Tuesday 28th October 2014

Subaru Forester STI: Spotted

Subaru will show a new fast Forester in November so what better time to revisit the old one?

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Subaru isn't giving away an awful lot just yet on the next Forester STI. There are a few moodily lit images showing daytime running lights and a few pink STI highlights. But the news that there will be another fast Forester is more than enough to prompt some tyre kicking of the previous one.

Bring on November 25...

It's now 10 years since the first Forester STI was launched in Japan. With little information to go on we would guess it will follow the same template as previously. The Forester is now more of an SUV than the off-road estate it was but expect WRX STI running gear again and lots of blue paint.

Anyway, that's to follow very soon. Now's the time to focus on the old car. Despite being a JDM only car they've proved quite popular in the UK, the combination of rapid performance and practicality tempting many into an import. In silver it could look quite sensible if certain commitments had forced you from an Impreza.

It also just has curio appeal. Almost like Volvo T5 estates the combination of such speed in a seemingly inappropriate body that makes it cool. It's not stylish, it's not sleek, but you can move big stuff and go very quickly at the same time. Which is good fun.

Not pretty, but that's not the point

This car in Ireland looks to be among the more tempting ones on PH. It has been serviced on schedule, treated to a couple of useful upgrades and the brakes are apparently brand new too. It's WR Blue, obviously.

Litchfield imported this car back in 2006 and can release a little more power if you so desire. Using the same parts as the Type 25 Impreza it can take the STI Forester to 330hp and 330lb ft for £1,500. What better car for a track day and a tip run in the same day?

Some people won't get the Forester STI. A bit too ugly and bit too weird. Some will prefer an Impreza, especially if you're being forced down the import route and could therefore find one of the desirable later 2.0-litre models. But count us in as Forester fanboys and very keen to try the new car.

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SUBARU FORESTER STI
Engine: 2,457cc four-cyl boxer turbo
Transmission: 6-speed manual, four-wheel drive
Power (hp): 265@5,600rpm
Torque (lb ft): 278@3,600rpm
MPG: 30 (according to the advert...)
CO2: NA
First registered: 2006
Recorded mileage: 65,000
Price new: N/A
Yours for: £11,750

See the original advert here.

[New Forester STI story: WCF]

[Gorbyrev]

Doesn't Peter Stevens (stylist for the McLaren F1) have one of these. Capable curio, what's not to love, even if it has been comprehensively whacked with the ugly stick. From back in the day when you didn't have to buy your Forester with a DAF rubber band transmission.

[soad]

Not ugly at all - looks purposeful and mean.

[Dale487]

It may be no oil painting but it appeals to me more than an Impreza & is 1000% better looking than a BMW X1 (I know its not a direct competitor, but they're similar size).

[Ved]

New Forester STI coming?! Great news!

[smilo996]

"What better car for a track day and a tip run in the same day?"

Well you would get no hassle from other drivers as their rear view and then the wing mirrors filled with very large Subaru.

[ianrb]

I used to run a Forester Turbo, not the STI. It was so much fun sneaking up on hot hatches and getting past them before they knew what was happening!

But I've grown up now.

[kambites]

265bhp seems also tame by modern standards. Still, it probably weighs less than most modern hot hatches.

Remarkable residuals for the type of car. I guess that's a result of their rarity as much as anything.

Edited by kambites on Tuesday 28th October 13:49

[soad]

For the power hungry, there's this...might need to break into a piggy bank first.

2004-2007 FORESTER STI UPGRADE - £1,495 INC. VAT
330 bhp @ 6000 rpm
330 lb/ft@ 3300rpm
4.8 sec 0-60mph
155 mph top speed
3" Milltek exhaust system with Sports Catalyst
Individually Re-programmed ECU with RACE ROM features
Performance panel filter

[Ryvita]

Happy owner here! Mine is similarly, Litchfield, slightly tweaked and WR blue. Yes, only a mother could love that face, but it does the job like nothing else on dirty, lumpy country roads. A past thread about B-road weapons highlighted a popular consensus that a FSTI was more than a match like-for-like against the Impreza due to its increased compliance and suspension travel. Only tweak needed is stiffening of the anti-roll bars to dial out a bit of the sway and tendancy to understeer. Mine does some delightfully predictable lift-off oversteer on roundabouts.

