Used 2005 Subaru Forester Consumer Reviews
Used Forester for sale
Do these things ever break?
niclo, 04/26/2010
2005 Subaru Forester XS AWD 4dr Wagon w/Moonroof (2.5L 4cyl 4A)
7 of 7 people found this review helpful
105k miles and still drives like new! never had a car with this many miles that didn't start to wander around the road or rattle or run bad or something...
2005 Subaru Forester 2.5 XS
99excell, 08/18/2006
2005 Subaru Forester XS AWD 4dr Wagon (2.5L 4cyl 5M)
11 of 12 people found this review helpful
Bought this new 22 months ago and have approximately 43,000 miles on it. I have had absolutely no problems with this vehicle, which is more than I can say for the new domestic models I have bought over the last thirty years. I average about 27.5 MPG and my annual maintenance costs run about $300. I service it regularly with Mobile 1 synthetic motor oil and have all other maintenance performed by the dealer. I take comfort in the knowledge that it is one of the safest and most reliable vehicles out there and fully expect to replace it, someday, with another one.
160k miles and still going strong
160kmiles, 11/30/2010
2005 Subaru Forester X AWD 4dr Wagon (2.5L 4cyl 4A)
13 of 15 people found this review helpful
Bought this specifically for long distance commuting on the highway and it's been a great car, 110k miles before I had anything break on it. Great highway mpg 25-26.
Handles horrid driving conditions like a breeze!
Lu, 12/21/2017
2005 Subaru Forester XS AWD 4dr Wagon (2.5L 4cyl 4A)
9 of 10 people found this review helpful
I got a great deal on my '05 Forester, only 3,000. I purchased it with 93k miles. I am the second owner of the vehicle. The previous owner was an older lady who probably was unaware of the issues with the car as it appeared very little work was done on it. I had to have quite a number of things done to get it to drive okay, the largest being the entire AWD system and breaking system redone. From there I had done some basic PM to make it a smoother ride (timing belt change, new winter tires, new muffler, ect.) After much work it now drives beautifully. This is the first car i've ever owned with no maintenance lights on! It's 100% worth the money though, no nasty car payments or fleases. HOW DOES IT HANDLE RURAL NEW ENGLAND WEATHER? Beautifully! So far with this vehicle I have driven through 10 inches of fresh snowfall on an unplowed horridly maintained back road, through pot-hole-filled unmaintained dirt roads in the White Mountains, down very steep inclines, and through post-flood debris. It only has about 8" of clearance which I was concerned with at first but it seems that amount is just enough to avoid scraping by. Other reviews say the highway noise is loud, and yes, yes it is. But if you live rural like me you don't care about that! Also, the heated seats are fantastic to have when it's 4 degrees out. Another important thing to mention is that i am 5 feet tall and 82lbs. If you are little like me you wont have any issue seeing over the dash. However if you are very tall i'd look for another car.
- Safety
- Technology
- Performance
- Interior
- Comfort
- Reliability
- Value
New Subaru Owner
ICW, 06/01/2005
2005 Subaru Forester XT AWD 4dr Wagon w/Premium Package (2.5L 4cyl Turbo 4A)
5 of 5 people found this review helpful
Just got an automatic 2005 XT turbo Forester last week. Took it on a trip to New York city for Memorial Day weekend from PA (approximately 350 mile round trip). We love everything about this car so far! We were looking for a car with more cargo space than our two compact sedans, but were not interested in a large SUV or minivan. We have a 1 1/2 year old baby and what initially attracted us to Forester was its high safety rating by Consumer Report. We also are looking for a AWD or 4WD for the winter. After looking at various small SUV and wagons (Honda CRV, Toyota RAV 4, etc) we decided to go with Subaru based on many positive reviews. I personally love the extra power turbo provides.