That's my car. It's a 2022 Subaru Forester. It may be the most practical and boring car you can buy. But I love it. In fact, it's my second identical one in just four years (previous was a 2019). I have to special order them because I want all the premium driving and safety features but I have a dread/hatred/engineering bias against sun roofs, moon roofs or any other spurious hole cut into the middle of a car's roof. I've been told by BMW mechanics, Toyota mechanics and Independent mechanics that the one long term flaw of every car with an open-able rooftop is the inevitable potential for water leakage. In most cars they also cut down on available headroom by about an inch. They are just a bad idea all around. You don't need to be staring up at clouds while piloting your vehicle.
So far, in about 11,000 miles, two trips to Santa Fe, NM. and lots of hauling gear around this particular car has had zero defects. Nothing. No rattles or mysterious noises. No electronic failures. It even connects with my iPhone with zero issues. Go CarPlay.
The ground clearance is great. I can drive over parking lot blocks with impunity. I've never bottomed out.
The interior trim is utilitarian and I like it that way. If I wanted a big, padded Barca-Lounger for a seat I'd buy one for the house and be done with it. But in a car I think I want only two things from the driver's seat: the right driving position and good back support. The Forester has both.
Car "enthusiasts" (AKA people from a certain generation....) go on and on about the Forester being "underpowered." It's not a heavy car by any means and the engine that's in it generates something like 185 horsepower. There were no other optional engines when I bought it. I have never felt that the car doesn't accelerate quickly enough. It's perfectly quick. In fact, when I look back at a six cylinder BMW 5 series I owned for the second half of the 1990s I am reminded that it weighed about 1,000 pounds more than the Subaru and had about 10-12% more horsepower. It also sucked down premium gasoline and started falling to pieces the day after the warranty ran out... It wasn't really much faster on initial launches from stop lights than the Forester. But in today's dollars probably cost at least twice as much money to purchase.
One benefit of the flat, "pancake" engine is a lower center of gravity than a V-type engine or Inline engine. That effectively offsets any potential handling problems that might have arisen based on the ground clearance of the car.
On my giant, two-days-out, two-days-back trip to Santa Fe in April I consistently drove over the Texas and New Mexico highways at speeds averaging 75-80 mph and was able to get over 30 mpg. Considering the constant use of air conditioning during the expedition I consider that fuel economy very good. Not as good as my European friends might want but much, much better than those folks passing me at 110 mph in giant, dually pick-up trucks with confederate flags flying furiously from their antennae.
The real value to a working photographer of any vehicle is the ability to load it up with everything you might need for a job without killing the interior or blocking your field of view. With the back seats folded down I can bring it all. It's not as spacious as my old Honda Element was but my load out is smaller these days too. And, most important, a long roll of seamless background paper fits in nicely. You put one end in the passenger footwell and the other end has a comfortable ten inches or so of space to the rear window.
The two Subaru Foresters are the first cars I have owned that come with four wheel drive. It actually works well. I've driven through mud and sand and never lost control of the car, or gotten stuck. It's much better in that regard than the front wheel drive Honda CR-V I owned previous to these. The Element was also a front wheel drive version and I remember getting stuck on a muddy incline with an art director who was scouting locations with me. We had to be towed out of the ditch. It was embarrassing.
After having lived through some pretty nasty Summers since 2008 I will never own another car that is not white. And I will never own a car with very dark, or black, seats. When it's 115° from time to time you learn to always use a sunshade on the windshield while parked and I augment that by putting a white shop towel over the top of the black steering wheel. I'm not quite ready to get my fingerprints cauterized off by a sun-charged steering wheel....
I drove my previous (almost identical) Forester during the giant freeze that gripped Texas in 2021 and it did well on all the snow and some of the ice. Without snow tires or chains I'd say all bets are off on really nasty ice or in areas with steep inclines but that's what coffee at home is for...
I paid about $27,000 for the most recent Forester and I consider that a screaming bargain. I have two close friends who made different choices. One splashed out on a new Range Rover and a year later is still taking it back to the dealer regularly for annoying things like not being able to sync her phone. A total shutdown of the app screen in the center. A couple of times when the vehicle just would not start. She's pretty adamant that she'll be moving on from the Range Rover long before the warranty expires. Another friend is a BMW adherent who bought an X3 used. He's already, in the last year and a half, spent about one third of my car's purchase price on non-warrantied repairs. I'm certainly not saying Subarus are perfect. Far from it, I'm sure. But B. and I both drive Subarus now and our experiences have been nothing but good on our current cars. The idea of spending $50K or $75K or more on a "luxury" car is just crazy to me.
