I have driven two different 2002 Subaru Foresters in the past year because my first one saved my life.


How It All Started

It all started a year ago when I was graduated college. I was looking to get a new car to commute to work. I had a 1990 Honda Civic wagon that I liked because it had lots of room and got good miles per gallon (36). I was originally favored getting another Honda Civic because I would be traveling 50 miles to work everyday and I could save gas. However, being engaged to a woman who loved me very much (and didn't want anything to happen to me), I decided to look at safer cars. The Forester really was head and shoulders above anything else I had seen. The price was low ($22,000), the gas mileage was good for a car like that (26 mpg hwy), and it was safe (more on that later). In addition, it had all wheel drive, perfect for those New England winters. The dealership (Tristate Subaru in Webster, Mass) sealed the deal with their kindness and informed staff.


Initial Impressions

The car was roomy. It's not as luxurious as a Volvo, but it really is comfortable. I noticed that the engine is silent especially when idle. This is really nice for sleeping children. The car has some pickup (as you will find out later, came in real handy), and it will seem jerky at first. The driving is smooth and stable. You can feel the car's weight shift if you take a corner hard, but never do I feel the car is going to tip. The cargo space it ok, not as much as a Volvo, but certainly noteworthy. My only complaint in this phase was it corners wider than most cars I'm used to. The Honda wagon I had cornered real tight, and even my mom's Volvo wagon turned tighter. I'm not too good at lining up parking spaces, because I took my tight turning radius for granted.


The Accident

This is the event that ensured that I will buy Subarus until they go out of business or until they go down in quality. A fully loaded septic truck with two porta-potties on the back hit me driver's side while I was pulling into my driveway. The truck driver, I estimate, was going between 25/30 mph (although I have been told that there's a good chance it could have been faster) when he hit me. I was waiting for oncoming traffic to clear while making a left turn into my driveway. When the last car cleared, I noticed out of my rear view mirror that the truck coming down the hill behind me wasn't going to be able to stop. I had already committed to the turn, so I decided to "gun it" into the driveway before he could hit me. Well, the truck driver swerved into the oncoming lane in order to avoid hitting me in the back, just as I was gunning it into the driveway and hit me driver's side in the rear door. He would have hit me on my door if the car didn't have the pickup it did.

You can see the damage from these pics:

http://webpages.charter.net/defensor/Aug28_08.jpg
http://webpages.charter.net/defensor/Aug28_09.jpg

Here are the pics from the scene to show just how far the truck dragged the car sideways:

http://webpages.charter.net/defensor/Aug28_05.jpg
http://webpages.charter.net/defensor/Aug28_06.jpg
http://webpages.charter.net/defensor/Aug28_07.jpg

To make a long story short, this is what I learned about my car from this accident. It was strong. That truck was going fast and hit me straight on. I had a little neck stiffness from the initial impact, but the car surprisingly absorbed that really well. Besides that I had a bruise on my side. You see the damage to the car and it's mind boggling. I wish I would have taken a picture of the inside because besides a little broken glass, someone could have easily survived if they were sitting in the rear driver's side seat. The car was totaled, but I was alive. The other thing was I learned that the pickup in the car is there if you need it. I might have had more bruises if the truck had actually hit me on my door.

I obviously got another 2002 Subaru Forester to replace this one. The depreciation was only $2,000 after piling on 10,000 miles in just over 3 months.


Other Stuff I Missed

This car is good in snow. Real fun to drive in snow. It has held up well so far even though I only have 22,000 on my second, so I don't know how it will drive after 100,000 miles.


Overall Verdict

If you like sports cars and weaving in and out of traffic and impressing women, you probably won't like this car. If you have kids and a family, or just want to be able to survive an accident, BUY THIS CAR!!! I can't stress this enough. I'm not a rich guy, but this is the best, most reliable car I have ever driven. I can't imagine buying any other car. If you want hard info about the car, I suggest visiting a site like Edmunds.com because I don't have that info readily available. I go back to the dealership for services and whatnot every month or so, and the dealers there have told me that the printout from my accident photos have sold them dozens of Foresters. I'm happy about that.
Amount Paid (US$): 22000
Condition: New
Model Year: 2002
Model and Options: L class, with tailpipe extender, arm rest, and single disc cd player