Used 2016 Subaru Forester Consumer Reviews

2nd forester better than first!

Good auto

seems to be a great car for the price - only had it 3 weeks

Wanted one for 20 years

Seats could hug better.

From a Newbie Owner

This rating is based upon two weeks with this vehicle. I can't really respond to some of the questions, i.e. value, reliability or traction.

Why buy this subaru forester?

Happy with forester

I'm For my Forester

Disappointed with Forester

Stiff and awkward. poor visibility out back sides. small cargo area.

So far so good

It's very difficult to find another Subaru car/suv on the road or parking lots. Since we bought the Forester in mid-March, we have counted less than 10 Subaru in the last 3 weeks (not counting the cars in the dealer lots).

Overrated Overall

The bluetooth only works maybe 20% of the time and the dealer admits it is not good

2016 Forester is my third.

Owned a 2004 traded for a 2012 which the dealership mechanic forgot to tighten the cam chain idler and blew up the engine when starting, so gave it back to them and got this 2016. Had to get used to the CVT but once I did, it is so great not to feel a transmission shift up and down. Hopefully it will not be a headache later down the road. MPG is improved. I have gotten over 32 MPG on the highway. Only beef is I am tall so I wish the seat went back a little more and the tilt/telescopic steering tilted and telescoped a little more. Overall though this is the only small SUV I considered that I fit in well enough to drive. The Hyundai Santa Fe is a slightly larger SUV outside but I couldn't even get behind the wheel of one. I like it.

Recomend

I am very pleased with the over performance no problem

Ok, so it rides like a truck... :)

Ok, so it rides like a truck... but it goes through alot of snow/slush etc., like a dream, confidence building but you have to remember it's all wheel drive all the time but doesn't stop on a dime on ice. overall, the color is just what I wanted (red pearl) and the interior is pretty functional and easy to operate all controls. Not a luxury vehicle, you have to get the limited or touring trim to get "fancy." I am enjoying it but it is taking a bit longer for me to get used to it after having "cars" all my life. do appreciate the ride height and the unbelievably large windows that allow for great view all around.

Reliable vehicle

I have owned my 2016 Subaru Forester, it’s been 7 years and the vehicle has been reliable, great gas mileage. It’s a practical vehicle however it’s capable especially here in the Northeast when harsh winter conditions occur the Subaru Forester is agile and has a competent all wheel drive system!

WOOOsh! a real sleeper

I love the acceleration. it'll blow the doors off of any 4 cylinder out there, and they won't see it coming. it's well built, if unexciting, too. Leather seating is nice. A little more body roll than I like-cornering is not it's forte. The turbo spools up quick enough, AND OFF IT GOES! My 2nd Forester. Cheap to operate and reliable as hell.

New to me

Love it salesman was great and it has more features on it than looked for when hunting.thank you.

Handles like a dream and drives very nice

In terms of design and look there is nothing to say about it it's pretty simple ugly looking vehicle but has Super smooth ride supper quiet and handles like a dream lots of space I like to change vehicles very often every about 6 months I owned CR-V 2010 2016 and 2017 and forester beats all of them hands down in terms of build quality and ride I owned Rav 4 2010 and 2019 again this forester beats both of them I owned 2018 CX5 we all know CX5 has the best handling in SUV class this Forrester in my opinion beats the CX5 in terms of handling interior quality I would say is same if not it's better Over the other three SUVs I mentioned above I would pick Forrester any day of the week because the build quality is superior it's top-notch ride quality is excellent gas mileage is really really good especially on highway Believe or not 1 full tank 60L I was able to get 880 km on highway and 700 km combine city and highway.

its fair

Lots of hoopla at the time for the safety features from Consumers, so I bought it. Had battery issues 3 times - I think its undersized for the vehicle. Class action suit seems to point in that direction, but I was refused payment. I also was not thrilled with the CVT sound, engine power and gas mileage. am not planning to return to Subaru for future vehicles.

Joe the Car Guy's Recommendation

Having restored and owning several antique and collector cars and being a retired engineer, I am the go-to car guy for family and friends. With that reputation to uphold, I have to be certain. I was a devoted GM and Jeep buyer for many years but when my wife needed a new car, I examined all the manufacturers offerings in the Forester SUV category and kept coming back to Subaru so we purchased a new 2015 Subaru Forester 2.5i for my wife. 8 months later, I was so impressed by the Forester's quality, engineering and function that I sold my beloved Jeep Cherokee and bought a new 2016 Forester Premium. With 55,000 miles on one and 32,000 on the other, we have not had a single problem with either one.

Worst purchase ever made

I drive almost all highway miles. About 25000 per year. In four years: replace all four wheel bearings, all four cv axles, both front lower control arms at less than 100000 miles, by 120k I had replaced the transmission ($7500) and ac compressor (1700). This will 100% be the only subaru I will ever own. For the purchase price should have gone with Toyota or Honda...

