The traction on ice is breath-taking. (I live in Winterpeg so I know whereof I speak.) Accelerating from zero on sheer ice feels pretty much the same as it does on dry pavement. I LOVE driving in snow storms! Plenty of passing power--more than I expected from a 2.5 litre engine. Lots of cargo room. Very reliable.

Ummmmm . . . I know! The cupholders are flimsy!

I have driven my Forester 84,000KM over almost 5 years and nothing significant has gone wrong. This is a highly reliable car. I have recently been shopping for a second car and test drove Camry, Accord, Malibu, Impala, Taurus and Passat. Only the Camry V6 was as quiet and smooth as my Forester. (Purchase price in Canadian $)

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Mazda GLC, Ford Escort.

Good in the snow

Reliability stinks when compared to other Japanese or even American vehicles.

Car seemed fine until we hit about 30,000 miles. Check engine light came on, sensor recall, ran poorly in wet weather. Coil shorted out at about 45,000 miles causing us to limp in. Almost got rear ended as we were on highway when this happened. At 62,000 miles the automatic transmission started to go. The car would sometimes not move when placed into drive. Called dealer who said sorry you've got over 60,000 so you are off warranty. Transmission shop wanted $1,800 to $4,000 to fix, so we traded the car for a new Toyota Matrix AWD. We love the Matrix, same power, less money more features.

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Toyota Matrix

On road handling - well, it is basically an Impreza under there! Build quality is very nice as well.

Short service intervals (7,500 miles/6 months) Higher fuel costs than my previous car (1.9 Turbo Diesel Bravo)

Initial impressions having run this car for a short time - amazing! The UK model is "only" equipped with a 2l boxer engine, producing 123bhp (IIRC). For day to day driving this seems to be plenty. There is enough power available to overtake on A roads, without sacrificing fuel economy (at approx $1 per litre that is a bit of an issue over here!) Comfort is superb - even with a fairly basic interior. No complaints at all - especially at the price it cost me. Wouldn't mind trying the turbo model though!!! Seems the other difference between European and US models - mine has a hi and low ratio gearbox. Could be useful if I am out in the mountains in the snow (pretty likely!) The price above is in pounds stirling.

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Jeep Cherokee (new model, called Liberty in US) - horrible brake pedal and not cheap. Nice otherwise! Landrover Defender - not that similar, but probably the best off roader I have ever driven, provi

Value, lack of problem. This car required over 5 year, oil change and the scheduled maintenance. I never spent an additional dollar on this car. Better gas mileage than other SUVs

Design of back seat makes child safety seats difficult to install. Back seat is somewhat small. I would buy another Subaru in a heartbeat, but they don't make anything bigger.

Wonderful car. Drives great. Would highly recommend it to anyone. It never had any problems in 5 years. Much better car than my husband's Volvo.

good gas mileage for small SUV, I like the way it looks-clean lines, comfortable interior, lots of nooks & crannies to put things, lots of room in back, like the tie down hooks, like the fact that the tire is not hanging on the back hatch, the rear center seat belt is great so my 3 grandkids can all be strapped in safely (it's not really hard to figure out)

not enough leg room, can't read the clock with the lights on and the lights are always on, those cup holders, gas cap on wrong side of car. What is it with the alignment? Dealer Service said I must have hit a curb-like I wouldn't remember that! If we can get the problems solved and avoid any more for 40,000 or so, I would say this is a great car.

I did a lot of research before buying, and Subaru came out the best value, most reliable. Within 2 months of purchase my dealer (after 81 yrs) went out of business and the car began to act up. Had to find another dealer-nearest 25 miles away from home so this is a real inconvenience. Engine pinging, out of alignment before 3000 miles, tires cupping, seat belt jams, brakes squeal, hot oil smell from engine after freeway driving. I'm very dissapointed with all these annoyances, especially since there is no dealer close by. I've driven Ford Escorts for 12 years, and never had problems until they had at least 35-40 thousand miles on them, and I drove them to 175,000.

