opinions on SUBARU FORESTER

Kutter

Kutter

Kutter

Soldato
Joined
22 Mar 2009
Posts
4,452
Location
Georgia, USA
Hi guys anyone ever had one of these , or a Subaru AWD and got any hints as to things to lookout for ?

Basically the wifes car ( ford torus ) has just failed inspection ( MOT ) and its time to just get shut and get another car. AWD is needed in winter so weve been looking at a Subaru around 2000-2001.

Ive got a Honda and know knothing about Subaru's so spec me some do's and dont's and what to look for.

Ta muchly :)
 
How often is it winter enough to need 4x4 ?? dont be daft. If you struggle that much during the winter do what they do on the continent and buy winter tyres designed for sub zero temperatures.
 
Any particular reason for the Forester? Do you care about performance or is a NA variant ok for you?

I've had our Legacy GTB (twin turbo) for almost a year now and it has been faultless. It's of a similar age to your car (2002) and other than the big 100km service it's required nothing other than petrol. Talking of which, the Forester XT (the turbo variant) is just as bad as the Legacy for economy : expect 25mpg on a good motorway run if you're very careful with the right foot and 20mpg around town.

The Forester interior is just as bland as the other cars which it shares the platform with. It's not offensive but it is uninspiring. I personally don't mind this but it can put people off.

The room inside a Forester is really good. It doesn't have quite the capacity of the Legacy but it's still very good.

I don't know how you'd find servicing. Here, there are plenty of indys who are used to Subarus as so many of them are on the roads. From memory, it's certainly not like that in the UK so you may be more reliant on dealers.

I test drove two Foresters before buying the Legacy and I enjoyed them. The XT is rapid but it didn't have quite the space we needed and I couldn't get over the 'on stilts' look they have. They're extremely capable cars (in turbo form, not sure of NA) and the engines are extremely reliable. The auto boxes from this era often get criticism and cost a lot to fix but, as I said, I've experienced zero problems with my Subaru.

I don't know if any of that helps as the Legacy and the Forester aren't (quite) the same car but I hope you get something from it.
 
Im talking about winter in new hampshire. Yes it gets quite bad sometimes and i dont want something like a big SUV
 
ye gods man what are you pratting around with jap junk if you live in america :D

f350plow.jpg


get it done :D
 
Thanks for the info Magnolia, theres a legacy weve seen too, so its just a case of checking them out.
 
doofski said:
Thanks for the info Magnolia, theres a legacy weve seen too, so its just a case of checking them out.
Click to expand...

Ah, you're not in the UK, I thought you were :o I think this changes things as the US market is different in terms of facelifts and model variants. I don't *think* any of the original JDM spec Subarus ever made their way in unchanged format to the US (whereas that's what most of the cars in NZ actually are and can also be had, although harder to find, in the UK). My observations probably don't count as much then as I was talking about JDM cars specifically.

What is it you're actually after anyway? What are you looking for? The Forester isn't most peoples "go to" car :)
 
I had a Forester XT a couple of years ago. Loved it, great engine could really pull and the AWD always kept the vehicle composed. I liked the simplicity of the vehicle..It had all the stuff to do the job and do it well and reliably. Friend of mine was a mechanic for Subura, who basically said they where bomb proof!

Downside and reason for getting rid (sadly :( ) was the running costs: fuel, tax, insurance. And main dealer services were not cheap :eek:

Mick

Really do miss their AWD system :(
 
A subaru kind of ticks all the boxes. AWD or 4x4 is a must when it gets to the winter months, usually we use the shogun sport in winter but that wont be an option this year. There are ford explorers, suberbans aplenty but we arent really looking for a big 4x4.
There is also an impretza but the wife prefers the forester or legacy. Guess we'll just have to see which one is the best outta the 3. Its her choice really as she will be driving it most of the time.
 
Scopobydoo69 got chased etc in his Impreza STi, don't remember anyone in a Forester having any troubles though.
 
Well my wife went out to buy a Forester and came back with a 2001 Hyundai Santa fe V6

Very nice car and they gave her $1500 trade in on her knackered Ford Taurus and a 2 year warrenty. Pity ive gotta wait until im there in 2 weeks to drive it.
 
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