Subaru Forester

[Swanny]

My mom went from an '01 legacy wagon to an '07. I personally liked the wagon better than the forester. Better build. Was unstoppable in the snow. Never in the shop for over 150k. The forester had a bunch of recall work done and just wasn't as comfortable. Not even close to the same amount of legroom either.

Just find a legacy/outback/impreza and compare.

[blocke]

The official vehicle of lesbians everywhere.

This is so true. I worked in specialty vehicle sales at Subaru for about 2 years. Nowhere did I see more hairy butch lesbos holding hands and walking a car lot. The WORST was when I had to cover the sales floor for the normal sales guys, and had to test drive with a butch couple. Sat in back seat and watched as one drove while the other sat there and stroked her hairy ass arm.

I echo other opinions here, the NA model is meh. You will get over it REALlY quick. Look for the XT Sport model. Its turbo, nicer body styling, and comes in WRX Rally Blue.

[Axxe]

^ lol

[xphiledan]

picked up a 2004 XS a few years back, still had the HG failure. the subaru coolant conditioner stopped the leak and it's held up fine for the last 3 years.

also agreed w what everyone else said about the thin body panels & road noise. however the size is perfect, gets great fuel economy (26mpg mixed & aggresively driven with the 5MT)

[swingard]

Bought an 04 xt a few years ago to replace my aging 89 dl... absolutely loved it until the turbo cooked (as well as fucked up the engine)... At the time had 86k... Turns out subaru knew about a design flaw that starved the turbo of oil, They fixed the issue for 05 and up but refused to help us out with the 04 problem. New turbo, rebuilt engine, and 40k later she is still driving great, but it put a sour taste in my mouth I can not get over. A close friend is a Subaru tech and said the build quality has went down drastically since 02/03. I used to love subaru's, but they have worn out their welcome with my family. Just my .02.

[Nairb]

My Mom had an 01 with 5-speed. The thing was very fun and had ice cold A/C. For daily duties, you can beat the piss out of them and they manage to just go go go.

For reference, my Mom drove her Forester from Sarasota, FL to Asheville, NC and she noticed the car was acting funny, took it to a mechanic. The guy said the car had almost no oil (shitty Fram oil filter FTW) and was worried about the engine. He did a basic inspection, put more oil in it, and the car never had a problem other than typical maintenence (o2 sensors, bushings).

So IMO, they are awesome little cars.

[Ryan Stewart]

I liked the Scoobys I rented a few years back, have been looking at pracitcal cars recently and have been dissapointed with the stuff I looked at.

Hoping to look at a CPO 09 328it this weekend. SEX MACHINE! Its even fucking bronze!

[euroshark]

Lezbaru. That's what we call them in Boulder-land. Good cars though, I hear.

[nando]

I liked the Scoobys I rented a few years back, have been looking at pracitcal cars recently and have been dissapointed with the stuff I looked at.

Hoping to look at a CPO 09 328it this weekend. SEX MACHINE! Its even fucking bronze!

we have a Legacy wagon now, and while it's a good enough car I can't wait to replace it with a BMW. The legroom sucks, it's literally painful for me to drive more than a couple hours, and it's slow as balls. The forrester would be even worse since it's smaller. At least the Legacy/Outback is practical with tons of space in the back.

Also, the snow performance is WAY overrated.. my ix on 6 year old blizzaks at their wear bars embarasses the subaru in the snow (subaru has brand new snows).

FWIW the Subaru hasn't had a single issue and it's got about 165k on it now. no HG issues, CV joints, or anything. The road noise is pretty bad, though - it's significantly louder than the E30.

[Kershaw]

The official vehicle of lesbians everywhere.

lol pretty much.

my mom has an 2000 outback, 5 speed. it's a pretty nice car for what it is. utilitarian and functional.

[Ryan Stewart]

we have a Legacy wagon now, and while it's a good enough car I can't wait to replace it with a BMW. The legroom sucks, it's literally painful for me to drive more than a couple hours, and it's slow as balls. The forrester would be even worse since it's smaller. At least the Legacy/Outback is practical with tons of space in the back.

Also, the snow performance is WAY overrated.. my ix on 6 year old blizzaks at their wear bars embarasses the subaru in the snow (subaru has brand new snows).

FWIW the Subaru hasn't had a single issue and it's got about 165k on it now. no HG issues, CV joints, or anything. The road noise is pretty bad, though - it's significantly louder than the E30.

Yeah, the ones I rented back in the day were quiet, peppy and seem to be well made. The ones I looked at while car shopping now were noisy, pathetically slow unless you get the most optioned out engine and calling the interior "spartan" doesnt do it justice.

[Threehz]

lol pretty much.

my mom has an 2000 outback, 5 speed. it's a pretty nice car for what it is. utilitarian and functional.

So your mom is a lez?

I test drove a 2004, driving it was unequivocally mediocre, but nothing appeared wrong with it.

Then I drove a 1999 with higher mileage the next day... It was like going from a rusty wheel-barrow to an M3. Whatever they changed in 2002 for the second generation, I can officially say they fucked it up.

There's a lower-mileage one in town I have yet to drive, and after seeing how shitty newer Hondas and Toyotas are, I'm thinking I might have to go with a Scoobie.

[eskimo810]

You have to keep in mind it's built on the same platform as the impreza (at least past generations are). It's a small car, just with good ground clearance and visibility. It's easy and comfortable to drive, so that should be noted if that is of interest to your significant other. For this reason, it's a very popular car (as are all Subarus) in my area. You see A LOT of parents buying foresters for their kids as first cars.

So great cars if you are looking for that somewhat commanding ride height and 4-cylinder fuel economy. Sounds perfect for what you need.

Would I ever buy one? Hell no.

First generation, MT, Scooby outback for me.