Used 2015 Subaru Forester Consumer Reviews
Used Forester for sale
Run, don't walk away from the 2015 Forester!
tcwilkinson, 10/14/2015
updated 04/20/2020
2015 Subaru Forester 2.5i Premium PZEV 4dr SUV AWD (2.5L 4cyl 6M)
34 of 41 people found this review helpful
I have put about 14,000 miles on the car and it drives great and handles well. The mileage is quite good with about 27 mpg average but on the highway it can get nearly 40 mpg if you keep your speed down. Engine power could be described as adequate but not really sufficient for mountain driving with most grades requiring down shifting into 4th gear. Interior room is good and the sunroof is nice but noisy over 55 mph. I am 6'1" and the drivers seat does not fit me all that well but my wife loves it. The rear seat room is much improved over older models and head room is quite good as well. I would rate the fit and finish as very good, the doors close with precision and a light touch and wind and road noise are low. The sheet metal is very thin and acorns will put dents in the hood so be careful where you park. The 6 speed manual transmission is nice as long as you don't try fast shifts as it will balk or go into the wrong gear. One thing some drivers may not like is the lurid red instrument lighting. Red is good as it does not impact your night vision like blue does but it is jarring. Now the bad and it is really bad. Major oil consumption issues from new ending up with a quart every 900 miles or so after 5,000 miles. Subaru did put a new short block in it but the new engine already has been removed to replace a bad rear main oil seal which was leaking all over my garage floor. Once that was done it still leaks oil and now the engine pings badly. The dealer has been unable to find and correct the oil leak. Update - The dealer in Fresno destroyed my second engine by putting way too much gasket sealant on gaskets which blocked oil flow and DESTROYED the engine. Subaru of America finally had another dealer install a new engine which has been good so far (about 10k on this engine). After THREE engines in 9 months we seem to finally have an engine that runs properly and does not use too much oil. The latest engine does use a quart or so between changes but I guess I will have to live with it. Be forewarned about the oil consumption issue and be wary of certain Subaru dealers in Fresno, Ca! Update - Complete AC system failure! The compressor, hoses, evaporator and all the O-rings in the system were leaking. Fortunately the extended warranty paid for it all but it meant two trips to the dealer to find all the problems. One other small thing - the cargo light in the rear is a joke. So dim it is useless and it is low down where cargo blocks it anyway. Update - Can't wait to unload this car. Nothing new has gone wrong since the AC system crapped out. Update - Throw out bearing went out, probably due to the engine being changed several times. The clutch had little wear but the throw out bearing has been noisy for a long time. The fuel economy is now up to 28.5 mpg average but the engine pings like crazy and needs mid grade or premium now. One thing I can recommend is the Subaru backed zero dollar deductible extended warranty. We have used it a lot and the coverage is terrific. Out of pocket repair expenses have been very low. Too bad it runs out at 100,000 miles. Update. 110,000 miles. No further problems but it uses 2 quarts of expensive synthetic in between oil changes. In mountain driving it eats tires in 25,000 miles like our 2003 Forester did. This is probably due to the AWD.
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Perfect combination between performance and price
Martin Nunez, 01/06/2016
updated 07/09/2018
2015 Subaru Forester 2.0XT Touring 4dr SUV AWD (2.0L 4cyl Turbo CVT)
22 of 26 people found this review helpful
I have been leasing 8 cars in the last 11 years. I like sportiness and performance. Since my doctor and my business pushed me to have an SUV, I could not find any great balance among performance, price and utility until I found the 2015 Subaru XT touring. I do not like turbo lag. I had a 2013 BMW X1, an 2015 Acura RDX and a 2012 Sorento EX V6. All three are very good vehicles but in terms of design and utility. But, on performance they have their cons. BMWs suffer from turbo lag, engine thinks 2 seconds before the turbo kicks in, cargo space is minimal. The RDX engine is great but the transmission is hesitant when you need to pass a car. Sorento V6 is good but power decreases on high RPMS and is consumes more gas among all (17mpg) . I was hesitant on the CVT when I tried the XT. Previoulsly I had an 2008 Impreza WRX and a 2011 Legacy GT Turbo that were great on power but both had manual trasnmissions. Acceleration on XT is excellent specially on S1 and Sport Sharp mode. There is no turbo lag. I've got 6.4 seconds from 0 to 60. Same as the X1!! 0-60 Times were 7.3 for the RDX and 7.1 for the Sorento. Forester XT acceleration is linear and no hesitation at all. I am very happy, visibility is excellent, have double cargo space than the X1 and same as the RDX. Premium sound is great ( Harman and Kardon 400 watts), Power tailgate and navigation are efficient. Nothing is perfect: Seats are hard and not supportive enough. Bluetooth sync with phone is delayed sometimes. Backup camera screen is too small and no blind spot system. In summary if you need great performance on an SUV and good space you do not need to spend 40k or more on a small BMW such as X1 o X3, Audi Q5, RDX or Sorento V6 (smaller, pricier and less powerful). I wish in the future we can have more colors available such as ferrari red or neon blue for the XT.
