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JJHACK Offline OP
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My wife is a surgical nurse at a new location for her. 40 miles one way from home, but almost all back roads with farm equipment and game animals as the only traffic.

She was driving a camry, but I felt that this backroad driving for the distance justified a new 4 wheel drive for the winter months. During the evaluation of the choices the Subaru forester just kept coming to the top. Nothing else made has the 4X4 system like a Subaru unless you go all the way up to Audi, and Porsche.

So we now have this really nice brand new 2017 forester with the X mode option. The X mode is quite impressive, I wish when I had my Jeep CJ5 in the 70's and 80's that it could have come with this technology!

It's not exactly an off road machine, but if there was once a gravel road it will travel it as well as anything. The 8.5" ground clearance is surprising when the vehicle looks so low! It would not be the primary use vehicle for our hunting and fishing, however it would be used for getting to and from the river launch sites for our raft trips. As well as random trips into the mountains at times.

Over all I have had some off road experience with the Subaru vehicles in South Africa with the Subaru diesel pickup trucks. Not an apples to apples comparison other then knowing how well made and tight the Subaru products are. The Diesel is not available in the USA, so there is no engine comparison. This Forester has the 2.5i boxer engine. The suspension and 4 wheel drive system should be nearly identical.

The interior of this Forester is quite nice and fancy to put it simply. The vehicles in Africa were simple and without anything fancy at all. No air-conditioning, no power windows etc. I can recall many times in difficult sandy conditions where the Subaru drove around a Toyota Hilux 4x4 stuck in the sand.

Astonishing to see this puny little Subaru scoot around a brilliantly engineered off road machine, like the Hilux. The Subaru cannot haul out game the size of a Kudu though!


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A friend had an older Legacy that was his hunting car. One time it rained & it slid sideways off a sloping dirt road down between some trees, sideways. Luckily he didn't hit any of them. He put on a set of chains and started working it out from between the trees. He figured he shifted back and forth over 100 times in the next 1/2 hour, moving 6 to 12" at a time before he got it clear of the tree in front so he could drive it back up on the road.


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I drove a few Subarus before anyone thought they were cool.First one didn't even have 4WD,but great mileage to and from work.Then I had hatch back 4WD.I think I paid $2600 for it new ,off the truck. Great in the snow,but would high center pretty quick in deep snow and act like a sled on that pan frame. Used up two engines in that thing.

I am sure you will like it


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JJHACK Offline OP
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I did not even know they made a 2WD model! I guess lots of people in the USA did not know they made a pickup in other countries either.

When in Germany a few years ago I saw quite a few GM and Ford cars that are not sold in the USA, and a ton of ford ranger pickups with a diesel engine in South America and South Africa.


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Are you living your life, or just paying bills until you die?
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I've had 3 older Loyale models that were all well used when I got them. All 3 went over 300k before they fell apart.


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Originally Posted by JJHACK
I did not even know they made a 2WD model! I guess lots of people in the USA did not know they made a pickup in other countries either.



I think mine was 74.


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good choice. just don't forget to turn off the traction control when you are really in deep snow or mud. mine goes better than any of my 4x4 trucks in the snow once you turn that TC off.


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JJHACK Offline OP
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Some additions to the new vehicle. With the investment made I plan to keep this for a while.

I've had car seat covers on my truck since new. Under them they are still brand new. At 12 years old used hard off road and on the ranch every day. It's surprising just how nice they look. Brand new actually. I've only had these covers off twice to wash them in the washing machine in 12 years. They were a great investment.

They are made by Marathon seat covers, made in Montana. They really fit like factory seat covers. I did order them in Kryptic Typhoon camo. The interior is charcoal so they will match perfectly. Thought I might be a cooler design then just solid colors and will certainly hide dirt and stains better!

Then the Weather tech floor mats including the cargo area, probably the most critical as that back area gets filled with boots bloody stuff and wet clothing frequently. I'f you have not seen weather tech mats they are worth every penny. Once installed they look as if they were built into the vehicles floor.

Finally I installed a 2" receiver made by Draw tight for the miscellaneous things like my bike rack for the mountain bikes and if needed our little utility trailer. It's a 500lb tongue weight and a 3500lb trailer weight. Doubtful I'll ever be close to that. Since everything I have is 2" hitch I did not want to have two size stingers for everything.

Working on a light bar or some kind of brush guard to add a couple bigger driving lights now. I'm a bit stubborn about what I buy. So I've not decided on anything particular yet. She will drive this car home 25 miles on a rural back country road to get home every night. I want to add some lights to reach out and show her the deer ahead when possible. That's a significant issue driving that road every day coming home from her job in the dark


www.huntingadventures.net
Are you living your life, or just paying bills until you die?
When you hit the pearly gates I want to be there just to see the massive pile of dead 5hit at your feet. ( John Peyton)

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