter frost (like at Volvo and Land Rover modern diesel engines). We would like to have possibility to order it as an option directly from Subaru factory with help of local dealer.
3) Side Mirrors are not electronically folded now. It was very useful option on 07/08 model years Forester.
4) Some instability in driving of the car on speeds above 100 km/h and small roughnesses on highway or on a dirt road. Rear of the car can jump and car can lose trajectory. It’s very dangerous. Please, conduct additional tests of a suspension and improve it.
5) One tiny problem in interior: can’t manually close two air holes in the center console. We did not understand, why? Side air holes can be manually close without any problems.
6)Antitheft security system with answer-back electronic chirp and glass shock sensor, and Keyless entry system with answer-back electronic chirp. Why are you not installing the same security system in European version, with standard engine immobilizer system? We would like to have possibility to order it as an option directly from Subaru factory with help of local dealer.
7) Park assist system. We would like to have possibility to order it as an option directly from Subaru factory with help of local dealer.
