Reliable, good on gas, small enough to be able to parallel park, decent power from 2.5-liter engine, full-size INBOARD spare tire, great interior designs.

No moon-roof (at least not in the mid-range model I got); lame brakes (soft, mushy); not roomy enough for people over 6'' or over 300 lbs in weight, so-so handling (the Impreza frame is a shade too small for the car IMHO); seats are a bit hard, and lumbar support only for the driver; door cams aren''t strong enough (so the doors slam shut by themselves if you''re parked on a sidehill angle); computer resets if your battery dies and you have to take it to the dealer to reset it; poor factory stereo (go figure) and WAY OVERPRICED Bose subwoofer option (like $400 with wimpy performance); excessive wind noise; mine has a LOT of trouble starting in the mountains about 10,000 feet.

My Forester has 91,000 miles and change on it, so before I get started, let''s go over all the bad points about the car that I''m seeing OTHER reviewers list, so I can validate them yay or nay. "Engineering could be better": I don''t see how. Use of space is superb, as is fit and finish. "MGP is consistently poorer than advertised": this hasn''t been my experience. It''s a 2.5-liter engine pulling a small-to-midsize SUV; do the math. I commute 54 miles a day total (highway miles), and even with the additional light driving I have to do in the city, I have to fill up maybe once every five days or so. And that''s in Colorado; it might even do better at sea level where there''s more oxygen... "Brakes are untrustworthy and frequently serviced": my brakes have stopped my car every time, so to call them untrustworthy is a little extreme, but in general they pretty much suck. I need to get mine done AGAIN; that''ll be twice in less that 100K miles. GAG! Mushy and soft, although at least they aren''t grabby. "Automatic Transmission consistently sticks in first gear until the car is really warm": This hasn''t been my experience, and I''ve only heard this in one review. The person may be low on tranny fluid. "Cup holders sweat all over the stereo": I don''t drink hot liquids in the car so I can''t confirm this, but the cup holders are flimsy and WAY too close to the stereo. Once I got a Coke from Wendy''s and left the half-full cup in the cupholder while I was in a friend''s apt for about 2 hours, and when I got back in the car, the cup had sprung a leak and there was Coke all over the stereo! DOH! But the cupholders themselves have never failed me. "Rear windows don''t open all the way": true, but hardly a problem. They open 3/4 of the way, more than what you''d need, and safer for kids in car seats who open the window. "No intermittent wiper": not true. There''s an intermittnet front wiper, but no intermittent setting for the rear wiper. "Assorted rattles": I''ve only found one to be prevalent, in the dashboard. I do find excessive wind noise. "Repair shops have trouble obtaining parts": this hasn''t been my experience, although I''ve only had the car in the shop a few times in 91K miles so I probably wouldn''t know!! I have to cut this review short because of crippleware web page scripting on the part of carreview.com (character limit

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None, only other car was an 84 Honda Prelude

n/a

not enough horse power

extreamly bad

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n/a

Leather seats.

1) Nov 2000 transmission went bad, replaced with a remanifactured transmission under warrenty. 2) Nov 2001 fuel injector sensor recall replaced. 3) Nov 2001 unable to start after working 12 hr shift. Service dept unsure of what the problem was suggested possibly starter. Recommended to tap the starter with a screw driver. So when it doesn''t start I lift the hood and tap the starter with a screw driver until it starts, until it doesn''t work anymore. No longer under warranty. 4) Nov 2001 heating system leather seat, side mirrors and movement of side mirrors stopped working. Fuse replaced twiced. 5) Keyless entry system instead of clicking twice when locked only clicked once. 6) While traveling to Bluefield WVA check engine light on. Stopped at rest area found a hose lying on the engine loose. Two days later check engine light went off and the keyless entry system starting clicking twice.

The worse vehicle I have ever had. I will never buy another Subaru. I tell everyone I see DON''T BUY SUBARU and ask me why. I have only had this vehicle for two years. I am a travel nurse and I DO NOT have a dependable, trustworthy vehicle.

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The first SUV, first lease. Own a Mazada 4X4 truck.

Price, safety, crash rating, capacity, features

Cupholder design

After 4 wonderful years and 100,000 miles, my 1998 Subaru was just starting to get broken in when it was totaled in a freak ice storm. I was heart broken. Many a joyous backpacking and paddling trip had been taken in that car... I miss that car. But, I have replaced her with a 2002 S w/ Premium package and I couldn''t be happier. I am looking forward to building as many memories with this car as I had with the last one. Anyone looking for a great value and an excellent all purpose vehicle should test drive the Forester!

