New Subaru Forester

[Ausfahrt]

As I posted a few weeks ago, our '96 Jeep Cherokee had been giving us problems and so I began to rethink my plan of relying on such an old vehicle for winter driving after our planned move to Vermont in the next year or two. The Subaru Forester was our top choice and we really didn't even consider anything else. Subaru went to timing chains over belts in 2011 and they are rumored to be going to direct injection in 2013 so this gave me a model year window of 2011-2012 only. The next choice was AT or MT.... my preference is always MT but my wife expressed some concern about starting out in hilly Vermont on snow covered streets so we opted for the AT. This meant that we could pick one off of the lot because MT's pretty much need to be ordered because they are pretty rare. They had one 2011 year end base model that they were eager to get rid and offered me a good deal so we proceeded to make it ours! I say base model but it is really nicely equipped with PW, PDL, cruise, AC, and of course symmetrical AWD. So my wife now has two new cars...one for summer and one for winter while I still drive the 10 year old Civic. At least I still have my motorcycles. I will post up some pics later today.

 

[Tim]

Wow....Vermont will be quite a change from Florida! Hopefully a very pleasant change. I think you made a good choice on the vehicle, FWIW! Tim

 

[Quattro Pete]

Yup. Good choice for where you're heading. You may still want to consider dedicated winter tires for it once you move up there.

 

[cchase]

Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete

Yup. Good choice for where you're heading. You may still want to consider dedicated winter tires for it once you move up there.

+1 on this. Unless you are planning on moving somewhere in the Champlain Valley, you're going to want snow tires on it. AWD or not.

 

[MrCritical]

Great choice. Update us in 6 months.

 

[Ausfahrt]

Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete

Yup. Good choice for where you're heading. You may still want to consider dedicated winter tires for it once you move up there.

Yup. Dedicated snow tires are definitely on the agenda. So as promised, here are a couple of pics from this morning.... Notice the placement of the oil filter? Right on top!

 

[JTK]

Congrats on the new ride bd! I know I hemmed and hawed over the Legacy vs. Forester, but went the Legacy route for a few more miles per gallon. My dealer also had one or two leftover 2011 Foresters and one Legacy, all in white oddly enough. I am digging my Soob. It's fun to drive. A maintenance free timing chain would have been nice on my 2012 2.5i, but Subaru only went that route on a few models. The rest use T-belts. Gotta love the engine oil filter location for your 2.5. I believe you've got a spin-on filter for your 4spd auto as well. In one of the fender well areas. Joel

 

[FirstNissan]

Beautiful color choice! Ive got the forester on the shortlist for my wife's new car next summer. Any rumours on the new forester regarding engine and transmission choices?

 

[Ausfahrt]

Originally Posted By: JTK

A maintenance free timing chain would have been nice on my 2012 2.5i, but Subaru only went that route on a few models. The rest use T-belts. Gotta love the engine oil filter location for your 2.5. Joel

Hey Joel, Thanks for chiming in here, I have read your posts for several years now and I value your opinion. I didn't even know that you too had acquired a new Soobie. What do you think of the CVT?