Yes and no. Fun to cruise in, but man did it attract the wrong attention in neighborhoods and interstate driving(Smokey), but I do like the T4r for its ability for me to jump a curb for a parking spot and take down a gravel road and not worry about the BMW paint job that the STi had.

Exactly what I told the better half...
And yeah, I was wondering about the color since it looked nothing like a WRB.

It was easier for me to grab a Forester if Subaru invested on the interior design as well as AWD system.
It doesn't look like as it is
Found some nice aftermarket bumpers @ subaxtreme.com.au

Anyhow can we say with 2015 Subi AWB technology plus some mods (lift, protection and ...) we will have a 21st century off-road car with acceptable mileage and reliability?

What about Durability? Any experience?

That's an interesting video, but the commentary is a bunch of Subaru BS. The symmetricality of the system hardly matters in practice. Torque steer only happens when you suddenly load the drivetrain (like flooring the gas), and the left and right shafts react differently. Proper engineering, such as using half shafts with different stiffness (different diameter should do it), could compensate for it if manufacturers thought it was necessary.

2:10 shows the FWD bias. The CR-V, and probably the rest of the vehicles, could easily pass this test. I don't know anything about the Highlander system or how it compares to the 4runner, but I suspect it's not as good as the 4runner. I would guess it's a clutch-based system.

At 7:02 maybe it's the fact that three wheels are on ice, and one wheel in the corner is pushing the car. They suggest that the asymmetricality of the drivetrain is causing the car to rotate. The Subaru doesn't rotate because it gets moving, so the movement of the front wheels corrects the direction of the vehicle. The rollers exaggerate the rotation of the VW. Rollers are a weird surface, and I've biked on rollers so I know.

The 4runner uses a Torsen center diff, similar to Audi Quattro systems. It would be interesting to see that tested. It doesn't use friction, and to be honest I really don't understand how it works. All I know is:

so it might not work well with big speed differences between the front and rear axles. Of course, with the center locked it would easily pass the front or rear wheels on ice test, and it would probably do OK at the three wheels on ice test since it can brake the left or right wheels.

The Honda system is known to be weak in the rear end. And the Highlander system probably is, too, if it shares the system with the RAV4. I know the highlander hybrid AWD had a 68hp rear motor, so that's the most you could get back there. And the motor tended to overheat off road. It's a cool idea to get rid of the mechanical linkage, but not the best implementation.

Honda't system doesn't take control away from the driver (unless traction control is limiting the engine power). It tries to engage the rear wheels, but it can only do so much, and then it backs off the rear clutch to keep from burning it out. In normal conditions it works most of the time, but it is known to be a weak system. It provides enough kick to stop the front wheels spinning, get the car moving, and get traction in the front. Basically it works like the clutch in a manual transmission where it gets you going, but you can't let it slip for more than a second. But it's not strong enough to lock like the clutch in a manual transmission. It's optimized to be lightweight and work on paved roads. Their VTM-4 system in the Pilot and Ridgeline isn't perfect either, but it's a whole lot better. There's a separate clutch for the left rear and right rear wheels, so it can send power to them individually. I don't know how much of the power it can send there.

One could say the traction control system in the highlander takes away control from the driver, but it is doing what it can within its design limits. The all wheel drive system can't handle sending full throttle engine power to the rear wheels so it reduces the throttle and does what it can. Most drivers are idiots, anyway, and floor the gas when their wheels start spinning. I see it every time it snows in Colorado. The highlander knows that won't help if there's no traction, so it reduces power to what it can work with while it tries to get moving and get traction.

Can you get much lift with the independent suspension design? Does anyone make an extended travel setup for it?

On this board everyone seems to get a lift and bigger tires if they do even a little off-road driving. It's mostly overkill, but I don't think you can make a modded Subaru as capable as a modded truck.

You'll lose some mileage with lift and armor, of course.

I would worry about durability. People on here break CV joints and other parts every once in a while, and the 4runner is designed to take some abuse. I doubt the drivetrain in a Subaru is strong enough to stand up to more than a little off-roading in the long run. Off-road driving can put some serious shock loads on the system if a free spinning wheel hits an immovable object like the ground.

The lack of a low range may be a problem, but maybe the CVT goes low enough that it doesn't matter? CVTs still have a torque converter, right? The problem with not having low enough gearing is the torque converter has to work too hard, and it gets hot.