Love it

It the most favorite one amongst the 5 vehicles that we own. It is the easiest one to drive.

Good Family Vehicle with some Minor Annoyances

The Pros: - Very good gas mileage (30+ on the highway) - Visibility is incredible with the amount of glass present - Safe family car that won't break the bank - Comfortable seats and decent amount of cargo space The Cons: - Really bad at towing (not advised) - AWD chews through tires, we're on our 3rd set - The CVT does have failure points - Cloth Seats stain very easily We have a 2016 2.5i premium automatic that was purchased brand new in September 2015. 103,000 miles and counting. All service has been performed at recommended intervals. We do full synthetic oil change every ~7500 miles or so. Also, this vehicle DOES need a transmission fluid flush every so often, contrary to Subaru's guidance. Call your dealership to see what they recommend. Tire issues: we had a blowout on one of the factory tires at 25k. Because all tires must be within 2/32 tread of each other, we had to buy a whole new set (Continentals). That set only lasted till 70k and had to be replaced again due to low tread depth. Admittedly, I don't believe my wife was rotating and balancing that set, so perhaps they could have lasted a little longer with service. The current set of Goodyear Maxlifes are at 33k and counting with decent tread depth left. Point being: don't expect your tires to last much longer than 50k, I'm pretty sure the AWD chews 'em up faster than a non-AWD vehicle would. The other big issue we had was a failed Valve Body right at 100k miles. This is a $875 part from Subaru. The dash warning lights lit up like a Christmas tree, so we knew something was up. Very conveniently for Subaru, all warranties powertrain and otherwise end either right at or before 100k miles. So we were out a $1400 transmission repair + $160 for a diagnostic from a local shop that wanted to charge us $1900 (we went to dealership instead). We will likely keep and drive this car till ~150k, at which point we may switch to a Model Y or similar, depending on the self-driving technology available. It's been a very comfortable and reliable family vehicle that's light on the wallet (aside from the valve body repair). For ~$25k MSRP, I think this vehicle is hard to beat as long as you don't have towing needs and/or a need to haul a lot of cargo around. If you do, go with a truck instead. I give it 4 stars out of 5.

What a grrrreat CAR!!!!!

Excellent Vehicle

Very good car for the money.

Can you adapt to a Subaru

If you have long legs, the driver's seat will stay back a lot. An Adult might not be comfortable sitting behind you. There is a downward dip when you get into the car, so when you go to get out you have to remind yourself to lift up your leg or you'll trip when getting out. Sometimes the Bluetooth won't work like it should, the steering wheel will stick a little after making a hard turn and it has a limit to how high it will tilt up. I am still adapting to all the different controls. Only the drivers window will go all the way up at the touch of the button. You have to hold the button for the other 3 windows to make them go all the way up or down. The usb port and a second car adapter plug in site are hidden in the storage box located between the front seats. I had to downsize my cargo holder. Banks still love the resale value of a Subaru, so getting a loan was a little easier. Since I am still adapting to this Subaru, I honestly can't rate everything about it yet. I will say the Subaru service center is Great! Since I brought the Subaru from a Ford dealership, they did an inspection to look for any issues that would need to be addressed.

Love it

I was very happily surprised at the enduring quality of this vehicle.

6.2 Sound Sytem Disaster

The sound system interface is awful, and now has become dangerous. When an iPhone 6S is connected via USB, the sound system will not recognize the USB input without repeatedly (3-6 times) switching between other "sources" such as Pandora and the USB. Switching between sources such as Pandora, FM radio and podcasts triggers the problem again while driving. This leads to seriously distracted driving and is a defective and dangerous defect.

2016 Subaru Forester

It is a little early to rate this Forester but it is a huge upgrade from my 2004 model. I am hoping that the interior is more durable than my other one. The cloth/vinyl combo may split. I will see if they improved. I also looked at the Nissan Rogue and Toyota Rav4. If visibility matters, the Forester has it all over these other SUVs. However, I like the material of the seats in the Rogue more. The back up camera in the 2016 Forester is much better than the 15's. It has a larger area for hauling than the other models too without getting into a bigger sized SUV.

About what I expected

the 2016 Forester is about what I expected, nothing flashy feels solid but not exactly something that would make others turn their eye.

Great suv

Great milage .no start stop feature

John's 2019 Subaru

Great Car, Lots of power 250 HP

Love my Forester

Great car! Very reliable!

no buyers remorse

My "new toy"

Starting out about 50,000 on odometerwe started out on a trip to Wyoming including the Tetons and Yellowstone. We started out about 10 days ago. We're still about two days from home,but what a joys it's been. Some freezing rain in the northern Y-S mountains, NP. When we're done, it'll be about 3300 carefree miles.

From a New Car owner

good thing

Nice car