Used 2017 Subaru Forester 2.0XT Touring 4dr SUV AWD (2.0L 4cyl Turbo CVT) Consumer Reviews
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3rd Forester Crowned the Ruler
Peter Benjamin, Brewster, MA, 03/26/2017
updated 04/01/2019
Subaru Forester 2.0XT Touring 4dr SUV AWD (2.0L 4cyl Turbo CVT)
13 of 16 people found this review helpful
My Subaru history is a bit unique. My wife has owned 5 Subarus: 3 outbacks and 2 Crosstreks going back to the 90s. I now have owned 3, all Foresters. Unique? 2015 Limited. 2016 Limited. 2017 Touring XT - the King. Prior, I drove: 94 Nissan Pathfinder, 2003 Nissan Xterra, 2005 Xterra and an 08 Nissan Rogue for 180k miles. I had a bad bait and switch experience with a Nissan dealer when it was time to trade the Rogue. To the Subaru dealer I went, tested and purchased in the most easy, straight forward transaction I ever had. Loved the 15, got a call from the dealer asking if I would trade for a 16? Amazing resale trade value was an offer too good to pass. Had the 16 for 18 months and 18k miles. I had a performance itch. I went online with a query and had multiple dealers quickly respond. I kbb'd my Limited's book value and went deal'n. I soon found out how rare availability was for xt touring models. More so for color/option choice. Order waiting from Japan was 3/4 months. One dealer had a prior ordered Pearl White w Saddle Brown Leather interior ready to arrive within days. I was there to see it backed off truck w 3 miles on the Odometer. A 4 mile test drive sold me. Easy deal with my Limited's great retained trade value. 3 days later I'm still giddy with the Performance UPGRADE! Add the lux and safety and sound system (Harmon Kardon 440watt), Wheels and Exhaust upgrades over Stacked Limiteds... just Slammed. This ride destroys an Audi Q5 that costs over 50k in 0-60 and qm times and crushes it off road. I love a deal. I love and require reliable. I love real world functionality. Add this level of Luxury and Performance? Feeling Fine! Now at nearly 4k miles and 7 months of ownership, i can say I still love my choice and like new ride. Zero problems. I added stainless gas and brake pedals to up the sport and Love factor. The ride is Fast and I always drive with the #S button pushed to max the Sti turbo factor. Amazing “sleeper” factor reveals itself often at stop lights, on-ramps and xways! Macho $$$ status machines see my rear lights often and humble pie is Served. I once had a hopped up Mustang. With this XT, i get to enjoy the same thrills in a much more reliable and functional and modern Chariot! For the price... there is no competition. The Real competition is much, much more expensive. Update at 1 year ownership. Still like new. Quality workmanship and materials in my Touring XT have proven themselves and wear and tear hasn’t presented itself. Eyesight system was recalibrated at first oil change at 5,000 miles under warranty after I noticed rear automatic braking wasn’t quite working as it should. Works great now and gives comfort and confidence should surprising incidents occur. Engine and Performance still thrill and I just love goosing the accelerator whenever I can. This is just an enjoyable ride to drive....Anywhere! I live in a remote location only accessible by a hilly, pothole filled, mile long, one lane dirt road that any car or vehicle without 4wd would be wise to avoid. No problems with the Foz in the mud or in the ample snow faced this year. Recently, upgraded exhaust system. Replaced perfectly fine and still like new stock exhaust with an ‘Invidia’ 3” custom cat back stainless steel exhaust for greater performance and sweet sounds. My pearl white ultimate performance Forester XT Touring continues to Rock. My Sweet Ride continues to get approving looks and grudging approval from owners of much more expensive and less able vehicles. Update at 18 months of ownership and 10k miles. Zero mechanical issues. Turn key every time. Materials and workmanship holding up extremely well considering the rough environment -isolated, single lane, sandy, rocky, hills, inclines, muddy deep puddles when rains come, deep snow drifts during winter, mile long dirt road - on which we live and must travel everyday to go anywhere.... Performance remains exceptional. I always use and engage the Sport Sharp setting for maximum acceleration and engine performance and love giving the the Goose whenever the right opportunity presents itself. The perfect Sleeper indeed. My modified Invidia 3” performance exhaust makes this engine sing and growl and the musical sounds of hard acceleration and off the gas down shifts are a hoot! When I give my XT some love with a good wash, vacuum and interior wipe down... she still looks and acts brand new. She hauls our groceries, bikes, 2 dogs, tows my boat, and is still a high performance race car, luxury 5 person People mover... The saddle brown leather interior is still like new and very comfortable. I am very glad I got waterproof aftermarket mats and the Subaru rear hatch floor protector to save the carpets from all the sand, mud, leaves and snow melts. 2 years. Big letdown. Quality issues. Horrible dealer service support. 2 dealer service departments totally treated me like dirt for nearly a month. I traded my like new Subaru for a new Toyota 4Runner. Done.
