2009 Subaru Forester

[haven]

I recently rented a 2009 Subaru Forester for a week that included two 10-hour stints behind the wheel. With a full load of cargo and the cruise control set to 75, the Forester averaged 27 mpg. This is more impressive when you consider that the freeway rolled from 3000 to 6000 ft elevation.

Overall, the Forester was enjoyable. It was fun power-sliding around corners on a well-graded gravel road. The 170 hp 2.5L four cylinder engine was up to the task of hauling a full load up to highway speeds. With no passengers or gear, the Forester is eager to accelerate.

The Forester, like all Subarus, has full time all wheel drive. The 2009 edition of the Forester has 16 inch wheels, which help provide 8.7 inches of ground clearance with the standard 65-series tires. The second row of seats fold down in a single motion, making a flat cargo area that holds 68 cu.ft. of stuff. This is a few cu.ft. less than the space offered by the Honda CR-V and the Toyota Rav4.

Two issues: First, the four speed automatic has wide-spaced ratios that make the downshift from fourth to third a big step. The 5 speed manual has closer ratios. Second, the interior of the base level Forester feels a bit cheap.

The base Forester X with manual transmission costs a little less than $21,000. That's at least $1000 cheaper than the competition from Honda and Toyota.

Chip Haven

 

[whatcharterboat]

Hey Chip

Just between you and me I'm a closet Subaru owner. There is a great forum here called Ausubaru.com. If you ever need advice, the guys there are always helpful and what they don't know about them isn't worth knowing. Foresters have a huge reputation as being a great allrounder and absolutely bulletproof. As with all Subarus (IMO more than any other Jap cars) fix them with genuine parts and service them at the correct intervals and they will do huge miles. My brother was a Suby mechanic and is always bringing home leftovers of Subaru coolantant, carbon cleaner, oils, etc. The genuine products they sell are awesome. No wonder they are so reliable.

Also a lot of mechanics drive Forrester's here. That says something doesn't it.

John

 

[98roamer]

I've been recently looking at the 2009 Forester in anticipation of replacing our Corolla in the next couple of years. We need a more over the road car and the 4runner gets $$ for long trips.

 

[durango_60]

My little sister just purchased an 09 Forester and I am very impressed with it. I'm holding out for them to release it with the diesel before I replace my wife's Outback.

 

[Martinjmpr]

I've owned a Subaru before (99 Outback Wagon) and really liked it. My brother and mom also own Subarus (here in CO Subarus are very common.)

My question is this: What is the length of the flat cargo area (with the seats down, obviously?) Because to me that is critical. I like a vehicle that is big enough to sleep in because that precludes the neccessity for a tent, it also makes for quicker camping setups and teardowns and it allows you to camp in more extreme weather (like high wind and heavy rain.)

One reason I sold my Outback and got a Tacoma was that I wanted the capability to have a true camper on wheels. The Outback was too short and too cramped for me alone (I'm 6'1") much less for me and the fiancee. The Tacoma is quite spacious, especially with the high rise shell but of course it suffers both in terms of MPG (if I'm very careful I can hit 21 but that's about as good as it gets on most roads) and in terms of carrying passengers.

 

[CSG]

I just looked at the new Forester and Outback and the salesguy said the Outback had more floor length. While I didn't try the Forester, we folded the seats down in the Outback and my 6' frame had to lie diagonally to fit and it wasn't pleasant. You could do it in a pinch but there's no getting around size when you're on the taller side. I'd rather have the Subaru but it's the Suburban that would fit me in a similar type of vehicle.

I solved my problem with buying a 2 wheel drive Pleasure Way Traverse camping van built on a Ford E-250. Of course, I only average about 16.5 - 17.5 MPG while traveling and it can't go places that a smaller 4x4 can go. But it can go to enough places and I have a big, warm, comfy bed to sleep in, a heater, ac/dc fridge, sink, hot and cold water, cooktop, and cabinets.

 

[Sojourn]

True story. While at a meeting in Japan, I asked a TMC (Toyota Japan, Toyota Motor Corporation) Designer, who was working on the Camry Global program, what he drove....a Legacy. He and his manager both drove Subarus inspite of TMC's policy to reimburse employee's gas for Toyota vehicles. To me (a Toyota daily driver and a weekend driver) it says a lot.

 

[Martyn]

In Tahoe we call them "The Poorman's Range Rover" (only they are much better in the snow).

 

[Dale]

Subarus (stock) are awesome for inclimate weather and light offroad use. I made the decision a while back to trade the extra ground clearance of a Forester for the extended cargo area of the Outback. It just made sense for what I had intended to use it for. My 2001 Outback sleeping platform is 6'4" X 44" (wheel well to wheel well). I can convert the car over in 15 minutes from a four person passenger vehicle to camper by removing the rear seat (8 bolts) and inserting a hinged sleeping platform I made. The hinge allows access to what was the foot compartment. Only complaint is I can't sit up in the back without tilting my head and the 4 cylinder is under powered for highway on ramps. I feel the new Boxster diesel will take of the acceleration issue and increase my fuel capacity.

 

[haven]

Motor Trend just named the 2009 Forester 2.5 XT (the turbocharged version) its SUV of the Year. Motor Trend liked the Forester's all-around performance. It's not the best in any particular category, but as a package it was most appealing.