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2015 Subaru Forester for sale near you
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- 2.5i PZEV 4dr SUVMSRP: $14,99884 mi away
- 2.5i Premium PZEV 4dr SUVMSRP: $17,29962 mi away
- 2.5i Limited PZEV 4dr SUVMSRP: $14,79962 mi away
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Never again!
D Stallings, 06/14/2018
updated 12/16/2019
2015 Subaru Forester 2.5i Premium PZEV 4dr SUV AWD (2.5L 4cyl CVT)
18 of 21 people found this review helpful
AC will only work effectively while car is in motion. The fan is very noisy when on 3 or 4. Bluetooth is total garbage. It has been intermittent from the start and now it won't even go into pair mode. The dealership techs have no clue how to fix it. USB port and auxiliary jack are in very difficult locations to see. CVT transmission is very similar to a go cart belt drive train. It also takes several seconds to engage when shifting from reverse to drive. When you back out onto a street you better make sure there isn't another car in sight. The engine is underpowered and it over revs when accelerating. Rear cargo light is useless. It's too low and too dim. Front console arm rest is too short and too far back. Interior materials feel and look cheap. Video screen is too small making it marginally usefull for backing. A light wind blows the car around more than my full size cargo van which is like a sail in the wind. Stock battery is very light duty. It will go dead very easily. Dashboard has several annoying rattles. The list goes on. I bought this car new based on Subaru's reputation and many reviews. It has been my worst new car purchase by far. I dislike the car more every day and will never buy another Subaru. They may have been good cars at some point but now they are riding on their past reputation. I can not, in good conscience, recommend Subaru Foresters to anyone. It has been a huge disappointment. UPDATE: I finally got to the point where every time I got in the car to drive somewhere, I got irritated. So I traded it in on a 2019 Chevy Silverado and couldn't be happier. Life's too short to drive junk.
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Get The Turbo
mdjames, 02/24/2015
updated 02/26/2018
2015 Subaru Forester 2.0XT Touring 4dr SUV AWD (2.0L 4cyl Turbo CVT)
14 of 16 people found this review helpful
Just purchased the 2015 Forester XT Turbo. Great speed as this Forester likes to run! I bought the XT Touring loaded. Mfg. Sugg price was $36,640 and payed $33,000 with .9% financing with money down. Love the Forester! Very well built with the reliability it's a real value, and sharp looking. The only complaints I have are the original tires (which I traded in for Michelin Premier's that were a bit wider which helped the steering response and improved the ride and noise level. The Forester has a stiffer ride so you'll feel the road, but that's fine with me as I love everything else about the vehicle. Subaru really came through with this one. It's my 1st and I can see why they sell!!
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Practical suv
Pete, 09/14/2016
2015 Subaru Forester 2.5i Premium PZEV 4dr SUV AWD (2.5L 4cyl CVT)
10 of 11 people found this review helpful
2+ years and about 42k miles later, and no real problems. Great on gas for SUV, best visibility I've ever had in an automobile, and phenomenal AWD. Can't tell from outside but it has a ton of cargo space. I've used every inch of it multiple times. Fit my daughters dresser in it! Plain entertainment and comfort but I don't care for the bells and whistles. I want practical, safe, and fuel efficient. This car has it. Only ding on it would be that it burns oil. Fuel changes are every 6k with full synthetic, but I usually need to add about a quart around 4k.
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