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Quality Has Gone Downhill
Brad S., Cortland, NY, 05/25/2017
updated 06/01/2022
Subaru Forester 2.0XT Touring 4dr SUV AWD (2.0L 4cyl Turbo CVT)
23 of 34 people found this review helpful
My 2017 Forester XT Touring model has been one disappointment after another. The CVT transmission is just horrible, and completely detracts from owning the turbo model. When I try to accelerate quickly there is a 2 second delay before the car takes off. The manual shift mode doesn't help at all. The RPMs jump up to about 4000 and just stay there (whether I'm in the manual shift mode or not) until I ease up on the accelerator. The Harman Kardon sound system is terrible, too. The bass response is overbearing. I have to turn the bass all the way down, and it's still way too overbearing. The Harman Kardon system doesn't have speed controlled volume leveling, or several other features that are found on Subaru's basic sound system. The paint job on my Forester is terrible. The paint is so thin that it is chipped very easily. While washing the car, I have found several tiny little chips in the hood, the roof, and the doors. It seems that every time I wash the car I find new chips in the paint. I took it to the dealer to report the problem with the paint and the dealer told me to report the problem to Subaru of America (SOA). I reported the problem to SOA and they told me to take the vehicle to a dealer. The dealer says there's nothing they can do about the paint, so SOA says there's nothing they can do either. The climate control system doesn't work very well. When I'm heating up the interior, in the winter, and the desired temperature is reached, the AC comes on. The remote start is pretty worthless because the car shuts off when I open the door, so I have to re-start the vehicle (brilliant engineering). I have music stored on a USB drive, but every time I switch to the USB to listen to music it takes several minutes for the music to load. There are many other disappointments with this vehicle. Let me just say that I had a 2005 Forester XT Limited that blew this away, not only in the overall quality, but performance-wise, too. Subaru has gone way downhill. I'll never own another one after this.
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Perfect "sports" SUV
Teresa Parker, Austin, TX, 01/09/2017
Subaru Forester 2.0XT Touring 4dr SUV AWD (2.0L 4cyl Turbo CVT)
3 of 3 people found this review helpful
I have missed driving a sports car but love the ability to sit up a bit higher in a SUV. The Subaru Forester combines both for me. It handles like a sports car but has the advantages of an SUV. LOVE IT!
