Used 2018 Subaru Forester SUV Consumer Reviews
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Great little SUV With antiquated electronics
Mark Baldwin, 06/19/2018
2018 Subaru Forester 2.5i Premium 4dr SUV AWD (2.5L 4cyl CVT)
29 of 32 people found this review helpful
I love the car and do not regret the purchase. The Good: Handles and drives as well as a car. Very intuitive controls. Surprisingly spacious back seats. Truly AMAZING visibility, really bucks the trend here! (I drove the Ford Explorer for almost 10K miles and hated it on all those points.) Eyesight is ok, the Adaptive Cruise Control system is a feature I love and will insist on in any future car. Makes driving in traffic so much less tedious. The bad: Climate system's auto mode refuses to blow on the feet. Switch it to also blow on the feet as well as the top and "auto" is disabled. WHY!?!?? The Adaptive Cruise Control system will slam on the brakes unexpectedly if someone makes a right turn in front of you and doesn't have a clearly painted separate lane for right turns. doesn't matter if there's lots of room or not. The UGLY: Radio is clearly an il-conceived leftover from the last century... No Android auto. Takes 30 minutes to re-index a thumb drive every time the car is turned on. Forcibly autoplays something from your phone when the car is turned on if you had bluetooth selected as your audio source last time the car was driven. The "smart" features are generally counter intuitive, provide no value and the "entertainment" system as a whole detracts from the whole ownership experience. Sadly its complicated dash integration makes upgrading very difficult and most likely unsatisfactory from a cosmetic standpoint.
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Traded in my 2009 Cadillac CTS for 2018 Forrester
Brad K., 10/04/2018
2018 Subaru Forester 2.5i Premium 4dr SUV AWD (2.5L 4cyl CVT)
9 of 9 people found this review helpful
I owned a 2009 Cadillac CTS. Nice looking car but it hurt my legs, back and neck. A nightmare to run errands in. My son had a 2009 Forrester which I borrowed to drive when I visited on vacation. I fell in love with his Forrester . It had great viability, lots of pickup and tons of room for me and my wife. I traded my Cadillac for a 2018 Forrester. That weekend I drove it out of sate and back for more than 500 miles. On the instant average I got up to 32.8 MPG. I thought the gas gauge was broken but it was not. It uses like 9 gallons of gas. I was shocked. I listened to songs on my iPhone on the radio. I set the climate control and was kept at the perfect temperature. The front seat was large and comfortable. My wife and I could stretch out and be conformable on the trip. I was able to open the front drivers door and jump right out. What a saving on my back. The first time my wife drive we were hit with a large rain down pour. The all wheel drive kept the car planted and gave us both piece of mind in such bad driving conditions. BTW, I purchased the Premium model. Some after thoughts. I think the car needs automatic door locks. I wish I had spent the extra money on the Isight system. Its truly remarkable. I am 60 years old and expect to get many years of service from this great vehicle.
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2018 Subaru Forester for sale near you
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- 2.5i 4dr SUVMSRP: $11,99516 mi away
- 2.5i Touring 4dr SUVMSRP: $23,42814 mi away
- 2.5i Limited 4dr SUVMSRP: $15,5002 mi away
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TRANSMISSION NEEDS WORK
GRANDPA, 04/06/2018
2018 Subaru Forester 2.5i 4dr SUV AWD (2.5L 4cyl CVT)
47 of 54 people found this review helpful
Just bot a 2018 Forester with cvt transmission. I no more than got it home and the car would cut out 1-2 seconds or more from a stop or slow movement. Apparently this can be a problem with some cvt transmissions. It is dangerous in close traffic or pulling out into oncoming traffic. Took it back to the dealer who told me it takes a while for the car to get used to my driving habits. I cant buy this. Once the car cuts out it starts back up with a sudden jerk forward. This is unacceptable and am considering envoking the lemon law. Also the spedometer is set back under a cover and is hard to read.
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fun to drive
Michael, 04/10/2018
2018 Subaru Forester 2.5i Premium 4dr SUV AWD (2.5L 4cyl CVT)
14 of 15 people found this review helpful
Needed an AWD on our hill for the winter, but also needed space for our camping, hiking & biking trips. Lost some space when we sold our minivan for this, but still has plenty of storage. Wish the console was a little bigger-it is deep. Also the console which serves as the elbow rest is short, so really unusuable as an elbow rest if the seat is forward. Very easy to fold down the seats & love the sun/moon roof. Great turning radius but haven't driven it off road yet. Plenty of pickup. Auto climate control is a little tricky to figure out. But overall, felt it is a much better buy & better visibility than a Santa Fe Hyundai, Ford escape, Honda, or chevy equinox. Nissan rogue & even the subaru outback.
Solid
Pashanan, 11/07/2018
2018 Subaru Forester 2.5i Touring 4dr SUV AWD (2.5L 4cyl CVT)
8 of 8 people found this review helpful
I bought the 2018 Touring Forester, 50th anniversary edition. I had owned a 2008 Forester sports model in the past and had kept it for 10 years. The older Forester kept me safe in a bad accident, and although I had her repaired at the auto body shop, I wanted some of the newer technology to help me on ever-more crowded roads. I sold the old Forester to a friend. Newer Forester chirps and blinks lights to alert me if car coming up in blind spot or if a car or human is advancing from behind as I pull out in reverse. I love those features. I use them much more than I thought I would. I have yet to use the navigation system. I am used to looking up my destination ahead of time at home and having printed directions. Also, when I learned that new "maps" have to be purchased every three years, I lost interest in trying. Maybe if I am desperately lost somewhere, I will try the GPS system before it expires. I also enjoy the Sirius radio. I listen to the news and have my pick from numerous music or comedy stations. I find the bluetooth system works fine. Driver's seat is comfortable. On the rare occasion when I am riding shotgun, however, I find seat buckle bothers me as I seem to slide left into it. On driver's side, this is never an issue. I was very hesitant at first to buy a car with a leather interior, but it has been very comfortable. I had a brief break-in period where I felt I was sliding too much, but this feeling soon went away. I keep a sunshield in the windshield of the car whenever I park it, and this keeps the interior nice and comfortable, even on very hot summer days. I have yet to try it in colder climes. Another reason why I purchased the 2018 model is because I knew the 2019 Foresters would no longer have the manual emergency brake. I did not want an electronic brake, and am very happy I made the move when I did. I am indifferent about the sunroof. I would be just as happy without it and don't know when I would use it. I have taken it through the car wash several times without any issues. My preference would be not to have it at all but that is not an option unless buying the base model. I have had very good experiences with Subaru and am a diehard fan. I put a seat protector on back seat area and a towel atop that to protect the area from my dogs. Beach and trail outings are a weekly deal. I could easily live without the automatic hatch/trunk door, but that too comes with the package. My motto is keep it simple and you will have less problems, but the safety technology I mentioned earlier is a definite plus and makes me feel much safer on the road. If you are looking for a safe, fun, and practical vehicle, check out the Forester. It is several inches shorter in length than the Outback, and it seems to sit higher. So, I prefer it to the Outback, although we do have an Outback, too. I had also considered buying the 2018 XT Forester turbo, but I find the regular engine suits my needs just fine and has no trouble at altitude or on the freeway. I am very happy with my new Forester.
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