I purchased this Fozzie the Saturday of Thanksgiving weekend last year. It snowed 12" two days later. Great sign of things to come!
I waited until I had experienced 4 seasons before writing up a review as I wanted to be as complete as possible.
The Vehicle:
- 2018 Subaru Forester Premium w/ CVT
- X-mode (not used, no comment)
- Eyesight package (adaptive cruise, blind spot monitoring, backup collision monitoring)
- Sunroof
- Cloth seats
- Cold Weather Package
- Auto climate Control
Pros:
- The visibility in all directions is outstanding. I can't really compare it to anything else. Previous SUV was a 2007 Ford Escape which had nice sight-lines too but not as good.
- AWD This is the first AWD vehicle I have ever owned. I really like it so far. Snow and ice have been no problem with the stock Yokohama G91 tires despite plenty of complaints on these tires. I didn't get outside in time to truly test it in 12" snow but I got a few runs in 6-8" snow and it was great.
- Interior is really nice, comfortable and well thought out. I like how it is simple, clean and basic in appearance and function. All the materials seem durable and there are no creaks/rattles yet. I wish the upholstery was darker instead of this light gray as I have 3 kids who will stain anything.
- Engine, the FB25 is a great engine. Very smooth and balanced. It got very quiet once I switched from 0W-20 to M1 5W30. It wasn't overly noisy before but definitely quieter/smoother after. This NA FB25 was why I felt I had to get a 2018. I didn't want the DI version. I knew the NA version was amazingly easy on oil and I wanted to keep this vehicle for a very long time.
- Suspension is very good. It is responsible and comfortable without being mushy or soft. It seems to be a great compromise. I expected it to be firmer/harder which I usually prefer.
- Climate Control - I never head auto climate control before. The wife's van has it but never in my vehicle. It has been great. It seems to do very well at holding temperature and using AC as needed or not needed. I never find myself fiddling with the fan speed, vent selection, etc. Auto keeps me happy.
- Gauge cluster - the new colored cluster is much nicer than previous generations that were monochromatic.
- Sunroof...This thing is massive. It feels like a convertible when you open it all the way. the kids really like it. I have never had a sunroof and I would never pick one out but this was the last 2018 on the lot when I went to buy so I didn't really have a choice. I didn't even notice it had a sunroof until I got in it to head home.
- Adaptive Cruise - I thought I would hate this feature but I am addicted to it now. I have a lot of 2-line driving on my commute and the annoyance of having to match people's speed who don't know how to use cruise are gone! Commutes are so much more relaxing.
- Eyesight...it works. I wish the system around the review mirror was less protruding into the cabin but I have learned to live with it.
- Cargo room is great. no complaints. Bigger than my old Escape and better than any other SUV I looked at recently.
- Rear seating is also great. 2 carseats and 3 kids fit fine in the back seat. There is lots of legroom for adults, too.
- Heated Seats warm up very quickly. On high, with temps around 0F, the seats will feel warm within about 2-3 minutes.
Cons:
- No auto headlights. I really expected this to be a standard feature for a vehicle in this price range these days.
- No always-on power ports for devices. You have to have a key turned on for any of the 12VDC power ports to work.
- The information screen above the stereo changes every time you turn the cruise on. I have a specific screen I like to have up on the information screen and it is highly irritating when the cruise gets turned on for the first time each drive that it changes this info screen. I have to hit the button to change it back to the screen I want. I have no idea why subaru gives you the option to select and customize your info screen and then override it w/out any input from you. You can't even disable this from happening.
- Stereo is nowhere near as good as what is in the Chrysler T&C. I'd like to improve it a bit down the road.
Observations:
- MPG - On my daily commute back and forth to work I average around 35MPG. It is around 33 MPG in the winter and 37MPG or so in the summer. Even when my wife drives it, will usually under up with hand calculated tank average around 30-31MPG.
- CVT - The CVT works. I'm not a huge fan of it. I would prefer something like a DCT but I don't hate it either even though I was sure I would hate it. It never has any hunting issues. There is no droning. The CVT seems to be more responsive under partial throttle rather than full throttle. I feel like it accelerates better at 1/2 to 3/4 throttle.
- No super long trips but for 1.5 hour trip it was very comfortable and returned 38 MPG round trip at 70 MPH.
- No measurable oil consumption on 5k intervals using 0W-20. This is currently the first 10k OCI on M1 5W30 and too early to say anything.
- Oil change via vacuum pump in dipstick tube was perfect. Pulling the drain plug after removing oil yielded one drop of oil that was from the end of the drain plug. With the filter located topside, oil changes are super easy and enjoyable.
