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No worse in looks than Bangle's BMWs..
Looks nicer than a Lexus..
No doubt it will be overpriced...And not have enough sound deadening and set up for smooth roads and unsuited to UK roads.. if past experience is anything to go by...
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Doubt I will be buying another Subaru. Fair play to them for sticking to their ethos of boxer engine/low centre of gravity set up but you would have to be a staunch Subaru fan to keep buying them in the UK when other manufacturers are forging ahead with more efficient designs.
I have no interest in the modern estate trend of lowering the roof line at the back for the sake of style. You lose capacity and visibility. The great appeal of mine is the large windows and boxy shape, the 2013 on model is bigger but has a smaller boot, makes no sense.
I don't fully understand the hybrid setup on the new Forester. They make a big deal of extra standing start acceleration but the economy is only 35mpg. If I was to buy a hybrid I would want it to be more efficient than that. Having a small battery and electric motor is surely the worst of all worlds, not economical and heavier than the standard version.
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I have no interest in the modern estate trend of lowering the roof line at the back for the sake of style. You lose capacity and visibility. The great appeal of mine is the large windows and boxy shape,
Exactly, a proper box shape roomy boot, and how small the car is overall compared with the modern bloated trends in design.
LPG working out very well on ours which gives the pocket rocket normal hatchback running costs, at about 5'C early hours by the time i've started the engine opened the gates and relocked them it's switched over to gas, as you know these Scoobies warm up fast.
I manged to break a rear light assembly few weeks ago, oaf that i am left a steel gate frame leaning where the dogs got behind it searching for whatever dogs do, found a good used part via a Scottish scrappy (£23 incl postage, yes), and that's when that old fashioned simple build quality proved itself once again, 2 screws and it popped off, took minutes to swap over, and i later discovered something i'd never known before, on proper Japanese cars philips screws are not, they are JIS, Japanese Industrial Standard, a different profile, so i now have the correct screwdrivers after working in ignorance on Japanese cars for the last 40 years...during which time never had any issues with things seizing in place which is the bane of running older european makes.
Makes sense now why the air filter and engine cover screws are so often mangled on used Japanese cars, i bet most people don't know they are using cross point screwdrivers with the wrong profile!, i didn't till now.
Saw an unusual sight where i fill with LPG last week, chap filled his Rolls Royce with about 60 litres of the stuff, must have been a brave converter to tackle that job, later on realised he looked very like the business partner of the chap who converted out Merc many moons ago, Joe who would have done the job is a very capable old school engineer.
Edited by gordonbennet on 24/10/2019 at 13:52
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I briefly dabbled with the idea of looking at Subaru when I was looking to replace our Honda Civic about 4 years ago. The problem was, there wasn't and still isn't a dealer closer than a couple of hours away. It's either Rennes or Nantes both of which are too far away to buy from.
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Best Subarus in the UK were the Forester Xs and XTs and the Legacy/Outback estates. Great engines, great performance, excellent reliability. Nothing special now - just lke Skoda repalcing the Yeti with an anonymous SUV.
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Subaru+ their garages still at their old tricks - selling "new cars" that are some 2 years old - other manufacturers bring on a new car & clear the decks of the old model.
It's about 18 months since the Forester was updated - for sale are Forester XTs for about £4K less than the list price 18 months ago. They should be some 25% off IMHO, I believe they did not meet Sept 2018 emissions in diesel or XT format.
There are still "old model" Outbacks with under 100 miles on the clock / diesels (no longer made) still for sale.
A brand new Outback with new platform. updated engine, new interior due for release very soon but I am sure the current Outback will still hang around for at least another 12 months.
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IM motors are culpable in down selling the brand.
I really don't know why Subaru allow their continued operation as Importer to the UK other than Subaru don't really care about Europe anymore.
The website and dealers in general reek of a couldn't care less attitude in terms of promoting the brand.
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IM motors are culpable in down selling the brand.
I really don't know why Subaru allow their continued operation as Importer to the UK other than Subaru don't really care about Europe anymore.
The website and dealers in general reek of a couldn't care less attitude in terms of promoting the brand.
Just noticed that the 2019 Forester is 'only available as a mild hybrid'. You're right, there's no point in selling them here anymore.
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I suspect many were sold deliberately before the WLTP deadline last year and are noew just nearly new second hand showroom cars. Fine if they drop the price - to be honest, 33% would be more the price reduction I'd expect, given how long they've been sitting around (not good for them) on the lot.
