The Forester had it's 12,000 mile service last week so for those who are interested here are some thoughts on it.
At this time last year I planned to buy a new or nearly new small SUV with the intention or keeping it for 10 years. Essentials were 4WD, diesel, boot wide enough to take an 8hp outboard engine and a spare wheel (preferably full size but space saver acceptable, can of goo-NO!). Shortlisted were the Forester, BMW X1, Tiguan and the Outlander. First down was the Outlander with no spare and depressing dealer experience, BMW dealer was smooth as expected and tried to be helpful but a year on I'm still waiting for his confirmation that a spare was an option, VW dealer couldn't have been more helpful discussing new and nearly new and dealer swaps to get what I wanted but in the end the boot was just too small. So Forester it was.
I collected the car in March and ran it in in my usual way; gradually increasing max revs until by 1500 miles it had been redlined regularly in the lower gears. No slogging and gentle on the tyres and brakes at first. No oil used in first 12,000 miles. First impressions were really nice instruments, great visibility helped by a reversing camera and a radio with first class phone/iPod interface. Less impressive was the reduction in the number of small storage spaces in the cabin and boot and absence of proper cup holders. The "computer" is rudimentary giving only instant and average mpg for two settings.
The car has been a delight to drive with better steering feel than my previous Forester and a really decent diesel engine. No torque below 1000 rpm but from 1500 there is a broad band to 4500 rpm. Rarely have to change down from 6th gear on motorways and 5th is fine on most A roads. Good flexible engine. The gear box was stiff to begin with but has loosened considerably and I would rate OK, I've driven better and I've driven worse. The seats have been a revelation as I didn't rate previous Forester seats particularly highly. I didn't really notice them at first and then realised I was always comfortable and that 500 miles in a day was no problem.
At the end of 12,000 miles no oil used, no air needed in tyres, no malfunctions at all, 44mpg and a service bill for £213.00. £42 seemed a lot for oil but perhaps not for 5L of fully synthetic.
So why are Subaru sales plummeting? Well of the cars I looked at the Forester had the least show room appeal and the least toys. In USA and Scandinavia where they are big sellers they have a utilitarian appeal and the average car is about 12 years old. In the UK we like to change our cars more frequently and perhaps like more perceived value. Subaru's method of selling only three trim levels and no options is irritating. It meant I had to have cruise control, climate control and HID headlights which I didn't want but couldn't have leather seats and automatic which I would have liked. Styling of the Forester is neat but a bit dull, the Outback and Legacy are totally anonymous. Finally pricing looks on the high side but because no options can't be added there is none of the killing "option creep" associated with VAG and BMW products.
Yes I'm very pleased but I can see why many people look elsewhere. I hope there's still a dealer in 10 years (or even two)
alfalfa
|
I really like the Forester. I think the problem is the cost of a Japanese built car, as I assume they still are. That, and engineering doesn't sell nearly as well as image.
My 2011 Outlander BTW has an underslung spacesaver (full diameter but narrower). Thought they all did.
|
>> My 2011 Outlander BTW has an underslung spacesaver (full diameter but narrower). Thought they all
>> did.
>>
Shows how bad the dealer was as they told me that there was no spare at all. I rather liked the Outlander as there was more choice in spec and a more attractive interior. I think the VED for the diesel might be rather high.
alfalfa
|
Drove one of these while my old XT was being serviced - found the gearlever fairly sloppy compared to the more direct change on the XT.
Seats were indeed superior: the XT had decent support but the squab felt as if it needed to go back beneath the backrest a little.
As for handling the diesel Foz felt ok when compared with a CRV but the XT felt (and was I guess) more like a sports car.
A substantial weakening of the Yen needs to happen to save Jap built RHD Subarus - I fear it is too late.
Bring back a 2.0/2.5 turbo Foz in similar guise to the current model with much lower CO2 figures (top gear running 23mph/1000rpm is a joke on a 230+lbft car) and I'd be tempted but the current line up is just too limited.
|
Excellent report that, good to see the no nonsense simple but tried and trusted well engineered approach to car building is still working. Still a ten year plan?
|
|
Good report. But you say: "no air needed in tyres,"... what about when the temperatures plummeted recently? Surely a small drop is pressures due to colder air?
|
Thanks for the comments GB. Yes I like the simple approach. Proper handbrake, no tyre pressure sensors, no automatic wipers, in fact a minimum of electronic toys. It's the simplicity and good engineering that make ten years a reasonable plan.
alfalfa
|
Well it was pretty cold when I collected the car last March and over here in NI winter has been less severe than on the mainland. However I do have to admit that I haven't checked for about a month.
alfalfa
|
I wonder if Subaru lose out on sales because of their low-profile dealer network? You don't see any in-your-face glass palace showrooms for Subaru do you (unlike VW et al)?
Shame that the Mazda CX-5 wasn't around 12 months ago, that would be top of my short-list at the outset.
New 2013 Outlander looks sharp IMHO though.
|
IIRC the Forester is THE best selling 4x4 in Australia, Subarus are incredibly popular here, the AUD is very strong (lessening the impact of the high Yen) so they're reasonably affordable starting at around GBP 25K for a basic petrol (remembering that a cooking Golf is approaching GBP 30K here and anything from BMW is north of GBP 50K).
I guess petrol at around 85p/l helps - the diesel is considered 'niche' since it lacks automatic transmission and people seem to generally prefer petrol engines still.
So, Subaru certainly aren't struggling in other markets and their offerings seem well suited to these markets too. I'd add that people seem to keep cars longer in Australia, maybe because they don't tend to rust or perhaps it's cultural? Corollary is that they want 50%+ of the new price for any 5 year old car on the second hand market.
