ragingf80

I don't know how much my control arms cost, but I have been offroad in both of my Forresters plenty of times and I've never ever had to replace or repair any suspension components EVER in the 10+ years I've owned them with more than 100k miles each. If that's cheap give me cheap because they have never let me down. It might help that these cars are much lighter than the Navigator.

And YES, it's cost cutting!!!!! The Forrester is <$30k! Cheap doesn't always mean ****.

mmarshall

One thing Subaru marketing has not done, IMO, is to give a good explanation of why the higher-powered turbo models (STI, S-Edition, etc...) are not, and never were, offered in the American market.....only the lower-powered XT turbo. The presumed answer, of course, is that they just wouldn't sell here. But we heard the same hesitation and reluctance 15 years ago, on the Impreza WRX and STI sedans/hatchbacks, until management DID decide to bring them to American shores.....where they promptly sold like hotcakes.

JessePS

I had another chance to play around with a 2017 Forester yesterday and the brakes were not spongy and the torque was pretty impressive.
Plus playing with it on a city street that wasn't clean made it even more enjoyable. I didn't feel like I would get stuck at all.
I am thinking it over and maybe, just maybe I will get a Forester or Outback in a few years.

SLegacy99

Yeah. I agree with this. The Legacy GT has been gone for 5 years and that was a car that really sold ( I had 3 [1 was turbocharged]). I would think that a 2.0L turbo Outback XT would be highly desirable in this country.

wasjr

I did not see this thread in September when my 29 yr old son was looking at a Forester. He had driven an 03 Honda Element for 8 yrs; wanted a "car" so he bought my buddy's 03 Infiniti G35 sedan. The G35 maintenance cost was increasing after 3 years, so he wanted something else. He said he was interested in small SUV. I suggested CRv, but he did his own research and decided on Forester. I knew nothing about them, but after researching, they are a great vehicle. He was looking for a leftover 17, but ended up an 18 2.5 Limited for $400 more, plus 0% financing as well. He has been extremely happy with the purchase.

My take is that the Forester is not much to look at styling wise, but extremely functional and a good value. I did not drive the vehicle, but was impressed with rear seat legroom and storage. I never really looked for Subarus before, but now see more and more. While visiting friends in Asheville this fall, it seemed like half the vehicles were either Forester, Outback, or Crosstrek. My friend said he believes the Asheville dealer is one of the highest volume Subaru dealers in the country.

mmarshall

Congratulations to your son. Good luck with his new Forester. Almost everyone I know who has owned one has been pleased with it....especially the newer ones that don't have the head-gasket issues.

Not surprising that they sell a lot of Subarus in western NC...Asheville and the surrounding area is fairly high up in the Blue Ridge and Great Smoky Mountains, and they get a decent amount of of snow, especially by Southern standards.

Aron9000

Main thing is you gotta make it up the snow covered hill, very few people live in a flat area, oftentimes their house is on a hill or the side of the mountain over in that area. Very steep terrain with very treacherous roads, I can see why people would buy a Subaru over there. I'd probably buy one too if I lived over there and had to drive mountain roads during the winter, I can't think of a safer vehicle for that type of driving.

riredale

Back in the '80s my retired parents bought a top-of-the-line Subaru to get them from their condo in Palm Springs (500') to Lake Arrowhead (4,500'). I drove the car many times and liked it; it was able to climb a steep snow-covered driveway when most other cars and trucks couldn't.

It had a really weird air suspension so one could raise or lower the car by an inch or two. It also made us laugh as we'd exit the car going to dinner or whatever and it would sit there for a few seconds, emitting gas-passing sounds from all quadrants.

I was impressed that the car held up as well as it did. Many times my mom would hustle up the mountain road leading to Lake Arrowhead in the heat of summer. Car did very well climbing the mountain since it had a turbo, but I have little doubt that the turbo would be glowing not red but white-hot after fifteen minutes of heavy throttle uphill. But it held together.

I had the chance to buy the car years later but after consulting with a local suspension mechanic I decided against it--those air shocks were a fortune to repair or replace. So the gas-passing car went to someone outside the family.

spuds

I live in the snowy mountains in southern Calif,they sell like hotcakes here,and you cant find used ones to buy.Theyve nailed that demographic.

mmarshall

They are among the relatively few vehicles that can manage the mountain passes over the Sierra Nevada during winter storms.

bagwell

I wouldn't wanna try it in a fully loaded (passenger and cargo) 2.5L 170hp Forester - I would ONLY buy the 2.0T 250hp XT.

Aron9000

The funny thing about this is I would feel confident going up the mountain in a 170hp 4cylinder with a manual, just leave it in 4th gear, it will pull or at least maintain the speed at 55-60mph. Shift to 3rd if you need to pass. Automatic transmisission with that little bit of rinky dink horsepower suck *** IMO.