Volkswagen Touaregs have a low range, the untersetzungsstufe, and a more modern and less truck like design than Toyota trucks. I hear they have a bit of an off-roading community. Problem is the price and german reliability (or lack thereof)
Volkswagen Touareg off road capability? - Expedition Portal

It will be interesting to see what manufacturers come out with in terms of new off-road vehicles in the next few years. I'm surprised the new Tacoma is so similar to the old one, but I guess that's Toyota being conservative. I'd rather drive a toyota A-BAT.

Well I caved this weekend and got a cheap daily to keep city miles off the 4runner. Engine is rebuilt, 3 valve angle job, tbelt and power steering already done, extra set of summer performance to compliment the current snow rated tires. . all this for under 3k


And yes its a manual

i always wanted a leggy wagon as a beater!!!

I just wanted a manual wagon. This one just happen to be a loaded Legacy with every option, but the sunroof. Also this was the only wagon I could find that wasn't ridiculously modified, or where the rear quarters were completely rusted out. I'm definitely excited to get back into a manual as a DD and keep the 4runner for weekend/roadtrips/every once in a while driving, because our roadtrip this summer in itself is over 3000 miles in 2 weeks!

Thanks again I'll let you know how it goes

yea i'll probably end up getting a mk4 gti or another subaru as a daily in the future. My wrx was a blast to drive but also was my A4.

this was my wrx



and this was my A4

How the hell did you pull that off? I know you realize that finding a limited for that price and a MANUAL TRANSMISSION TO BOOT is nearly impossible? as 99.9 of them were 4eat!!!! Congrats on the purchase and staying within the Subie brand

Nice, I like the JDM HIDs on the Bugeye, and the S4 Blades on the B6(Dat A$$!!!) Definitely makes it look like a USP B6

You know your cars, lol

the bugeye had the 3 piece front and 3 piece rear oem lipkit, I eventually changed the back for a 04+ rear bumper with 04-05 wrx tails. interior was black buckets and matching rears from a 05 limited and the center console was changed to a 07 TR (to keep the manual climate control). i changed so much shit in this car, its not even funny. vf43, 850cc injectors, downpipe, custom cat, turboxs tmic, t-bolts everywhere, etc etc.

the B6 had usp front, ecode headlights, real RS4 blades (slightly larger than S4), real S4 rear wing, i never liked the S4 rear bumper so i kept my original. the interior had B7 powered seats, new climate control, replaced all the control arms and bushings, R8 coilpacks, new radiator, new condenser, new AC compressor, new coolant lines, new rear coolant flange, new reservoir, new heater core (this shit had no heat...), B5 S4 brakes, and a lot more shit i may be forgetting.
I just couldnt keep dumping money in this car so i got the 4runner, the money i spend on maintenance on the A4, i could use for payments on the 4runner.
the A4 did serve me well, I would constantly take trips out to Worcester MA front NYC and back, great on gas, comfy all the way there and back. the AWD was phenomenal and the looks i got out of it were fun, lol.

Thank you!! Hence my screen name, as I have a ton of awd cars including Subies, Evos, Audis (Still do)..

Nice!! on keeping it looking sick yet Light(TR). Which is one of the things I loved about the bugeyes, is the fact that you can throw a ton of goodies without needing any Tuning unlike the 04+..

You pretty much made the A4 the way it SHOULD HAVE come from the factory, including the HP2s for a better stopping performance yet retaining that oem look..

Oh and yeah those R8 CPs .. Nice, I bet it dressed up the engine bay quite nicely..

LOL that's one of the things some people complain is the no heat in the cabin specially when its like 0 degrees

Thats because of the way the coolant system was over engineered. The low pressure waterpump really kills it. As soon as i got the car i did the timing belt and water pump, changed everything, and EVEN THEN i still had no heat...
So it then turns out that you need to jack the front and bleed the coolant system from the metal over pipe that goes by the injectors and also from the breather nipple on the heater core. Then and only then do you get heat.
Also the 1.8t's dont need to warm up, you just start them up, wait till the secondary air pump stops and then drive it. that way it warms up much quicker and you get heat inside. Things you learn eh? lol
And yes, the HP2s definitely made this heavy ass car stop properly. I was so close on getting a B7 S4 but i just couldnt justify the stupid timing chain job, I didnt feel like dropping the motor and tranny, taking it apart and doing the 4-5 timing chains it got... nor do i feel like paying for the job, lol.

absolutely beautiful cars sir


Yeah I was psyched to find this little diamond in the rough. . as for sticking with the Subie brand. . .I never left