Topic: Test Drive: 2012 Subaru Forester

[Autos_Editor]

A stalwart in the compact CUV segment, the Forester is still an impressive vehicle despite its age.

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[sailor723]

It's funny how quickly time goes by. I see one of these on the street and still think "Oh, there's one of those "new" Foresters"  ...I guess that's a sign that the styling (on the outside at least) is still fairly fresh.

[theonlydt]

I too have been a fan of the Forester's styling. I just wish the interior had the quality ramped up a notch and they'd do something about their powertrains. A 4 speed auto is a joke. I wonder if the CVT from the outback would make it any better? With the 6 speed manual from the Outback (and interior touch ups) this would be a great "CUV", not a good one.

[tazcubed]

I too have been a fan of the Forester's styling. I just wish the interior had the quality ramped up a notch and they'd do something about their powertrains. A 4 speed auto is a joke. I wonder if the CVT from the outback would make it any better? With the 6 speed manual from the Outback (and interior touch ups) this would be a great "CUV", not a good one.

Really, the only complaint I've got with the Forester is the 4 speed auto. In that respect, I wish they'd put a 6 speed auto and manual option into it - the CVT seems to have mixed reviews and lacks sportiness in the Impreza all in the name of fuel efficiency. I've got an XT on order to come in at the end of this month. I chose it over the other brands because it is a better overall vehicle and handles much better than the rest. I'll love to see what the next gen brings to the picture.

[nlm]

The Forester XT was the runner-up to the Outlander for me. If they had kept the 5spd with the turbo I probably would've got it though. But with the 4spd auto some of the little things like smaller cargo and relatively worse looks (IMO) and higher price were getting more significant.

I wonder why they can't stuff the 5spd auto into the Forester?

I'm one of the few that liked the previous generation design. And although the 2.5 may not sound like the new 2.0, I'd still take the 2.5 for better its better torque. I don't think they could compete with the current 2.0 in the Forester.

[redman]

We are in the market for a CUV, being current older gen Forester owners we did consider the current Forester, but oddly enough found little to thrill us from our current Forester to justify the change. Same engine with some tweaking and same 4 sp auto tranny was not enough to quantify new. We've decided to put off our purchase later this year until the refresh of the Forester or the announcement of a larger engine on the Mazda CX5,  being the strongest competitor for us, with a strong chance of a Skyactive 2.5L coming out (according to local dealer). Unfortunately the Honda CRV just does not do it for us. An ideal Forester would have a (1)stiff body structure (2) New boxer engine with D.I. for starters and (3) 6 speed auto instead of a CVT. I don't favour the rear tapered look of many CUV's sacrificing some style for convenience and utilitarian ( I'd get a sports car if that's what I was looking for)

[Jaeger]

Highly functional, not very fashionable.

Jaeger

[Mike]

Highly functional, not very fashionable.

Jaeger

Maybe that should be Subaru's new marketing Slogan?

[Jaeger]

Highly functional, not very fashionable.

Jaeger

Maybe that should be Subaru's new marketing Slogan?

As long as I get some royalties.... 

[greengs]

Had one as a kid hauler for 3 years before upsizing to a minivan.  4 speed could be annoying on the highway, not so bad around city.  0 issues, just changed the oil a few times.   Was so easy to drive, got decent mileage, had best AWD system out there (with auto it's more advanced than manual version).  The best part though was how light it was and the fact that you could actually see out the windows all the way around.  I miss that as much as new designs look cool. 

[dirtyjeffer]

i have always like the Forester...were I in the market for a CUV, it would be on my shortlist, perhaps even with a 4 speed auto...i'd prefer more gears, but the 4 speed auto seems to be reliable.

[inco]

While the four speed is not a transmission I would like, we are on our fourth Subie and third Forester. Seems that reliability is the key word here with zero issues. That's difficult to ignore in our buying decision and why the other half keeps going back.

Last year with the new engine and adding Bluetooth, the decision to get number four was an easy one. Tough as nails and easy on the wallet and bank account.  Why I'm almost sold to join the club too when needs are less and smaller works. My only fear would be the dumping of a CVT in there and from I have heard, it's going to happen next year. 

[5 Wheel Drive]

Good review Mike!  Your FE isn't that far off of what we get with our's.  In the summer months with mostly city driving our's will average around 10.5l/100km's.  That will go up by about 1l during the winter.  In the summer on the highway (a/c on, cruise set to around 115) it will get between 9 and 9.5.  Our '09 has the sohc 2.5 l with the 5 speed manual.  Not sure about the auto, but in 5th at 120 the engine is turning at around 3000rpm.

We will have had our's 4 years this October.  We've had absolutely no issues. 

[paul246]

The Forester is a vehicle that I've always liked and will certainly consider as my next purchase. Good review, too.

[Blueprint]

No more manual available anymore with the convenience pkg?  Booo!!!

[theonlydt]

We are in the market for a CUV, being current older gen Forester owners we did consider the current Forester, but oddly enough found little to thrill us from our current Forester to justify the change. Same engine with some tweaking and same 4 sp auto tranny was not enough to quantify new. We've decided to put off our purchase later this year until the refresh of the Forester or the announcement of a larger engine on the Mazda CX5,  being the strongest competitor for us, with a strong chance of a Skyactive 2.5L coming out (according to local dealer). Unfortunately the Honda CRV just does not do it for us. An ideal Forester would have a (1)stiff body structure (2) New boxer engine with D.I. for starters and (3) 6 speed auto instead of a CVT. I don't favour the rear tapered look of many CUV's sacrificing some style for convenience and utilitarian ( I'd get a sports car if that's what I was looking for)

Interesting - I'd not heard anything about a 2.5 skyactiv. I thought Mazda's strategy was 2.0 for gas, those wanting torque and more power would be served by the 2.2 skyactiv diesel (173bhp, 310lbfeet of torque).

