timbo

Very, very nice XR6Tas! Good photo location too! Any idea if Tassie are introducing slimline rego plates? It would certainly tidy up the look from the front.........not that it isn't already tidy........it looks great, but.......uh oh, here we go

Thought you guys may be interested, took a new Forester XT Turbo for a test drive yesterday. Car was brand new (only 24k's) so was still pretty tight, but very quick for a "family wagon"! For the record, they are spec'd at 155kW @ 5600rpm and 320Nm @ 3600 (standard WRX is 168kW and 300Nm), so although probably a little heavier than a Rex, still quite close on performance (I have driven both). It handled the twisty bits very nicely, and acceleration out of corners was amazing. The all wheel drive system certainly helps, especially when you over-cook it into a corner that is still damp from overnight rain, and the car salesman in the passenger seat lets out a little yelp and plants his right foot in the firewall!! (Actually, it was not unlike driving with my mother-in-law, except he was better looking!! :D ) The whole package is very nicely put together - they do know how to build cars - but too small for my liking. The rear load space is pretty good, although some of the depth is gone because Australian cars have the full size spare instead of the space-saver. The rear seat and legroom is cramped to the point where my 12 year old son who is already pushing 5'8" would be uncomfortable on a long trip. I also found the drivers footwell very narrow - with left foot on the footrest (yes, it has one of those!), my shoe (size 10) kept snagging the clutch pedal! Overall though, pretty good package - as a second car! Cheers, Timbo.

Just one question guys.....how do you get in and out of a 'T' with those little propellor hats stuck to your heads????? :lol:

Mack, you are all welcome, anytime (we need the tourist $'s !!) Do yourself a favour though, and come down in time to catch Targa live in the flesh (normally in April)- it'll blow you away cheers, Timbo.

Congratulations Ken! I have enjoyed reading your saga and sharing your pain...you deserve many long and rewarding times with your new toy. Sometimes when we want someting so badly and are made to wait, when it finally arrives we are disappointed (remember that blonde in Grade 7 ?? ) Clearly that is not the case with the "T". Maybe next year when the Sydney to Tassie ferry is up and running you can bring her down to stretch her legs on our fantastic Targa roads, and breathe our crisp clean "made for Turbo" air - that's gotta be worth a few extra kw's!! (The smoked salmon and chilled Tassie chardy aren't bad, either!!) Wouldn't be dead for quids....good luck mate!

Just got a warning about this same thing, but with an ANZ account - be careful!!

Thanks for all the replies and encouragement guys...didn't realise there were so many T owners in the same position as me! Just proves what an awesome car this is! XR6Tas - mate I don't think Tilford's have had that Acid Rush demo for some time, certainly not in the last 3 months I've been looking. Just out of interest I was in Launceston recently (not out of choice!), and dropped in to Jackson Ford - those boys really know their stuff and were falling over themselves to put a demo on a truck and send it down to Hobart (but they didn't have a T either!). They reckon because they sell a lot more XR's than Tilford's, that they can get me one quicker too. I'll wave you down next time I see you to say g'day - promise not to drool on your duco!! Will keep you all posted on how I go....just got to get my accountants head out from between his cheeks long enough to tell me how best to pay for my new baby! (Not easy this time of year!) By the way Falchoon, thanks for the warning about KB, but I've been reading this forum long enough to know that he's definitely a lettuce leaf short of a salad sandwich!!! :D Must be all that waiting, eh?? Anyone who's that much into L.O.R. must be a danger to society Cheers guys!!

G'day guys! I've been quietly cruising this forum for a couple of months, so thought I'd better make it official! Have been a Expensive Daewoo man for the last 20 or so years (last Ford was an original XA Falcon GT I owned in the early '80s, complete with Mick Webb enhanced donk), but am blown away by how good the new BA XR's seem to be, and particularly everything I have read on the Turbo, thanks to all your posts and as much as I can find to read.....I say "read" because living down here in Hobart, there is only one Ford dealer, and they do not have a turbo for me to test drive!!! I don't know about you, but I definitely baulk at paying over $50K for a car when I can't drive it first, no matter how good everyone says they are! The local Expensive Daewoo dealer is falling over himself to sell me an SS, even knocked $5k straight off the top, but I have a mate with a GTS that is on its 3rd re-build, so no Gen III for me! The best the Ford dealer could do was let me test drive an XR8 they had on the floor in Blood Orange(very nice, had the looks, sounds great, but want to try a turbo). I travel about 30,000 k's a year for business, so I need something comfy and preferably fun to drive around these great Tassie roads! :D Have already compiled my options list (leather, sss, premium sound, tint, tow,etc), but will stick with the 17's simply because of tyre replacement costs with the number of k's I do. Biggest decision is probably the same as everyone else - colour! There aren't many turbos down here yet, but have seen a couple in Phantom and Acid Rush, also a very nice Mercury Silver with tint, 18's, and fordxr6turbo.com sticker (that you XR6TAS ?). Lotsa N/A's in Blueprint. Favourites at the moment are Venom and Blueprint, but the Blood Orange got lots of attention! This may end up being the first car I ever order without a test drive, but one thing is guaranteed...the estimated 3-4 month wait is gonna break my heart!!