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Great all-rounder SUV
Warne, Ellicott City, MD, 07/20/2018
Subaru Forester 2.0XT Touring 4dr SUV AWD (2.0L 4cyl Turbo CVT)
3 of 3 people found this review helpful
I am not going to comment on information buyers should be aware of before buying 2017/2018 Subaru Forester XT Touring like (i) Price (ii) Needs Premium gas (iii) returns a low mpg. My wife is the primary user of this SUV; her height is below average and she loves the fact that this SUV offers great visibility and leg reach to brake and gas. You wouldn't hesitate to get this vehicle a little dirty, compared to the more high end vehicles. We have driven it in snow, beach, heavy rain and it performs without any issues. The Eyesight system does not work during very bad weather (rain and snow), and the dashboard lets you know when it is ON or OFF. We have also attached roof rack and a bicycle carrier to the hitch and gone on vacation with the car fully loaded. The SUV did not disappoint; the turbo and the bigger horse power really makes a difference. I love the adaptive cruise control when driving on highway. All you have to do is set the speed and the distance you want to maintain with the vehicle in front, after that you can lift your foot off the pedal and just steer. The cruise control will even bring the car to a complete stop, it brakes very smoothly. I would not recommend using the adaptive cruise control on curvy/winding roads as the system fails to correctly sense the vehicle in front of you if the front vehicle is going through the curve. This SUV (specific model) comes with Emergency Braking (prevents hitting the vehicle in front) and Rear Assistance Braking (RAB) which helps when you are pulling out of a parking lot or reversing. The Emergency Braking system works but could be made better if the vehicle would start braking from a further distance making the stop much smoother. When I tested it, my wife freaked out because the car applied the brakes only when it approached very close to the car in front. The RAB works well; once you put the gear in reverse it will warn you if there are other vehicles approaching in the back and if you go ahead and hit gas while there are cars in the back it will automatically apply the brakes. I also don't think the Emergency Braking works well for pedestrians...I have not dared to try that out for obvious reasons. In terms of comfort, it meets our family needs but if you are a tall family then you might want to look for another vehicle as the driver seat is not long enough to give a comfortable thigh support. Strangely this version of Forester does not have sunglass holder, which is ridiculous. Also, the doors do not lock down automatically when you start driving or open automatically (driver side) when you open the door handle. I do not like the position of cup holders for driver and front passenger, feels like it should be moved couple of inches forward. The GPS is so so, I always use my phone anyways. The headlights move with the steering wheel, a feature I really like. We also got the dealer installed remote starter - which I think is a scam, as the starter itself is not integrated to the main fob; so we ended basically having a car key fob and a separate 'thing' for the starter. That increases the 'bulk' we have to carry - a fob and a starter. I paid the extra money thinking that it would all be integrated with the main car key fob - had I known I would have done it outside the dealership at 1/3rd the price. I would like to know if a factory installed is available, and the starter integrated in the key fob. To sum up we absolutely love this Forester. It could be better with some attention to details.
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I love this car, BUT:
Competent driver, Marshalltown, IA, 03/25/2019
Subaru Forester 2.0XT Touring 4dr SUV AWD (2.0L 4cyl Turbo CVT)
3 of 3 people found this review helpful
This is for a '17 XT Forester Touring, which may be different than the standard models. It is depressing to find out what a cheap battery was put in this car. 390 CCA is not sufficient even for Central West Wisconsin. I purchased a new battery already at 33000 miles, bought the car Sept of '16. It makes me wonder if they hired young specialists to figure out how to cheapen other components. I had an '02 6 cylinder Outback which was near flawless in it's reliability, and that's why I purchased this one when I wanted an all wheel drive. Admittedly the battery and related problems from a weak battery is the only flaw so far, but now I am suspicious of the rest of the automobile. The weak battery caused the check engine light to come on, and other lights, flashing cruise control, stuck in sport mode, etc, which I figure can be solved hooking the car to a computer and pressing a few buttons. The steering is kind of twitchy at zero, even though I am used to it now, and even though it handles well, it is kind of weird when you push the car into it's handling limits, which probably won't effect most people. The seats are comfortable, but the seat bottoms are too short, shorter than most. I wish they wouldn't make the controls so complicated, even though it's simpler than a lot of them. I like dials and switches that I don't have to understand or think about while driving. The 4 wheel drive is great, and has gotten me out of trouble with the "xmode" lock up the 4wheel drive mode. I live on a back country road that is primitive. I want more gauges , especially one for the voltage reading. I love the power of the engine, in the two sport modes, it is great for passing those people that want to speed up when you pass them on our two lane roads. I wish this got better gas mileage as I feel guilty in running an all wheel drive with all this climate change weather we have been having, but I really require this competent auto to deal with the freezing rain and all the snow we have been having, and I like all the power this XT has. All in all, I would buy another one, but because of the weak battery and my suspicions because of it; might look a little closer at other manufacturers.
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