Subaru Forester - 2008 Reviews

I put a LOT of research into the purchase of this vehicle for a dear widowed friend of mine and her two small children. She had never bought a car before and since I am a highly educated consumer she entrusted the task to me.

The major requirements were that it had to be all wheel drive (we live where bad weather can be an issue), excellent marks in safety features and crash test and, as a new driver, she had to be comfortable driving it.

As a devotee of the non-biased Consumer Reports I narrowed the field to 3 models. The Toyota Rav4, the Subaru Forrestor and the Honda CR-V. They had similar price...

If you want a small SUV-type vehicle, there are plenty of options: Honda CRV or Element, Toyota RAV-4, Ford Escape, etc.  However, if you want one with all-wheel drive at a reasonable price and with good gas mileage, don't overlook the Subaru Forester.  It has a 16-valve 4-cylinder boxer engine (similar in layout to that of a Porsche) with pretty good acceleration. Mileage around town is in the low 20's; on the highway expect about 27 or more, which is better than a 2WD Honda Element.  And it goes in the snow.

The Forester comes in a range of models from the basic 2.5X up through the LL Bean...

I had a used 1998 Subaru Forester and loved it, so of course I was looking for another Forester when I was in the market for a new car. We live on a hill and get plenty of snow and ice in the winter, so all-wheel drive is a must. The Forester has lots of room for groceries and what-not in the back, but it's small enough that it drives like a car. I was disappointed to find that they've redesigned the Forester for 2009: the car I test drove was larger and handled more truck-like. However, they also had a used 2008 on the lot with only 10,000 miles - that's my baby now!