2019 Subaru Forester. First look.

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I am struggling with the idea that there will be less and less manuals to choose from in the future; at some point it won't be feasible to offer one on any car.

Not a fan of that design look regardless.
 
I thought Toyota was supposed to be helping Subaru with styling these days.

Seems like they are banking pretty hard on the Ascent, Foresters taking the back seat.
 
But but they are making the safest cars on the road(thats a quote from somewhere)

who wouldnt want direct injection to gain 7hp and a CVT only option for transmission

/end sarcasm.

I used to rant about how they didnt build turbo with MT anymore..(since 2008) but this is just ugh.

edit: excuse me its 12hp, 7 more than the outback

The whole new chassis sounds interesting.. but no MT is just ugh.
 
Geez the 18 and older models look better.

Its like they are trying to combine the outback legacy thing and the forester.

It will still sell...but not as strongly
 
Tough crowd. One of the reasons we didn't buy a Forester in '14 was it was so dated and just felt old, particularly the dash. And the CVT, wife disliked it in 5 minutes.

This design is more in line with the others in the category, should help bring new buyers. The upswept rear window must be a must-have element, they all have it. So much for the legendary Forester outward visibility.
 
IDK, vehicles in this class all kind of look the same to me now.
Dropping the XT is a big bummer, guess I am probably done with Subaru unless things change in the next 4-5 years.
I guess Toyota and Honda learned to force customers to move up to their lux lines to get a crossoverish thing with some performance (CRV and RAV4 have no high output engine options), but poor Subie doesn't have a lux line!!!

EDIT - surprised they said the latest FXT did 0-60 in 6.8 seconds, the '14s were generally 6.2-6.4s in the publications I read. Maybe they left the traction control on, that's supposed to cost about 0.5s.
 
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Looks like an Outback with a little more ground clearance. I’m sorry to say, I wouldn’t buy one of those underpowered slugs.
 
Originally Posted By: Warlord
I’ll die before I own a cvt. I guess a new forester is no longer in my future.


You should check out a VW Golf Alltrack which offers a manual or a 6 speed DSG transmission.
 
Originally Posted By: mcwilly
I thought Toyota was supposed to be helping Subaru with styling these days.


Looks like Stevie Wonder has a new job working for Toyota.
 
and they call it the brand new model, silly; from the ouside, it is the same as the current model...
 
Yeah Subaru is really dated.

I bought my Sonata at a Subaru dealer last year and looked at the new Subaru's while I waited. I kept thinking "What year are these cars!? They were brand new. Looked like 2009 cars inside.
 
I wanted to replace my Prius with a Forester when 200K rolls around. Looks like I'll be looking out for 2012-2018 Forester XTs when that time rolls around. The new RAV4 is looking more appealing, it's not so much the looks but it needs MORE POWER to be competitive against the RAV4 and CR-V.

And I thought the RAV4 was dowdy in comparison to the Forester. Of course it would sell like hotcakes in the Bay Area.
 
My take on the new Forester.

Exterior: Looks like all the rest of the competitors in this segment. I am happy to see the side-mirror signal lights, I just hope that they are standard on all trim levels. Everyone likes to cut me off in traffic when I am trying to change lanes in my Impreza because they don't see me signalling. It is a night and day difference when changing lanes in my Ford because it has those side-mirror signals.

Interior: Looks like a typically, well laid out Subaru interior. I like the fact that the interior isn't some sort of "cool", space-agey looking mess with no usable cubbies/storage. My wife and I eat fast-food in our car at least once a week and our Ford drives us mad with the lack of flat surfaces for napkins, sauces, salad bowls, etc.

Engine-bay: Looks identical to the previous generation (except the beauty cover) so most maintenance items are likely easily accessible.

Routine maintenance DIY time estimates (based on first-hand experience with my neighbor's 2016 Forester with the 2.5L H4):
Air filter, ~5 minutes, does require you to remove that pseudo-ram-air thing (held on by two reusable plastic clips).
Oil change, Serpentine belt change, ~10 minutes including tensioner replacement.
Spark plug replacement, 16" spark plug socket, 3" locking extension, and a fairly accurate torque wrench (aluminum heads).
Battery replacement, haven't done this yet on my neighbors but I am estimating
I am guessing Subaru will have zero trouble moving these vehicles.
 
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I'm okay with CVT only. Subaru's CVTs have proven to be reliable.

I'm NOT okay with electronic parking brake and standard eyesight. Electronic parking brakes are a disaster here in the northeast.


Originally Posted By: miden851
and they call it the brand new model, silly; from the ouside, it is the same as the current model...


It's an entirely different platform underneath.
 
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