Subaru has a direct injection head now for their B-RZ on the 2.0 litre engine. Hopefully it won't take too long to come across to the rest of their engine range. Imagine the jump in economy for a new Forester if they introduced DI and a 6 speed auto at the same time... I believe the new 2.5 was designed with DI in mind.

[sailor723]

We are in the market for a CUV, being current older gen Forester owners we did consider the current Forester, but oddly enough found little to thrill us from our current Forester to justify the change. Same engine with some tweaking and same 4 sp auto tranny was not enough to quantify new. We've decided to put off our purchase later this year until the refresh of the Forester or the announcement of a larger engine on the Mazda CX5,  being the strongest competitor for us, with a strong chance of a Skyactive 2.5L coming out (according to local dealer). Unfortunately the Honda CRV just does not do it for us. An ideal Forester would have a (1)stiff body structure (2) New boxer engine with D.I. for starters and (3) 6 speed auto instead of a CVT. I don't favour the rear tapered look of many CUV's sacrificing some style for convenience and utilitarian ( I'd get a sports car if that's what I was looking for)

Interesting - I'd not heard anything about a 2.5 skyactiv. I thought Mazda's strategy was 2.0 for gas, those wanting torque and more power would be served by the 2.2 skyactiv diesel (173bhp, 310lbfeet of torque).

Subaru has a direct injection head now for their B-RZ on the 2.0 litre engine. Hopefully it won't take too long to come across to the rest of their engine range. Imagine the jump in economy for a new Forester if they introduced DI and a 6 speed auto at the same time... I believe the new 2.5 was designed with DI in mind.

I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for a 6 speed auto from Subaru. I think they're firmly on the road to CVT's

[Trainman]

Good review Mike!  Your FE isn't that far off of what we get with our's.  In the summer months with mostly city driving our's will average around 10.5l/100km's.  That will go up by about 1l during the winter.  In the summer on the highway (a/c on, cruise set to around 115) it will get between 9 and 9.5.  Our '09 has the sohc 2.5 l with the 5 speed manual.  Not sure about the auto, but in 5th at 120 the engine is turning at around 3000rpm.

We will have had our's 4 years this October.  We've had absolutely no issues.

I agree, good review.  Hits the good points and shows up some of the now dated issues.  You did forget to mention the manual mode on the AT; that can add an element of fun as well as much better control.  Using the manual mode, if you place it in 2nd, it will "lock" up the split to 50/50 front/rear rather than allowing the computer to vary the power distribution (the range is only 60/40 though).   Also shows just how fast this segment is changing.

I really like the view out, it really makes driving it less stressful than some others that are more form over function.

Fuel economy, with AT tires (and the older SOHC motor) for 1/2 the year and Blizzaks the other half has been averaging around 9.3 combined.  Lows on the highway of high 7/low 8 are not uncommon, especially when driving in the Alberta flatlands    It takes a significant hit at speeds over 110 or so though.

One issue that bugs me, and it is something I have never seen addressed in a review, is Subaru's insistence of putting a space/weight saver tire as the spare.  So if you get a flat (with the AT), you need to make sure both front tires are the regular road ones (ie spare on the back) and disable the AWD.  This is becasue the Subaru AWD system will not allow much difference in wheel speed between the 4 wheels and the spare is about 20% smaller in diameter than the road wheels.  So I run with a full size spare (there is room in the well for one) and therefore do not need to worry about maybe having to do 2 tires changes when getting a flat, or putting the fuse in to disable the AWD.  Considering the size and types of roads in Canada, this seems a bit odd.  A full size spare is standard in other markets, like Australia.

Ours has 93,000 kms since September 2008.  No issues so far.

[johngenx]

My Forester came with a full sized spare, and I too despise that they have changed that.  I chucked the mini-spare in the 'Rolla, and would do the same in any other car we acquire. 

Many of my friends/climbing-partners have 09- Foresters, and some things I like/don't like:

Likes:
The cargo area is well shaped and maximizes the liters.
The AWD system is amazing.  Drove a Highlander Hybrid with slip/grip a couple weeks ago on a very poor road, and the Subaru system feels 1000x better.
Outward visibility is very good.  This has been true of Foresters since day one.  We sold our OBW and bought a Forester, and that was one major reason.  Gen II is very good.
The rear seat room in the Gen II is good, a big improvement over mine.
Boxer engine with longitudinal driveline has a low center of gravity and feels very planted even with good ground clearance.
The four speed AT lacks ratios, but if you keep cars, it's the choice.  They last.

Not so like:
Ergonomics are a bit of a mish-mash.  I hoped that would be improved on Gen II, but not by much.  Not terrible, but not great either.
No full sized spare.
Interior quality is just okay.
Bluetooth is junky looking.
Not very DIY friendly for service.
Expensive OE parts.

As for engines, I like the aspro 2.5L H-4, but sure wish the excellent 3.6L H-6 with 5AT fit in there.  That's a sweet driveline!

[rrocket]

 but sure wish the excellent 3.6L H-6 with 5AT fit in there.  That's a sweet driveline!

Sure is thirsty though!