I waited until I had experienced 4 seasons before writing up a review as I wanted to be as complete as possible.
The Vehicle:
- 2018 Subaru Forester Premium w/ CVT
- X-mode (not used, no comment)
- Eyesight package (adaptive cruise, blind spot monitoring, backup collision monitoring)
- Sunroof
- Cloth seats
- Cold Weather Package
- Auto climate Control
Pros:
- The visibility in all directions is outstanding. I can't really compare it to anything else. Previous SUV was a 2007 Ford Escape which had nice sight-lines too but not as good.
- AWD This is the first AWD vehicle I have ever owned. I really like it so far. Snow and ice have been no problem with the stock Yokohama G91 tires despite plenty of complaints on these tires. I didn't get outside in time to truly test it in 12" snow but I got a few runs in 6-8" snow and it was great.
- Interior is really nice, comfortable and well thought out. I like how it is simple, clean and basic in appearance and function. All the materials seem durable and there are no creaks/rattles yet. I wish the upholstery was darker instead of this light gray as I have 3 kids who will stain anything.
- Engine, the FB25 is a great engine. Very smooth and balanced. It got very quiet once I switched from 0W-20 to M1 5W30. It wasn't overly noisy before but definitely quieter/smoother after. This NA FB25 was why I felt I had to get a 2018. I didn't want the DI version. I knew the NA version was amazingly easy on oil and I wanted to keep this vehicle for a very long time.
- Suspension is very good. It is responsible and comfortable without being mushy or soft. It seems to be a great compromise. I expected it to be firmer/harder which I usually prefer.
- Climate Control - I never head auto climate control before. The wife's van has it but never in my vehicle. It has been great. It seems to do very well at holding temperature and using AC as needed or not needed. I never find myself fiddling with the fan speed, vent selection, etc. Auto keeps me happy.
- Gauge cluster - the new colored cluster is much nicer than previous generations that were monochromatic.
- Sunroof...This thing is massive. It feels like a convertible when you open it all the way. the kids really like it. I have never had a sunroof and I would never pick one out but this was the last 2018 on the lot when I went to buy so I didn't really have a choice. I didn't even notice it had a sunroof until I got in it to head home.
- Adaptive Cruise - I thought I would hate this feature but I am addicted to it now. I have a lot of 2-line driving on my commute and the annoyance of having to match people's speed who don't know how to use cruise are gone! Commutes are so much more relaxing.
- Eyesight...it works. I wish the system around the review mirror was less protruding into the cabin but I have learned to live with it.
- Cargo room is great. no complaints. Bigger than my old Escape and better than any other SUV I looked at recently.
- Rear seating is also great. 2 carseats and 3 kids fit fine in the back seat. There is lots of legroom for adults, too.
- Heated Seats warm up very quickly. On high, with temps around 0F, the seats will feel warm within about 2-3 minutes.
Cons:
- No auto headlights. I really expected this to be a standard feature for a vehicle in this price range these days.
- No always-on power ports for devices. You have to have a key turned on for any of the 12VDC power ports to work.
- The information screen above the stereo changes every time you turn the cruise on. I have a specific screen I like to have up on the information screen and it is highly irritating when the cruise gets turned on for the first time each drive that it changes this info screen. I have to hit the button to change it back to the screen I want. I have no idea why subaru gives you the option to select and customize your info screen and then override it w/out any input from you. You can't even disable this from happening.
- Stereo is nowhere near as good as what is in the Chrysler T&C. I'd like to improve it a bit down the road.
Observations:
- MPG - On my daily commute back and forth to work I average around 35MPG. It is around 33 MPG in the winter and 37MPG or so in the summer. Even when my wife drives it, will usually under up with hand calculated tank average around 30-31MPG.
- CVT - The CVT works. I'm not a huge fan of it. I would prefer something like a DCT but I don't hate it either even though I was sure I would hate it. It never has any hunting issues. There is no droning. The CVT seems to be more responsive under partial throttle rather than full throttle. I feel like it accelerates better at 1/2 to 3/4 throttle.
- No super long trips but for 1.5 hour trip it was very comfortable and returned 38 MPG round trip at 70 MPH.
- No measurable oil consumption on 5k intervals using 0W-20. This is currently the first 10k OCI on M1 5W30 and too early to say anything.
- Oil change via vacuum pump in dipstick tube was perfect. Pulling the drain plug after removing oil yielded one drop of oil that was from the end of the drain plug. With the filter located topside, oil changes are super easy and enjoyable.