Competition for the award included all sorts of vehicles: BMW X6, Ford Flex, Kia Borrego, Infiniti EX and FX, Nissan Murano, Toyota Sequoia, Volkswagen Tiguan, Honda Pilot, Chevy Traverse, Dodge Journey and Lexus LX570.

In Europe today, Subaru is offering a 2.0L diesel with 250 ft-lb of torque. Fuel consumption is rated at 37 mpg in combined driving. Here's a brief review:

http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests/suvs/112_0809_2010_subaru_forester_diesel/equipment_specs.html

By 2010, Subaru may make a diesel Forester available in USA. There is talk of increasing the diesel's capacity to 2.5L for North America.

Chip Haven

 

[MattScott]

I'll be taking one to Vail, for opening week, i'll report back, as we will be trying to find some snowy back roads.

 

[dustboy]

Long term impressions

My wife has had an '02 Impreza TS since new. It's a blast to drive, the 2.5L H4 has buckets of torque. In the snow it's glued to the road, Subaru's AWD is an excellent system.
The drive train is indeed bulletproof, and Subaru stands behind it. However, I believe their angle is to sell a car that seems comparable to a Honda or Toyota, and say, "Hey, we'll throw in this AWD for the same price". But what they don't tell you is that the sacrifice is in the quality of the body.
The Impreza is built of extremely thin sheetmetal, and dents very easily. The interior quality is also not on par with Toyota or Honda. Our tailgate lift struts failed within a couple years, the clock quit a year ago, the seatbelts squeak, and the stereo melted. Also, a friend had a leaky sunroof on his 4-year-old Legacy.

 

[preacherman]

I got one in Aug and have put about 2200 miles on it. I have been meaning to do a write up but have not done it yet. Here is the short version.

2009 Subaru Forester
2.5 boxer engine with the 5 speed
Avg City 24 worst 23 best 26
Avg Hwy 28 worst 27 best 29.9
CD/MP3
Cruise control, power everything, moon roof
17" wheels
dual exhaust
$21,500 + TTL out the door

Likes
Sporty, fast, fun to drive, AWD, surprising good ground clearance, cool expo type features and I really like the 5 speed.

Dislikes so far
Some (not all) of the interior does feel kinda flimsey. So far no problems, but I am watching closely.

I will try and get to that right up soon with pics.

 

[upcruiser]

My girlfriend drives an '07 Outback and it is a GREAT car. She was considering between the Outback and the Forrester but went outback due to the extra length in the rear. It comes in handier for most loads and she can sleep in the back comfortably. I drive it more then her probably and I'm impressed with its absolute sure footedness, taut handling, and great torque and pull from the na 2.5. With careful driving, you can take it into some pretty impressive places but is really in its element on the horrible roads and winter conditions we have where I live. Sure it doesn't have the same vault like ride and feel of an A4 or A6 Avant but I'd be willing to bet it is at least as durable if not more so overall.

 

[Maddmatt]

My wife has had an '02 Impreza TS since new. It's a blast to drive, the 2.5L H4 has buckets of torque. In the snow it's glued to the road, Subaru's AWD is an excellent system.
The drive train is indeed bulletproof, and Subaru stands behind it. However, I believe their angle is to sell a car that seems comparable to a Honda or Toyota, and say, "Hey, we'll throw in this AWD for the same price". But what they don't tell you is that the sacrifice is in the quality of the body.
The Impreza is built of extremely thin sheetmetal, and dents very easily. The interior quality is also not on par with Toyota or Honda. Our tailgate lift struts failed within a couple years, the clock quit a year ago, the seatbelts squeak, and the stereo melted. Also, a friend had a leaky sunroof on his 4-year-old Legacy.

That's a good point. I've already posted a few times about how much I love our Outback (2001 - 83k on it) but there are some downsides.

1) Sheet Metal - no rust, but this thing has a shopping cart magnet, and they will dent the heck out of it. Look at any Outback that's more than a year or two old, especially in the front 1/4 panels - they all have numerous little shopping cart dents. No Rust on ours though, and it sleeps outside more than in.

2) Gaskets around the tail lights are extremely poor. I pulled all of my rear lights when ours was only a couple years old, poured the water out, replaced all the bulbs and resealed the lenses with some silicon - no leaks or blown bulbs since then, but five years later I'm noticing some water in one of them again - so I'll do it again soon. But beyond that, we've had no electrical issues, seat belts all work like new, etc....

3) Awesome in the snow, but if you're used to rear/4wheel drive the rear end can get away from you when you're playing around. You shouldn't be driving like a Finn in a Fiesta anyway Ours is the base model, so we don't have the VDC system, I don't know if that would make a difference, but for day to day driving in everything from glare ice to hood high powder we've found it to be absolutely great. Note that we live in Colorado - hood high powder is powder, so high centering has been a non-issue, ymmv in the PNW....

Otherwise we've had very few mechanical issues and the car has been a joy to own and drive. Overall build quality over 7 years of ownership is on par with any Toyota I've owned (with the exception of the thin sheet metal) and miles ahead of the VWs I've owned (as a comparison).
-Matt