Had it for about 5 months now having upgraded from a WRX estate and it's pretty much everything I was looking for in terms of more power, more space and more aggressive handling. Mine dyno'd 316 BHP / 320 LbFt at Surrey Rolling Road last month.

[redroadster]

I need a practical estate type car for my 3 dogs have been looking at a legacy estate j d m there are plenty advertised at sensible money, but one of these would do head scratching time,has anybody had both ? .

[mch]

Yeah, good luck with that 30mpg figure. Never managed more than 29 out my bog-standard 2007 Forester XTEn with 2.5l / 220bhp.
...but have fun trying though...

Mike

[Gorbyrev]

Dale487 said:

It may be no oil painting but it appeals to me more than an Impreza & is 1000% better looking than a BMW X1 (I know its not a direct competitor, but they're similar size).

Agreed!

[Willem82]

My Mrs said it looks "Fugly" - thats fat & ugly!! and said i'm not allowed one on that basis!!

So i got a Range Rover instead!! HA HA!!

I would have one of these in a heartbeat if I could fit a tow-bar to it and still be comfortable that it's road legal. Being an import I'm not so sure there's a gross towing weight for this car, and i've not been able to get a straight answer out of anyone, bit of a shame really...

[bonesX]

Forester STi - 'better' all-round package...?

Over 18 months on - still of the same - brilliant machine

http://www.scoobynet.com/scoobynet-general-1/96768...

[Terminator X]

Fan of the Jap 2 litre engine myself, was their 2.5 litre any good?

TX.

[bonesX]

Tish Tish - yes it is

[badgerracing]

redroadster said:

I need a practical estate type car for my 3 dogs have been looking at a legacy estate j d m there are plenty advertised at sensible money, but one of these would do head scratching time,has anybody had both ? .

I had a 2000 Legacy GTB picked up for £1700. Great machine: subtle, very quick, secure, liked to be hustled along country roads but 25mpg at best. Spent a bit of money keeping it on the road, and always a slight worry the bottom end would go making it virtually a write off, but never happened to me. Can't speak for the Forester, but the GTB was a great car. There's some story that it was the fastest estate car in the world at some point in the 90s - over 170mph.
Sold it 2 years later for £1750. Still regret it - that's almost shed money.

[redroadster]

badgerracing said:

I had a 2000 Legacy GTB picked up for £1700. Great machine: subtle, very quick, secure, liked to be hustled along country roads but 25mpg at best. Spent a bit of money keeping it on the road, and always a slight worry the bottom end would go making it virtually a write off, but never happened to me. Can't speak for the Forester, but the GTB was a great car. There's some story that it was the fastest estate car in the world at some point in the 90s - over 170mph.
Sold it 2 years later for £1750. Still regret it - that's almost shed money.

Thanks for info, god that was a cheap car seen them advertised on ebay and pistonheads around 4500 TO 6500 mark ,apart from fuel economy can,t see many drawbacks most seem to be autos are they anygood ? seen one for more money advertised with paddle flaps on steering wheel has anybody got experience with this set up ?

[adingley84]

You know those days when you wish you had a bit more disposable income than the wife and 2 kids allow for...I'm now having one of those days! Luckily I've still got the 2.5 XT on the driveway!

[Thorburn]

Would love to try one of these. I've got a 1999 Forester (non-turbo) from my parents when I was looking for a daily driver to run alongside my S1 Elise about 5 years ago and its a fantastic thing - refuses to go wrong (I've been half trying to kill it for the last 3 or 4 years so I could justify replacing it with a Turbo) and is dynamically better than it has any right to be - it struggles a bit on sharp changes of direction and the brakes are atrocious (drum rears!), but it flows beautifully along the road and the pedal box is perfect for smooth heel and toeing.