Not when you can get a highly functional, comfortable and reliable car for about half the spend and you can invest the rest for the future.
So.....no moon or sun roofs. Always white paint. Never black seats!!! In Texas, no heated seats. Get the all weather floor mats and you are done for at least a few years. Next time I'm sure I'll start looking at electric cars. I'm pretty sure we're at a good inflection point for the average car buyer/income demographic.
But till then I'll be the guy driving that white Subaru Forester and trying to avoid all the people driving fast on Austin roads while texting their friends or watching videos on their phones.
Just thought about this as I drove home from the pool and enjoyed the drive.
21 comments:
I've had one sun roof on a car once in 1984 and it leaked. But the one thing I did like about it was that you could get a lot of air flow but without the noise of open side windows. If they could find a way to get fresh air blowing through without the noise, I'd be so happy.
The magic and allure of air conditioning.
I always get a car with a sliding roof panel. That's because I often have my dog in the car. If you need to leave the dog in the car on a (not too blazingly-) hot day, you open the roof panel and open all the car windows a few inches. This avoids a dangerous temperature buildup (just cracking the side windows does almost nothing). I've checked this by putting thermometers in to check. Of course, if the sun is bright and the temperatures are in the 90s and up (I won't mention what they might be just now!), it will be too hot back there for your pet. But when conditions aren't too extreme, this scheme can make quite a difference, and the back of the car can be safe for your doggy friend.
If not for the dog, I totally agree that cutting a big hole in the roof would be an undesirable thing to do. At least through four cars with moon roofs I have had no leaks so far.
Priorities - spend the extra on Leica's - OK with me.
Sunroof? Silly extra cost unneeded option.
White or silver in hot country- yes without a doubt.
For me- the best radio the car company offers - as long
as navigation is not added -always too much money. Every phone
has nav now.
And, it has to have comfortable fully adjustable seats.
cheers,
Jb
I never really warmed to Subarus until this year, though my wife used to have a Forester some years back. But that changed in the past year. And I just bought a new Crosstrek - the baby brother to the Forester - in October, a few weeks before moving from the East Coast to the West Coast. Drove it around a couple of national parks and on highways before taking it cross country, and it handled it without any problems. It did not skip a beat with snow last winter either. It is a great car and I plan to keep it for a good number of years. I do wish it had a sunroof, though!
Ken
I have a plug-in hybrid, but, other than that, not really much different than a Forester. The "plug-in" is huge, though. I get 26 miles of range after four hours of charging, which means I can drive pretty much anywhere in town (Santa Fe) and back without using gas. During the height of the Pandemic, when I didn't go anywhere, I got through a full year (March 2020-March 2021) or two tanks of gas. And, when I do have to go somewhere, there's a compact V-6 to get me there...no restrictions on mileage like you get with the current full electrics. And, better seats. (My son, who just visited from San Diego, drives nothing but Subarus, and I did a comparo.) I won't mention price, but I paid through the nose.
"Subaru" is Japanese for the Pleiades star constellation, which is why the cars have six stars in the insignia.
We're on our third Outback and love it. Had we bought a Forester first we might be on our third Forester. Either one is a solid car with everything you need and little you don't. We like the slightly longer wheelbase of the Outback for a the ride and extra cargo space. I'm not a fan of white cars but they seem popular here in NC.
We're running with a contender for practical, boring EVs: a kia niro. Sure haven't missed the gas pumps these last 13 months! Having 220v in the garage makes it painless, both price and charge times.
I always enjoyed my Subaru era 1978-90, but once trendiness became standard their prices rose beyond my humble reach.
Kirk, my Forester is a 2016 model. It is my third Subaru - the others being a 2001 Impreza wagon and a 2011 WRX. No, the Forester is not what I would call an exciting car. But it is reliable, trouble-free, economical, roomy and highly competent in all kinds of weather and driving conditions.
Mine is dark gray with very light gray seating. I went for the optional (at the time) alloy wheels and added WeatherTech floor liners because they are far superior to what Subaru offered when I bought my Forester.
I'm speaking only for myself here, but my example is a base model that is blessedly free of all Eyesight driver assistance technology and 24/7 connectivity. It has a small touch screen for the radio and phone interface but most radio and all climate controls are traditional knobs and buttons. And all of that is exactly the way I want it. As a result, I'll probably hang onto this Forester at least as long as my original Impreza.
