2004 Forester Advice...

We have a 2001 Forester and our friends have a 2002 CRV. The CRV has more interior room and a convenient pass thru from the front to the rear seat. Other than that, I think the Forester is a much better vehicle. It handles better, has a better AWD system (in the manual transmission model, anyhow) and has much better visibility. It also has a liftgate on the rear that shields you from rain instead of the awful door on the back of the CRV.

thks for u2's tips..

after the test drive yesterday/today.. my conclusion for the 2004 Forester XS:

Good

- overall handling,, particularly when turning on a winding road/hiways.. stable and felt solid when turning

- reasonable height/size...and good cargo space for my work boxes and summer camping gears/bike and Fall hiking stuffs..

- nice look/style (silver+grey trim.. quite nice.. and light grey interior) for sure this is a stn wagon that the driver can wear suit/tie or hiking outfit when driving it....

Concerns or questions?

- i think the cross bars are making "squeaky noise" on hi ways.. is this common ?

- the shift gears are a little looser than my civic.. (maybe i just need to get used to it..)

- the accelerator is also quite sensitive.. particularly felt that on 1st gear..

- the back seats are tight.. it's actually a 4passenger wagon (not 5 as advertised).. leg room at the back seats is also tight..; but ok for driver seat

- my biggest concern though... is actually this what i called "hesitation" feeling.. it's kind of hard to say..what it is.. i felt that when i was in

2nd/3rd or 4th gear... I felt it was "almost" like a slight "jerk" . even though i did not release the gas pedal while cruising on a regular road on my 3rd gear (probably around 40-60km/hr speed)... it also felt like the car was not 'warmed up ' enough... it's doing this 'coughing'.. kind of thing.. it's not really that dramatic but obvious enough that i noticed that.. the sales guy told me it's becos of the 4WD... and the sensitivity of the accelerator.. anyone could help explain this ?

The more that I read and reseach, the more that I feel Forester is better than CR-V... and their price is fairly compatible...

any comments?

I took mine off until I really need them. Anyhow, to seriously carry anything you would have to replace them with the optional flat bars or some specialized carrier. The 03 and 04 Foresters no longer have cargo rub strips on the roof to carry suitcases or boxes.

My wife has an 03 Forester XS+ manual shift with under 2000 miles on it. Yesterday we made a 500-mile round highway trip cruising at 80 mph. Steering, handling and ride were fine, while the engine felt like a real winner... so effortless we often were startled to see the speedometer reach

95 MPH with a heavy foot. Even my wife felt perfectly comfortable driving through the dark at 80 MPH. We've never noticed any hesitation, jerking, or coughing such as you mentioned.

My wife had traded up from a '98 Honda Civic seday, but now enjoys the added power, higher driving position, great visibility, and responsive handling. I enjoy thinking she's now in a much safer, solid car. We're looking forward to Winter :^)

Get the XT.

I have a 2003 Forester XS premium (with the power moonroof) and it also makes a squeaking noise when driving, (especially when moonroof is open) I thought it might be the moonroof or the sunshade, but since you are having the same concern on an XS, perhaps it is the crossbars! I may try removing them to see if the squeaking goes away.

There is a dimension that the crossbars are supposed to by placed at. My

2000 Forester are shaped like an airplane wing and the thick edge is suppose to face forward. In addition; the front bar is to be placed after the "B" pillar and the rear bar should be placed after the "C" pillar. Don't know about different shaped crossbars but, I suspect there are recommendations for others. Also make sure they are tightened securely as the crossbars are put on at the dealer and probability not assigned to their top mechanic. eddie

Tsss. There is no Civic equivalent for that :-)

My 2000 Forester pulls a 1600 lb 18 foot center consul boat w 90hp Johnson + stuff easy on flat roads. I have not tried on hi or long hills. A higher center armrest was avail option on my 2000 and maybe on a 2004. Over priced but appreciated on longer trips. I have 56,000 trouble free miles and runs as new. eddie

First one was a 1999 Forester and now a 2002 Forester S. I can see myself driving a 2006 model. Never a problem, best vehicle I've had in 30 years of driving hadns down.

I thought those hadns were protected by law these past 30 years? I hope you made some attempt to avoid them.

Steve

I've had my '04 Forester XT for about five hours as I write this, and I've driven it about 16 miles, so I can't speak based on long experience. But, first impressions, this is a fabulous car! Though I'm not pushing it yet (for proper break-in), it clearly has plenty of power on tap. Very stable on the road. I'm pleasantly surprised at the quietness, especially at freeway speeds. Yes, there's no power seats, and no HomeLink (handy garage door opener button built into the car). But the car's other virtues more than compensate. Excellent build quality--everything lines up, small/thin cut lines (between fender and door, for example), everything is tight and rattle-free, everything works just as it should. I'm still figuring out what does what and where controls are. So far, everything makes sense.

