Yahoo Autos 2019 Subaru Forester Long-term Wrap-up | Nailing the fundamentals, blandly
Our dog-toting Subaru Forester days are over. The 2019 Subaru Forester Touring that lived with us over the past year has moved on to new pastures, and now it’s time for the verdict.
We took this Forester in to see if Subaru’s latest iteration of the historically quirky (and sometimes quick) crossover was able to charm us over the course of many months. Subaru completely redesigned the Forester for the 2019 model year, and it’s largely unchanged headed into the 2021 model year. With the new model, we lost the turbo engine option and gained more utility. Its design got a little less out-there, and the tech and safety enhancements were a big step forward.
Few issues plagued our Forester over the course of a year. The biggest problem cropped up shortly into the Covid-19 pandemic when the large sunroof began to leak. Of course, this was fixed under warranty, and the car spent very little time in the shop. The smell of sitting water stuck in our nostrils after this incident, but it went away quickly after. Another issue we ran into was the breakage of windshields. When we gave the Forester back, it was on its third windshield, which is far too many for a little over 20,000 miles of driving. It could be poor luck with rocks, but every time we ended up with a chip, it would quickly transition into a worrisome and large crack. Beyond this, we made regular 6,000-mile maintenance stops at the dealer for oil changes and lived a generally worry-free life.
Some of us spent more time with the car than others, as Covid-19 precautions kept us from frequently sharing cars around, but that only gave us a greater breadth of experiences. We even managed to get a big road trip in before the pandemic, which you can read about here.
Below, you’ll find all of our editors’ final thoughts on the Forester.
Road Test Editor Zac Palmer: I put a large number of highway miles on our Forester, which is one of the reasons why it left us with over 21,000 on the clock. My mile-munching time was largely a mixed bag. Highlights include a comfy ride and stellar visibility. On the negative side, the seat is only comfortable for a few hours at a time, after which it becomes stiff, forcing stretch stops. It’s also noisy thanks to the 2.5-liter flat-four mashing away and a lack of road noise insulation.
Unlike turbocharged Foresters of the past, merging onto the highway in this new Forester is dreary. The 2.5-liter flat-four makes 182 horsepower and 177 pound-feet of torque, which just isn’t enough to raise any pulses when it’s dragging around 3,449 pounds. Things become even sadder when you put passengers and luggage into the rear, too — weight is not your friend. Fuel economy hovered between 29-31 mpg on long highway trips. Averages dipped as low as 24-25 mpg when we kept to the city in commuting. Those numbers fall just short of the EPA estimates, but do keep in mind that our Forester is the highest trim model with the highest weight and largest possible wheels.
Over the months, I ended up seeing the Forester as more of a tool than anything. It hits all the fundamentals with a big cargo area, spacious backseat and solid tech, but I’m left cold. No compact crossovers at this price point are objects of desire, but many of them look better (RAV4, CX-5, Rogue) and are just as adept at most of the tasks this Forester excels in. There’s no standout feature or must-have angle, and because of that, the Forester melts into the background.
Associate Editor Byron Hurd: I spent precisely one weekend with the long-term Forester, but it was an eye-opening one, coming shortly after my move to the Detroit metro area and during one of the few significant snowfalls we've seen in my brief time here. With our winter tires on it, the Forester was an absolute monster.
The combination of the Forester's ground clearance, snow-rated rubber (wrapping gold Sparco wheels, pictured above) and all-wheel drive proved more than a match for nature's lack of hospitality. More than once, it left passengers wide-eyed after trucking through snow drifts that would have easily beached just about anything lower on all-season rubber. Tires, folks. They matter.
It certainly left a good impression, but since I spent so little time with it, I wouldn't say my experience was necessarily representative of our year with Subaru's compact crossover. That said, if winter capability is a big priority for you, the Forester should be on your to-drive list, but even then, I'd probably put a few others ahead of it due to their all-around appeal; see Zac's parenthetical above, as my thoughts echo his.
News Editor Joel Stocksdale: I also didn't spend a whole lot of time in the Forester, but I came to similar conclusions as Zac. The Forester is an eminently practical machine, but not one that's particularly enjoyable. The powertrain is the biggest offender. The engine is coarse, noisy, and not particularly peppy. And all those characteristics are amplified by the CVT that has a lot of the annoying "rubber band" feel other companies have managed to tune out of their CVTs. The steering is light and lacking feedback, and there's a fair bit of body roll. It does have a decent ride, though, and the good visibility and small size make it easy to maneuver.
