Used 2023 Subaru Forester Consumer Reviews
Used Forester for sale
Almost a 5 star
Kathie, 04/24/2023
2023 Subaru Forester Touring 4dr SUV AWD (2.5L 4cyl CVT)
39 of 57 people found this review helpful
I bought a 2023 Subaru Forester Touring. It is great in all ways that truely count. Very comfortable for even shorter people! Hauls 8ft lumber easily inside. My issues revolve around the interior. There is no place for a garage door opener. It will not clip to the visor. It slides out of the storage area in front of the gear shift. Also, in order to use AppleCarPlay, it has to be plugged into a cord. Then where do you put your phone? There is literally no where to put the phone and have it plugged in. The front storage area is not big enough for the phone with the cord attached. I had to buy a phone holder, which blocks the screen enough that it's bothersome. It's a pain. There is very little storage in the console. Who designed this?! I have buyer remorse on this brand new Forester.
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Major Upgrade For Me
El, 02/13/2025
2023 Subaru Forester Wilderness 4dr SUV AWD (2.5L 4cyl CVT)
3 of 3 people found this review helpful
I may be biased as I am coming from a 1999(!!!!!!) Honda CRV, but this car is treating me very well. After driving a 20+ year old car with absolutely no pep in a hilly and mountainous area that was riddled with constant maintenance and issues, I find myself incredibly impressed with this car. The tech I am honestly still not completely done figuring out, but I appreciate the sound system and carplay while also having a cd player still as I have accumulated hundreds of cds as my previous car had the original radio. I do wish the carplay plug in was in a different spot, but I just got a shorter cord and now it’s not that inconvenient to me. I understand why people talk about the acceleration, but this is an SUV and not a race car. Having come from a car that takes about 15-20 seconds to reach 60 mph while already going 30 mph!!!!, I can’t complain about the Subaru at all when it comes to getting up to speed. The suspension is wonderful and the noise isn’t bad when on the highway or dealing with windy days, I sometimes forget that roads can be bumpy or highways can be so loud until I’m in someone else’s car. The interior is very comfortable and I enjoy the water resistant leatherette as I live in a very wet place during the winter months. I’ve never had a moonroof before and I haven’t opened this one yet, so I can’t speak on it entirely, but I enjoy having it open and having the sun hit me. The extra clearance is also very appreciated as I encounter multiple snowy weeks where no one plows, so I have to muster up courage to drive and hope I don’t get stuck. On that note, the AWD is also great and I love the different modes. I have only slipped once during an unexpected snow storm before I switched from all season to snow tires, but I’ve been completely fine since. The gas mileage is a lot better for me as well as I previously only got about 180-200 miles a fill up while having a 16 gal tank and now with the Subaru’s 14 gal tank, I get 280-340 depending on the conditions. My city has a lot of lights as well as train traffic so I average about 21 in the city with all the stopping, but I can drive up a mountain with a 12% incline going 80mph for 180 miles and still have about half a tank left, so the highway mileage is better than expected. I fill up about twice a month which is great. I feel that I’ve said too much, but I also want to touch on the safety features. I have never had a car with AHV or Eyesight, so I find myself basking in it, especially when I am caught at train tracks. The lane departure and steering control can be a little annoying as it beeps whenever it senses that the lines aren’t there or I cross an intersection, but they’re great on the highway in conjunction with the adaptive cruise control. I also appreciate the blind spot monitors! It’s really the smaller simpler features of this car that impress me since I came from a car that only has a truck gear shift, broken cruise control button, and radio with climate control knobs in the interior haha. The only thing I’ve found in regards to features is that my Subaru has a weird quirk where it will randomly turn off RAB when it’s cold, but reading over the manual, it seems as though high altitudes and severe cold really mess with the safety features as well as auto start/stop and I live in both so probably just a side effect of that. Beyond that quirk though, I have no issues. Almost at 50k and no major repairs. You do need to stay on top of it though and follow the manual. This is not a car that you can neglect like a Toyota. It needs its oil changes and fluid drains with scheduled inspections of specific parts at specific milestones by a mechanic if you want it to last as well as consistent washes to prevent rusting, especially if you drive in severe conditions and have to do changes every 3k miles instead of 6k. Overall, this is a great car for me and I feel extremely safe in it. I would recommend it to people who want a reliable car with new tech while not feeling overwhelmed by the tech or dealing with something that’s too fancy technical. I enjoy the fact that I still have knobs and buttons as well as an analog speedometer as I see cars where it’s all digital down to the climate controls so you have to use the touchscreen for everything. That’s personally just too much for me.
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- Technology
- Performance
- Interior
- Comfort
- Reliability
- Value
2023 Subaru Forester for sale near you
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- Touring 4dr SUVMSRP: $31,19447 mi away
- Premium 4dr SUVMSRP: $22,99513 mi away
- Premium 4dr SUVMSRP: $20,684In-stock online
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Sportier than The Sport
MD, 04/02/2023
2023 Subaru Forester Wilderness 4dr SUV AWD (2.5L 4cyl CVT)
10 of 14 people found this review helpful
I had Sport; Wilderness is even nicer! Hardly any more $
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painful front passenger seatbelt receptacle
Sylvia, 08/22/2023
2023 Subaru Forester Limited 4dr SUV AWD (2.5L 4cyl CVT)
39 of 61 people found this review helpful
The car is wonderful until you are a passenger in the front seat, that is not a power seat, and the seatbelt base/receptacle is too high/fixed and digs into your left thigh unless you press yourself against the door to avoid it. And this is even if you are not large or overweight. Very disappointing as my spouse and I were hoping to take long trips in this car now that we are semi-retired. We never noticed until we got possession of the car as the salesman was always in the front passenger seat when we were driving/trying out the car. Has anyone else experienced discomfort with the front passenger seat digging seatbelt receptacle?
Classy 2023 Blue Subaru Forester Touring
Forester23, 04/21/2023
2023 Subaru Forester Touring 4dr SUV AWD (2.5L 4cyl CVT)
6 of 8 people found this review helpful
I have only had this vehicle for less than two weeks but I am very happy with my purchase. The car has so many safety features! Love driving it and this is my second purchase of a Subaru Forester from Premier Subaru in Branford!