Reliability and Torque

Rear Seat leg room

I''ve posted here before, a few months after I purchased this car in July 1999. I was pleased with it then and am more pleased with it to this day. The car handles extremely well at all speeds. The gas mileage is good, which allowed me to survive the skyrocketing oil prices in 2000 relatively unscathed. Also, the car''s power and acceleration is better that that of its mid-size competitors in 1999. I''m not sure if this is still true for the 2002 models and would be curious to know. Best of all, the car''s reliability has been exceptional. Nothing other than routine maintenance. I still have the same complaints as in the beginning. The rear seat leg room is atrocious. But I drive the car so what do I care? Small things such as cup holder placement, storage, etc. are less to be desired. But these are all things I knew when I bought the car so I can''t really gripe that theuy came as a surprise. I''m leaving this review now because of the car''s reliability. Minimal $$$ on upkeep and fuel, that''s always a plus in my book.

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Honda CRV; Toyota RAV4; Kia Sportage(all 1999 models)

Sporty looking, comfortable

Sound system is weak, back seat is too cramped, no standard arm rest for driver and yes I have to agree, the cup holder is weak to say the least.

I am generally pleased with the car. It''s peppy and easy to drive. I have had problems in the summertime believe it or not! After it sits outside all day while I am at work, it doesn''t want to turn over. Dealer in Gainesville had to replace the fuel regulator about 1 month after I bought it as it wasn''t turning over well but it wasn''t the summer. It drives fine in the winter. Last problem I had was a thermostat that apparently was staying open all the time. If anyone else has had this problem with slow start in hot weather, please e-mail me directly as I do not visit this site often. Thanks

It handles great in the snow and rain.

It has a horrible whine in the transmission at speeds after 60. Reminds me of a bad hearing aid sound. When I took it to the Subaru shop they said this is a common problem to all the foresters. If you have this problem would you please include it in your review.

I like the driving performance of the forester, other then the high pitch whine in the trasmission on speeds greater then 60.

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none

AWD is great, 4-wheel disc-brakes, huge sun-roof, safety options, good ground clearance, decent power from the little 4-cyl.

Cup-holder is in the way. Not meant for a person over 6ft tall. 4-cyl is nice, but a little more power would be GREAT! Dash/radio/temp/etc layout needs to be a little more driver friendly. Vents for the back-seat would be nice too.

Good car for my wife and daughter. Nebraska winters can be bad, so the Forester is ready to take on whatever is thrown at it. AWD is great! Sits up higher than a car, but not a "soccer mom" SUV either. Nice for the small family.

-Surprising power, even when loaded up with cargo -good lumbar support in driver seat -good in snow and ice -plenty of cargo space even with back seats upright - plenty of room for our 80 pound golden retriever.

-have to manually unscrew the brackets to remove/attach dog cage (really a minor inconvenience, but had to put at least one weakness in)

I agree with other reviewers in that this car is not meant for off-roading, and is not meant to compete with the big SUV''s. But if you want a safe, reliable, useful vehicle, the Forrester should be seriously considered. Compared to the Jeep Cherokee, this vehicle handles better, is more fuel efficient, and is just as good in bad weather. My wife and I purchased the car in May of 2001 and used the car on a cross country road trip during the late summer of 2001 - from Toronto to PEI and back. We attached a hitch and bike rack to the back and loaded the cargo area with equipment. Was pleased with the amount of cargo room - with the back seats folded down, there was plenty of space, and with the outlet in the back, we had an electric mini-cooler plugged in to keep cold drinks and food. Despite the added weight - two mountain bikes and other cargo, there was plenty of power in driving through the hills and valleys of Quebec, and ample passing power when driving along the 2 lane highways. The longest stretch of time we drove at one time was 8 hours, and was pleased with the lumbar support of the seats, and suffered no ill-effects from driving for long periods of time. Have been driving it this winter and the AWD cuts through the snow without any problems, and the ABS works wonders when stopping on ice. The only complaint I would have is the dog cage. I''m pleased with the amount of room in the back even with the back seats upright - there is plenty of room for our 80 pound golden retriever, but in order to remove/attach the cage, you have to manually unscrew the brackets - would be nice if it automatically snapped on/off into place. But really, its a minor inconvenience - about the only weakness i can think of.

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- Believe it or not - acceleration. - Roomy interior - Awesome, huge sunroof. - Quality-car like drive and handling. -All- Wheel Drive

- cup holders - so-so gas mil. (20-22 avg. for us) - Over powering 120 watt sub-woofer clouds all music types.

To start, I couldn''t tell you whether this is the best off road sport small sport ute on the market. Yet if you are looking for a vehicle with a sedan like drive, but with the cargo room of ''meaty'' station wagon this is the by far the best. After test driving and researching about every wagon on the market (passat wagon, subaru outback, Saturn, Focus.. even the new Lexus wagon)we were shocked at how well the Forester drove and handled. And this was just after driving both the Passat GLE wagon and Outback L.L. Bean edition with an H6. It seemed more peppy, accelerated better and had a roomier more comfortable feel. The Leather and Wood grain S-premium package still felt of Luxury, but for about $5000 less than Outback and Passat Wagon.

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