I test drove a 2.4 Auto Forester a few months back, seemed very refined and spacious but lacked torque and drank rather heavily for my taste. Interesting to see that the OP gets 44mpg out of their car - impressive (to me), I hope they bring out a diesel-auto some time soon.
|
New model Forester, slightly bigger than current car, announced in USA, shipping shortly...........4 speed auto replaced with CVT..............CVT even fitted to the XT.
How long before we see the new car in UK? Quite fancy the XT - a real Q-car.
|
>> New model Forester, slightly bigger than current car, announced in USA, shipping shortly...........4 speed auto
>> replaced with CVT..............CVT even fitted to the XT.
>>
>> How long before we see the new car in UK? Quite fancy the XT -
>> a real Q-car.
>>
Yep, it's announced in Aus too, a new 2.0L flat four manual petrol for improved economy - I think the turbo is now a 2.0L too with the 2.4l available only with CVT, diesel still manual only though and (perhaps) lacking grunt depending on your point of view.
At least there are no abominations like a pointless 2WD mock-offroader (unlike the CRV, Tiguan, XC60 etc) - IMHO of course ;-)
|
>> IIRC the Forester is THE best selling 4x4 in Australia, Subarus are incredibly popular here,
>> the AUD is very strong (lessening the impact of the high Yen) so they're reasonably
>> affordable starting at around GBP 25K for a basic petrol (remembering that a cooking Golf
>> is approaching GBP 30K here and anything from BMW is north of GBP 50K).
>>
Sorry, completey off topic - but why is the pricing apparently random there? I was reading a thread elsewhere about cars that are comparable in price in the UK being 100% apart in Australia.
|
>> Sorry, completey off topic - but why is the pricing apparently random there? I was
>> reading a thread elsewhere about cars that are comparable in price in the UK being
>> 100% apart in Australia.
>>
Reasonable question, as always it's complicated....
Firstly, there is an element of 'rip off '.... The AUD has risen against other currencies but locally prices have remained largely unchanged - so comparing the AUD40K for a Golf against a GBP price gets to around GBP27K these days but would have been GBP20K or less a few years ago. I'd suggest that many (European and perhaps US) importers are making significant additional margins as a result.
Then there is a luxury car tax, I'm not sure at what point it's levied but most BMWs, Mercs etc have their prices inflated considerably as a result. A GBP25K BMW 3 Series suddenly retails for more like GBP45K as a result of these two factors and a Merc E Class is possibly 2x its UK price.
There are fewer discounts too, you've supposedly done well to get GBP1000 off the price of a car (although I suspect a slowing market means dealers are giving better incentives right now).
Finally there's the locally produced cars, Ford and Holden are struggling as people ditch their V6/V8 models and (possibly improved) poor quality reputation. Their 'imported' Europe-sourced models are sold as premium (Opel Insignia a premium car - I kid you not). Toyota produce a lot of cars locally, I suspect they get tax breaks too as most markets (food, clothing, cars, furniture) are quite heavily protected by government and taxation policy.
Subarus seem to be competitively priced as do Hondas and Toyotas for the most part, IMHO Opels, Fords (European models) and VWs are overpricesd and BMWs, Audis and Mercs are ludicrously expensive but find buyers from the newly wealthy people coming to settle here.
|
>> A substantial weakening of the Yen needs to happen to save Jap built RHD Subarus
>> - I fear it is too late.
That could well happen. They are planning on large amounts of quantitive easing, though as you say, it could take time to filter through.
|
alfalfa
Thanks for the report.
Always fancied one - I have driven an auto XT and liked it (but not the lack of economy) but manual diesel is not for me.. must have an auto in my dotage.
I wait for further reports with interest.
I think Subaru in the UK = "managed decline"
|
Interesting report, thanks.
I was doing the same 18 months ago and dismissed the CRV (price, snotty dealer), Outlander (old, crashy, awful auto) and Tiguan (nice, DSG, smooth, expensive, small'ish) leaving me with the Sorrento and Santa Fe. I too plan to drive mine 10 years. I had a Subaru Outback diesel with the 6 speed manual and it never kept me interested, plain dull to drive, economical, smooth when it wasn't regenerating which it did almost every other day despite many long runs. I quite fancied a Forester they look good IMO and the right size too but my Outback was giving clutch problems towards the end of its 2 year lease and so were many others and rumours of Subaru going bust didn't help. Also no auto and my low opinion of the manual box pushed me to a 2.2 auto Santa Fe which new was £5k less than the Outlander or Tiguan (my favourite of the rest.)
I'd be happy to retire into one of those JDM Forester STis 320 bhp, 5 seconds to 60 units if they still exist by then!
|
Thank you for all the comments about my report. I would have to say that I agree with most of them; the only comment I would seriously take issue with is the one posted on the HJ web-site. As I said the gear change isn't the smoothest but it's not that bad, better than my 5 speed petrol Forester but not as slick as Mrs Alfalfa's Golf.
madf's comment on "managed decline" is most appropriate and I sometimes wonder why Subaru are still in the UK market. My local dealer principal told me and obviously I don't know if it is correct that a year's supply of Subarus for the UK would take less than a day of production at the Japanese plant. I think that it's an image issue, nobody knows much about them and the importers don't seem to know where to direct their limited advertising.
I will certainly keep up the reports but if things continue like this they will be a bit dull
alfalfa
|
Subaru - Forester at 12,000 miles - Manatee