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I have no interest in the modern estate trend of lowering the roof line at the back for the sake of style. You lose capacity and visibility. The great appeal of mine is the large windows and boxy shape, the 2013 on model is bigger but has a smaller boot, makes no sense.
Me too. I also don't like the way the rear quarter window curves upward from the bottom edge.
My year 2000 Passat could swallow a folded double divan including the mattress, I doubt any of the current crop of estates in the same class could do that now, (even my 2006 Legacy had too much rake on the rear door)?
Edited by nick62 on 24/10/2019 at 18:40
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<< I also don't like the way the rear quarter window curves upward from the bottom edge. >>
Since the millennium most stylists seem to have forgotten the basic idea that a vehicle's windows are primarily to see out of. The glass area has just become another item to be played with on the Etch-a-Sketch before showing to the production people.
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Can anyone tell me exactly what is wrong with this design, (apart from me getting old perhaps)?
parkers-images.bauersecure.com/gallery-image/pagef...g
Best car I've ever owned for comfort, economy and load-lugging ability (the pre-facelift with the 115 PD engine)
Edited by nick62 on 24/10/2019 at 19:59
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Can anyone tell me exactly what is wrong with this design, (apart from me getting old perhaps)?
Absolutely nothing wrong with it, an estate that looks exactly how it should with no pretences, a robust sensible design, any good examples for sale will find Polish chaps knocking on the door and the car on its way back home with them minutes later, they know what makes a good car.
It wasn't alone, Citroen had the cavernous C5 which shrunk when the new model appeared circa 2007?, Pug's brilliant 406 gave way to the gloried hatchback 407 estate, both PSA cars had hopeless rounded rear door lines which restricted what you could fit in quite apart from the loss of room overall due to the sloping back door, even Volvo's superb estates shrunk in the wash.
The 90's and into early noughties produced the best and most durable car designs we've ever known, worthy examples which managed to have an individual charm and look about them, now i can't tell one make from another and the interiors of increasingly porky cars have less room than before...i thought a colleague was collecting me in the pool Fiesta one day, tiny cramped thing in the front, when i mentioned how cramped it was he informed me it was the Focus.
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Can anyone tell me exactly what is wrong with this design, (apart from me getting old perhaps)?
Not a thing. It looks like a car. Just a car. To do the things a car does.
why we now have to put up with infantile grilles, spaceship headlights, touchscreens, electronic toys, whether we want them or no, says more about the 'now' than the 'then'
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That generation of Passat was a fantastic big blue collar family car. Best in facelift form SE spec with the 1.9 PD TDI with 130PS. Lovely big armchair seats, solidly built, loads of room, went great and still did 50mpg yet it was capable of doing 500,000 miles with ease. VW were at their best here.
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So this is likely to be the new Grovel, Levorg spelt backwards. Subaru's sweet spot in styling was the Legacy from 2003 - 2009. Until their stylists recapture the art of how to design cars attractively they'll struggle here. Buyers in some of their markets don't seem to care about how cars look.
https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/motor-shows-tokyo-motor-show/new-subaru-levorg-revealed-grand-touring-estate
I really don't mind the looks of that at all. Nicer looking then the current Levorg, and while it isn't going to be the most practical or capacious estate, it's not supposed to be.
For a truly awkward looking ugly car, look at the Suzuki Ignis, which there seem to be plenty driving round near me.
Obviously beauty is very much in the eye of the beholder, but i do think this is very unfair. I certainly wouldnt call the Ignis beautiful, but it is far and away the funkiest looking car in its class. And it doesn't look like that just for the sake of style, it has a frankly amazing amount of useable interior space for a car with such a small footprint (3.7m X 1.66m). Four persons, comfortably over 6', could fit comfortably in the cabin (as long as they are not unduly broad!). There is nothing else in the 'city car' class (or indeed many from the next size bracket up, the supermini) which can offer so much interior accomodation. On top of that, its boot has only 10% less volume than a Fiesta (which is more than a foot longer).
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Chap up the road has an Ignis in red, in fact all the cars they have are red, it's a quirky shape but far from unpleasant looking, the Fiat 500L i saw the other day however, looks only a mother could love, when did ugly as sin become chic?
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Chap up the road has an Ignis in red, in fact all the cars they have are red, it's a quirky shape but far from unpleasant looking, the Fiat 500L i saw the other day however, looks only a mother could love, when did ugly as sin become chic?