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test drove Honda CRV, Toyota Rav 4, Hundai and Isuzu-hated them all and they cost more than the Forrester

The clutch had to be replaced by the first owner at 21,000 miles and I have just had to replace the clutch AGAIn at 45,000, meaning it only lasted 24,000 miles--with no hill or stop-and-go driving, not riding the clutch. I went online and find this is a common problem with Subaru clutches. It makes me want to sellt he car now. I also don't like that the auto door locks only unlock the front doors, and I have to manually unlock the back ones. It never fails that I have an armload of something and the back door is locked so I have to get in the front to unlock it. I also don't get good heat and AC out of the floor vents, and in really hot weather, the AC isn't very cold.

I love the car and it handles nimbly and is comfortable for long trips.

165 HP, AWD (90% front, 10% rear unless rear needs more, SO THERE IS NO ENGAGING WHEN SPLITTING THE POWER 50/50!), rides like a car, emergency handling like a car, safety of an SUV in the bad weather, yet doesn't have the bad handling characteristics of SUV's on-road. Leather is GREAT, side airbags are a plus. The moonroof almost makes this a convertible.

Not good for rough off-roads (yet, none of the small SUV's are!), but it does fine on dirt roads (better than my truck)

We have had the car for one year now. Almost 12,000 miles. It is great. All winter I never had to worry about traction on the roads. The only thing I would change is the cup-holders, but looks like they did that for the 2003 model. I wonder if the WRX handles this well in bad weather...I may need to trade. I highly recommend the Forester.

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Test drove the CRV, RAV-4, Cherokee (if I never had to drive on-road, I would have gotten this)...all have their strong points (and their weaknesses too)

Great value for the money, great handling, great reliability. I love all the little storage spots. I got side airbags. The sunroof is freakin' huge. Open it up, roll down the windows and it's practically a convertible.

Makes a disconcerting whistle if you get the model with the sunroof. Fabric is hideous if you get a cheaper model. You can't get leather seats if you want side airbags.

This car suits all my needs and is fun to drive. I haven't had any problems with it so far, except for one thing. I have the S model with the huge sunroof, and they put the roof rack on in a different spot than on the models with no sunroof. Because of this, the car makes this weird whistle between 60-70 MPH. I've had it in to the dealer several times, and they finally figured out that that is what it was. I was really worried I had bought a lemon until they figured it out. They said others with the sunroof have had the same experience. It was new for 2001 and it took them a while to figure it out. I originally wanted a Toyota Highlander, but my husband's head hit the roof. Come to think of it, no other small SUV I could afford (didn't try the Beemer, tried the Mercedes and thought it was great but not for 2x the price) would fit my 6'3" husband. I have gotten so used to all the little ways this car is different from other cars, I don't think I could ever own anything other than a Subaru again. I did buy this car used, about six months old. I saved a lot of money this way, so it would have been more expensive had I bought it new, and I would not rate it with quite as much value.

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Every other small SUV out there except the BMW.

One feels that they are operating a machine, instead of merely guiding a vehicle. Good feedback, perfect amount of steering and brake boost. Pretty ergonomic dash layo ut. Parking brakes are on rear drums, not front discs as in DL/Loyale. More conventional design. Everything more accessible due to more room between parts.

Reading-lamp console blocks view in mirror, a bit. Clutch engages a bit abruptly, compared to more progressive engagement of DL/Loyale. I adapted to this quickly, though. First car I''ve owned with cupholder. I never use it, since I attempt to concentrate on driving, not sipping beverages.

Bought ''99 Forester L 5-speed used from dealer, 45K miles on it. Pretty red color, nearly flawless inside & out. Previously owned ''88 DL 4WD and ''92 Loyale 4WD wagons, very loveable cars. Much more room than older cars, 27 mpg instead of over 30 mpg of DL/Loyale, but hey, new car weighs 700 lb more, and 2.5L instead of 1.8L, so can''t complain! Great headroom, visibility, power, and engine-bay access room. Silky shifting, impressive evasive maneuverability & brakes.

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Ford Escape (yuk!) 1961 Landrover 88 (short wheelbase)

Everything I read indicates it should be a great vehicle. I am quite happy driving it for only 2 weeks....

CUP-HOLDERS!! Yes I am looking for the "perfect" vehicle for me. They changed it for 2003!!! The stereo leaves a little to be desired..I even have the upgraded speakers with little change.

Haven''t had it long but I studied, reviewed and test drove for close to 2 years. I was eagerly awaiting the 2003 hoping for a "desireable" styling change and redo of those infamous cup holders. I preferred the 2002 styling over the 2003 when I saw them side by side in the same color, and bought the 2002.