Combine an SUV and a car and what do you get? Subaru would hope that you get the Forester, an all-wheel drive (AWD) hybrid that straddles the line between car and SUV and in the end, you get one of the best hybrid SUV/wagons available out there today.

A little background on how I came to know the Forester…

Back in 2000, I was still living in Maine and I had my rather smallish and trusty Subaru Impreza, which while it didn’t have AWD or much of anything else, it was making it through any storm that Maine was throwing at it and since I didn’t have that much money, it was all I could get at the time.

Picture it then as the phone rings while I’m living in Greenville (literally the edge of the world for anyone who’s not been there), and it’s my boyfriend telling me that he just bought a brand new 2000 Subaru Forester…

The Forester’s Details

The Forester has a 2.5-liter, 4 cylinder engine and has all-wheel drive. This means that there’s no switching back and forth between 2-wheel drive and 4-wheel drive. In addition, the AWD system is more advanced than a typical 4-wheel drive system, where engine power is sent automatically to the wheels with more traction than those that are slipping in order to keep the Forester moving forward.

At the time that my partner purchased his Forester, it cost him about $27K and his model included quite a few amenities including: power windows and locks; keyless entry and alarm; auto-tinting rear-view mirror; side mirrors that defrost; seat warmers; and a 6-CD stereo system to name just a few. Finally taking my advice for a change, he stuck with a 5-speed manual transmission instead of opting for the automatic.

The Forester is rated to get between 21 and 28 miles per gallon in the city and on the highway respectively. Our experience has been that this is fairly accurate, but a few times we’ve managed to push the highway mpg up around 30 if we try real hard with it.

In difficult driving conditions, the Forester does well with its AWD system. In rain events, the system keeps the traction of the car as you are driving through various puddles and water covered roads. In the snow, the Forester does well with the all-weather tires that generally come on the vehicle, but does even better when you stick a good pair of snow tires on the Forester. In ice, like just about any other vehicle, unless you stick on a good pair of chains, the Forester won’t get you all that far, but it does do better than some.

The Forester is not built as an off-road vehicle. The AWD system is designed for mostly on-road driving. In addition, the clearance that the Forester has between the ground and the bottom of the car is not that great, and while depending on the tire size, averages probably about ½ the clearance that an off-road SUV has. Therefore, should you take the Forester off-road, you will have to be careful with clearance issues and take any off-road trips slowly to make sure that you don’t rip out the bottom of your engine.

For tall guys like myself (I’m 6'2"), the Forester can be a bit cramped and I don’t understand why it has to be that way. Both the front driver and passenger seats are situated so those even if they are slid all the way back I still have to sit in a cramped position. Driving the Forester, while not difficult for me, can become uncomfortable for more than short periods at a time because I’ve got to sit there with my knees bent the entire time. I’ve got tendonitis in one knee and having to keep it bent make’s it incredibly sore (it also gives me a convenient excuse to not have to drive when we’re out in his car). The back seat is not that much more roomy for tall people. If I am sitting back there, the person in the front seat has got to have the seat up a bit so that I can even fit. The back seats are not adjustable. Now since my partner is only about 5'10" at the most, he doesn’t have any trouble sitting in there and can’t understand why I hate traveling long distances in his car.

The ride, compared to an SUV is amazing, but compared to a car, is a bit stiffer and rougher than you would expect. Noise can be an issue in the car, as it seems to be with all Subarus, and only increases the faster you are going. Higher speed highway driving can be quite loud inside the Forester.

The Forester has a well-appointed interior that while it’s not plush, isn’t cheap either. For anyone who’s been in a Subaru before, they will instantly be familiar with the interior of the Forester. Cup holders are available in the front and in the back, adjustable air vents, fabric seats, an optional cargo area cover and net, and adjustable seats to name just a few. There are no lumbar adjustments on the driver’s seat though and none on any of the other seats.

The Forester seats 5, but generally I’d keep that at 4 unless the guy in the middle of the backseat is very small.

Maintenance Issues we’ve had with the Forester

The Forester has been a fairly maintenance and headache free car for the last four years that we have had it. In that time, beyond the normal oil changes and service (which he religiously completes at the dealer – even as I roll my eyes), two oxygen sensors have gone and needed to be replaced (which resulted in very hard starts for the Forester until we got them fixed), the battery died once, and we accidentally broke the button for the front passenger side window (I pushed too hard and it fell right into the door – oops – yeah, picture my face there). Other than that, we have had to have no other work done on the Forester.

Things we like

With the rear seats folded down, the Forester does offer a significant area of storage and can transport a fair amount of stuff. Not that he often does, but we have used it when we’ve been moving and while it can’t fit what my RAV4 can, it can fit a lot if you finagle it the right way.

For a vehicle that is a cross between an SUV and a car, the ride is comfortable and the gas mileage is quite good. We’ve taken several weekend getaway type vacations using the Forester and while I’ve complained a bit about being cramped, the Forester was an excellent companion to the trips with enough space in back to hold our luggage and whatever else we were brining along.

Not that it happens much because the “seats might get ruined,” skis and poles can fit inside the Forester if you don’t have a roof rack.

While nowhere near like the car stereos that some people will customize and install in their vehicles, the factory provided stereo system is a good system to start out with and can provide quality output. The 6-cd changer in the stereo is a blessing for people like my partner, who can load it up and forget it and not have to be fumbling with CD’s while he’s driving.

Things I don’t like

Notice I focus on things I don’t like about the Forester, as my partner is perfectly happy as long it runs and it gets him where he wants to go. So there aren’t really any complaints from him.

My biggest complaint is the cramped space. I don’t think that at 6ֶ”, I’m really all that tall and I don’t expect in an SUV/wagon hybrid that I should feel tight for space, but in the Forester I do. Even sitting in the front passenger seat, I’ve got to adjust myself constantly and I’ve got to sit just right so that I can put my legs all the way out. Driving is even more challenging, especially since we’ve got a stick shift and I’ve got to keep both legs cramped up to drive.

The backseat is too small and not adjustable. I would like to see a backseat that can move forward and backward slightly (like in my RAV4) and that had a bit more space for legs. Anyone taller than me could probably not even fit in the back seat.

Finally noise – I don’t understand why all Subarus seem so noisy when you drive them. My first Subaru, a 89 sedan I had was noisy, the Impreza I had was noisy and the Forester is just as noisy. It seems like through the years, Subaru just doesn’t care if there is interior noise and never has done anything to fix it.

Final Thoughts

For anyone under about 6’ tall, the Forester is an excellent vehicle if you are looking for the security of all-wheel drive and the comfort of a car. While neither completely an SUV nor completely a car, the Forester straddles this line between the two extremes admirably and like most Subarus is built to last and should provide for years of driving with a minimum of repairs and work.

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Amount Paid (US$): 27000
Condition: New
Model Year: 2000