Who knows? Don't forget that so many Nissan Jukes were sold, despite it being pug-ugly and a poor car generally.
Edited by Engineer Andy on 25/10/2019 at 11:29
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Chap up the road has an Ignis in red, in fact all the cars they have are red, it's a quirky shape but far from unpleasant looking, the Fiat 500L i saw the other day however, looks only a mother could love, when did ugly as sin become chic?
Who knows? Don't forget that so many Nissan Jukes were sold, despite it being pug-ugly and a poor car generally.
I like the look of the Juke
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Chap up the road has an Ignis in red, in fact all the cars they have are red, it's a quirky shape but far from unpleasant looking, the Fiat 500L i saw the other day however, looks only a mother could love, when did ugly as sin become chic?
Who knows? Don't forget that so many Nissan Jukes were sold, despite it being pug-ugly and a poor car generally.
I like the look of the Juke
There is always someone who likes any car or it would not sell.
There are lots of Jukes sold and in use: I pass lots at the school gates..
I personally don't care: you can get used to anuthing...(see teh Mini - exposed seams etc..
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I think the Juke is a dreadful design - utterly awful. But clearly a lot of people find it attractive. It could be that some people are reacting against convention and conventional ideas of what is aesthetically pleasing, even deliberately embracing something they actually believe is ugly.
Maybe it's not too far removed from the sort of thinking that elected Trump.
Edited by FP on 25/10/2019 at 15:45
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I think the Juke is a dreadful design - utterly awful..
I think the Juke is a dreadful name too, a cross between Joke and Puke. I think it looks rather like a collection of spare body parts. It has been suggested that one can get used to anything - I would prefer 'cease to notice'.
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If only they hadn't taken width away at the top half of the rear of it. Most odd looking and could easily be rectified. The Ignis, that is.
Edited by groaver on 25/10/2019 at 11:24
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I must like squared-off cars as I also admire the old shape Skoda Yeti:
tinyurl.com/y2w4nolb
The latest version really is style over substance.
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I think the Juke is a dreadful design - utterly awful. But clearly a lot of people find it attractive. It could be that some people are reacting against convention and conventional ideas of what is aesthetically pleasing, even deliberately embracing something they actually believe is ugly.
I think what surprises me about the Juke, with it having such divisive looks, is how many older drivers have them. I think Nissan probably thought, or hoped, it would be a big hit with younger drivers. And while they are out there (younger Juke drivers), going by what i see on my travels, most of them are driven by older folk. Not really my cup of tea, but i'm certainly not complaining about manufacturers who are willing to take a punt on something so willfully different looking.
I do remember when the juke first appeared, chuckling at the description (i think) Top Gear Magazine used for it;
"Looks like a Suzuki Swift which has gone ten rounds with Mike Tyson"
I think the Juke is a dreadful name too, a cross between Joke and Puke.
Nissan missed a trick IMO, they should have done a special edition inspired by The Dukes of Hazzard. Orange, with 01 on the doors and the Confederate flag on the roof, though welding the doors shut might be a step too far.........!
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Juke is like a smaller brother of the Porsche Macan, neither would i give a thankyou for, but the Nissan badged version certainly has enough buyers so lots of people like them enough.
Beauty in the eye again.
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Imagination went into the design of the Juke. No imagination used for the Levorg. I do wonder where some of these designers come from. Suzuki Ignis has some flare and it is quite easy to tell which car inspired it, well, if you can remember back to the 1980s. Juke's design was inspired by the petrol tank of a motorcycle, IIRC.
People complain when a car is bland...people complain when a car looks different...
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People complaining that form should not take precedent over function is not the same as saying "Different, don't like."
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>>In 2018 total sales for the Levorg in UK were just 18 units.
They withdrew the car in 2017 - Cannot see it selling1.6 Turbo & brought it back 6 mths ago with a NA 2.0 Litre with 20BHP less.
In Japan/Australia / rest of Europe there is a 250BHP version (IIRC)
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Not me, I had a Ford Scorpio which managed both at the same time.
Looked fine to me, they should bring it back, minus the Italian boat engine.
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Not me, I had a Ford Scorpio which managed both at the same time.
Looked fine to me, they should bring it back, minus the Italian boat engine.
I had the boat engine in a Rover 825 . It was pants.. HG went at 70k miles..
( that is the polite version)
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