Frankly, I don't like most new vehicles today. I want a car - not a smartphone with wheels.
We're on our third Subaru Outback. We always get the model with the least amount of extras. Our theory is that way there are less things to go wrong. We would get manual rollup windows if they offered it. I have to confess that I'm thrilled that my current Subaru has a USB port so I can connect my iPod.
I agree about NO sunroofs. Our previous car, a VW Golf diesel (yes, got caught in Dieselgate, but got enough cash from VW to buy a new VW Alltrak station wagon) and our current Alltrak were without the sunroof. For me the Alltrak pretty much hits all the notes your Subaru does for you. Plan on keeping it til it has to be retired. It's a great car.
We've downsized with each generation, from a Carina to a Corolla to a Yaris Hybrid. And I think both my upright bass as well as the electric and an amp still fit, cameras or flashlights as well of course. And you are right about the sunroof, no one needs these. Got a serious sunburn on the top of my head when I once rented an open car on Samos... a scooter and a helmet were so much better there ;)
Hi Kirk,
We have a (2021) Forester, same color as yours. Agree with most of your annual report, but my wife and I appreciate the built-in safety in ours.
By the way, one of my mates in Australia has informed me that the "nickname" for the Forester over there is "Fozzie", and we like it!
Cheers,
Larry C. (Lazza)
Had experiences with 7 Subies since very early 2000s. Subaru has the most reliable AWD I think, not 4WD, although the newer premium models allow various controls on the trans to achieve an almost creeper setting for really messy stuff. The clearance is nice, but it isn’t for off-roading, and if there’s any likelihood of rock dings then get a metal skid plate installed. In Texas the AWD helps a little with hydroplaning, in my opinion, for those rare rain events. The boxer engine revs freely, has that somewhat lower center of gravity, but is not especially fuel efficient…almost none of the ones I am familiar with actually get the window sticker mileage (don’t believe the dashboard fuel mileage). And you were correct in having extra oil on board as the engines do consume oil, so check level regularly. They say the head gasket issues have been resolved. Since Subaru, like most manufacturers, started with a great idea and utilitarian cosmetics, but has switched to more luxury layouts, I have become less interested. The sales and parts guys at my dealership were on pretty close to first name basis since I bought several and brought in others for 4 other sales back in the day. But I have had better luck with Toyotas. 290,000 miles on my truck; 170,00 on my Prius…which has almost as much storage area as my last Forester. Many of your readers will not be hanging on to their cars as long. My Ex gets a new Subie every few years when a new color strikes her fancy. Enjoy your ride whatever it is; like cameras a lot is in the feel, the personal ergonomic sense, and almost everything is more than adequate.
A quick question for EdPledger: What is "rain"?
We've been driving Subarus for ages and I agree with most of what you said. My main disagreement is on sunroofs. We had them on at least two of our Subarus and they never leaked (leaving it open when parking doesn't count LOL). White isn't as big here in the frozen north of NYS near the Canadian border but I'm not keen on black either because it does get up into the 90s occasionally in recent years. And yes, they are great for winter driving.
I'm mostly in agreement about Subaru, but not regarding the sunroof. We've had them in at least five car-decades without any trouble and they're a big plus to vent hot air out in the summer while the A/C ramps up.
All of our cars since 1985 (47 years ago) have had sunroofs (8), or were convertibles (4). The only one that leaked was a 1989 BMW 325is convertible, which started leaking shortly after the warranty expired (of course). All of the others have never had the slightest problem in that regard. The BMW still lasted 150,000 miles before it was replaced.
I drive a 2020 Outback. It is my second Sube, both Outback’s. Unless some overarching reason comes along, it will be my last Subaru. The screen, which is nearly as important as the engine and brakes, it horribly unreliable. It blanks out about once a week for anywhere from 5 min to infinity. One the next start it seems as good as new, but when it goes out you can do little more than go and stop with no control of radio, a/c, Nav, killing the awful stop-start nonsense, etc. The rest of the car seems fine, but regardless, I am done with these things.
John in Fort Worth
"I've been told by BMW mechanics, Toyota mechanics and Independent mechanics that the one long term flaw of every car with an open-able rooftop is the inevitable potential for water leakage."
Mechanics see only broken cars -- sunroofs that don't leak (including all those I've owned) don't come in to have leaking roofs repaired.
Put another way, "100 per cent of the sun roofs that have come in to have their leaks fixed have had leaking sun roofs."
Subaru or Volvo…. Cars that just work, and keep on working. Not many others like that.
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