Emt1581
Well-Known Member
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Yesterday I called up one of the dealers in the area and set up a test drive of the GT. Now this dealer basically had everything I wanted to check out...Recaro's, Premier, Premium, Base, Performance Pack., etc... so very comprehensive.
Overall the experience was amazing! Definitely need to get one!
First I checked out a Premier interior. Really nice, but nothing to compare it to at that point. Then I checked out a Premium (no Premier). Honestly, aside from the stitching and gray dash, I was unable to tell a difference. The texturing and feel of the leather seemed identical. I wish I were more experienced there, might have made a difference.
Next I checked out a model that had the Recaro's...pretty much instantly I knew I didn't care for them. With my frame/torso, the bolsters definitely hugged me but my spine never touched the seat back. Just a really awkward feel.
Then I sat in a Premium. Felt more like the car was accepting me as part of itself than sitting in it. Without even starting it up, it put a smile on my face. Kind of an "I'm home!" feeling if that makes sense. Didn't really fiddle too much with the buttons/switches.
Tried a Base, the cloth felt just as good as the Premium. No complaints and same "I'm home" feeling!
Checked out the Performance Pack features....I've seen tons of pics of them but holy crap...those rotars are MASSIVE!
Put my kid's seat in the back, wife hopped in, and off we went in the Premium w/ PP. It was just dripping awesome the whole time! Might as well have been a Lambo, that's how great it felt!
Not sure what the complaints are about with the "heavy" clutch or MT-82...both were perfect as far as I'm concerned. You want heavy clutch and shitty shifting...hop in an older Forester and do some city/traffic driving. The S550 was an absolute joy to shift! However, I will admit I stalled out on what had to be a 45 deg. incline/stoplight. But I hit the brakes, start button and was off...no biggie. Just hadn't driven manual in almost a year so....
Speaking of brakes...HOLY SHIT!!! Those Brembo's were insane!! I'm used to slowly coasting to a stop. I only jerked us around once or twice testing them but I bet from 40mph they'd let you stop on a dime!
The one feature that was a little weird was the whole "X Miles to Empty"...being that it was a dealer's car they only put enough in to let you do a REAL short drive. But I started out with 12 miles or so and, just while idling at intersections, it would count down. Tank must have been on fumes.
Won't get into many specifics about the dealer. He was nice, knew more than others I'd spoken to. But he said something odd I wanted to run by the group... We talked about my plan to put a full size spare in the trunk (at times). He said it was a bad idea. At first I thought he meant due to putting a front wheel on the rear (potentially) but what he meant was something about throwing off the balance of the car or putting too much weight on the rear...something along those lines. Is that making sense to anyone? Would putting a full size wheel in trunk and even heavier passengers in the rear seats...screw anything up mechanically...maybe over time? Just never read anything about that here.
EDIT: Forgot to add that right when we got out on the road, this guy in an SUV actually revved his engine and "raced" me! Are these cars a magnet for those challenges daily?? My wife and I got a kick out of it.
So overall, thoroughly impressed!! I've got ZERO complaints other than the fact that I can't buy one until mid-June when the $1k/mo day care bills stop. :(
Can't wait to get my hands on one and drive it every day!
-Emt1581
Overall the experience was amazing! Definitely need to get one!
First I checked out a Premier interior. Really nice, but nothing to compare it to at that point. Then I checked out a Premium (no Premier). Honestly, aside from the stitching and gray dash, I was unable to tell a difference. The texturing and feel of the leather seemed identical. I wish I were more experienced there, might have made a difference.
Next I checked out a model that had the Recaro's...pretty much instantly I knew I didn't care for them. With my frame/torso, the bolsters definitely hugged me but my spine never touched the seat back. Just a really awkward feel.
Then I sat in a Premium. Felt more like the car was accepting me as part of itself than sitting in it. Without even starting it up, it put a smile on my face. Kind of an "I'm home!" feeling if that makes sense. Didn't really fiddle too much with the buttons/switches.
Tried a Base, the cloth felt just as good as the Premium. No complaints and same "I'm home" feeling!
Checked out the Performance Pack features....I've seen tons of pics of them but holy crap...those rotars are MASSIVE!
Put my kid's seat in the back, wife hopped in, and off we went in the Premium w/ PP. It was just dripping awesome the whole time! Might as well have been a Lambo, that's how great it felt!
Not sure what the complaints are about with the "heavy" clutch or MT-82...both were perfect as far as I'm concerned. You want heavy clutch and shitty shifting...hop in an older Forester and do some city/traffic driving. The S550 was an absolute joy to shift! However, I will admit I stalled out on what had to be a 45 deg. incline/stoplight. But I hit the brakes, start button and was off...no biggie. Just hadn't driven manual in almost a year so....
Speaking of brakes...HOLY SHIT!!! Those Brembo's were insane!! I'm used to slowly coasting to a stop. I only jerked us around once or twice testing them but I bet from 40mph they'd let you stop on a dime!
The one feature that was a little weird was the whole "X Miles to Empty"...being that it was a dealer's car they only put enough in to let you do a REAL short drive. But I started out with 12 miles or so and, just while idling at intersections, it would count down. Tank must have been on fumes.
Won't get into many specifics about the dealer. He was nice, knew more than others I'd spoken to. But he said something odd I wanted to run by the group... We talked about my plan to put a full size spare in the trunk (at times). He said it was a bad idea. At first I thought he meant due to putting a front wheel on the rear (potentially) but what he meant was something about throwing off the balance of the car or putting too much weight on the rear...something along those lines. Is that making sense to anyone? Would putting a full size wheel in trunk and even heavier passengers in the rear seats...screw anything up mechanically...maybe over time? Just never read anything about that here.
EDIT: Forgot to add that right when we got out on the road, this guy in an SUV actually revved his engine and "raced" me! Are these cars a magnet for those challenges daily?? My wife and I got a kick out of it.
So overall, thoroughly impressed!! I've got ZERO complaints other than the fact that I can't buy one until mid-June when the $1k/mo day care bills stop. :(
Can't wait to get my hands on one and drive it every day!
-Emt1581
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