I was going to get a standard XT, but found that for not much more I could move up to the premium model (leather, huge sunroof). Got a good deal on a hot model not much discounted.

My first Japanese marque other than Toyota and a long line of Hondas, and I'm very, very happy!

HW

My XT recently went over 1200 mi. I traded in my 2003 Camry for it, because I needed a car that was suited for car topping sea kayaks. Last year, when I test drove the 2003 Forester, I found it severely under-powered; my 1989 Camry could whoop it. Test drove the Toyota RAV4, and could NOT test drive the CRV because the dealer couldn't keep in them in stock. So with all of this in mind, here's what I found:

+: Best handling of any car that either owned or test drove. +: Despite the listed 30 extra HP, the Nissan Altima can over-power the Forester . . . just try to park it! However, it is more than sufficient for my needs. It's acceleration is most noticible on the highway. +: Luxury-packed --> Heated seats, 6-CD changer, nice stereo, Weather band, heated outside mirrors, heated wipers, etc., etc. +: Smarter gated automatic transmission. EVERY aspect is automatic, with no manual controls; my Camrys had some manual aspects. +: Nice flat, long roof, that is lower to the ground that other SUVs. Easy to get stuff on and off.

OK, we're slightly beyond 50 miles now, at not even 24 hours. More impressions:

1. Still, overall, a wonderful car. My face is frozen in a grin.
2. I agreewith nielskistrup's observations in his post below, mostly. An Altima can "whup" it? Sure. With 260 HP, and about the same weight, no surprise there.
3. Acceleration best on the highway, yes, though off the line it's not too shabby.
4. There's a bit of hesitation on the 2nd to 3rd shift (I have the automatic).
5. Gas tank too small, yes, even though I haven't had to fill it. I've been spoiled by our '01 Volvo S60, which holds nearly 22 gallons. (I don't think the '04s do.)
6. Premium gas isn't all that much more expensive, if you do the math. I figure about the cost of one stop at Starbucks per week.
7. We have small grooves in the freeway concrete in some places here in So. Calif. (to help prevent hydroplaning when wet), and the tires seem to want to go with them, making it ever so slightly squirrely. But it's a very minor effect and complaint.
8. Brake pedal feel is a bit indefinite, takes too much push before you start to feel the car slow. However, I'm getting used to it.
9. What's with the really, really cheap-feeling keys and key fob??!!! I've never seenn keys that seem so obviously stamped from thin sheet metal. I haven't had a car in 20 years that didn't provide two equivalent keys with the rubber end grips. Subaru gives only one of these "master" keys.
10. I'm going to miss audio system volume control, and cruise control switches, on the steering wheel. Also, no loss to me, but the sun visor mirrors have no lights!?! Oh, well, I've never seen any of those that put out more than about 2 candlepower anyway.
11. I've ordered the air filtration system (it's on my "due bill" for later installation), and I noticed in the manual, if I read correctly, that this requires removal of nine (9!) screws in the glove compartment to access the filter holder!?! Dealer must charge quite a bit of labor for that operation, that's suggested every 7,500 miles or it could affect heat/air conditioning operation! Have to study that more. Seems odd.

Sounds like you are referring to the V6; I referring to the 4-cylinder 180 HP model. It was very light AND fast. The extra weight & AWD of the Forester, reduces not only gas mileage, but power as well. To be fair, the Forester should be compared to other mini-SUVs, such as the RAV4, CRV, and Vue.

Depends on where you live. In central NJ, the difference is about 30 cents/gal (compared to regular), which is amounts to under $4 per fill-up. (There is no 91 octane; the next highest is 93 octane.) Yeah, more sour grapes over having to trade in a Camry, but it's still an annoyance.

I agree, but more annoying is if I do not have the fob, the key will not lock all locks at once. (Or did I miss something?)

Don't get me wrong. The XT is a great SUV; perfect for my needs. But after having 4-door sedans for the past 17 yrs, it is not the most comfortable touring car.

conditioning

Will.

I was a long time La Sabre loyalist and just (three months ago) bought a 04 Forrester XT following a great deal of research and test driving. To say I am impressed with this lttle bullet is an understatement. I am a big overweight man and I am not exaggerating to say that this little dynamo is far more comfortable than the La Sabres I have owned. I am most impressed with the finishing, inside and out, the smooth ride the quietness etc., etc., etc. It goes like a bat out of hell and has more power that I will ever need. Consumer Reports rated it highest in the small SUV category.

Richard

Ontario, Canada