Topic: First Drive: 2014 Subaru Forester

[CAS]

I thought the hood scoop looked good on the was never a fan of the hood scoop as functional as it was. I'm glad Subaru placed the intercooler intake out of view.

[Wildsau]

Great write-up - sounds like a heck of an adventure, Jonathan!

I agree with a previous poster - you seem to have captured the gist of this car in that one statement.

Fun read!

[greengs]

I had placed an order for a 2014 XT touring as in February they had sky high residuals which meant a lease payment of $350/month ALL in nothing down for me.  (no PST here and I get loyalty discounts).

Damn, that's a fantastic deal. How long was the lease and how many KMs per year?

After going to the dealer a few times to do paper work etc I switched my order to a 2013 STI instead.    I think I'll be a lot happier this way.  Neither is in yet though.  Soon I hope.

Great choice, congrats.

Thanks!  The deal was 24 month lease, 20,000 kms.  I had 1% discount on lease rate due to loyalty and they gave me a discount on the vehicle itself.  Now the march number is higher (~380/month all in) due to the residual going down.  Which in my opinion is silly because there have been no deliveries in February

[greengs]

I had placed an order for a 2014 XT touring as in February they had sky high residuals which meant a lease payment of $350/month ALL in nothing down for me.  (no PST here and I get loyalty discounts).  After going to the dealer a few times to do paper work etc I switched my order to a 2013 STI instead.    I think I'll be a lot happier this way.  Neither is in yet though.  Soon I hope.

Went for a Forester....came home with an STi.....a hardy cheers to you!! Yes, much better decision, as nice as the Forester is, it cant hold a candle to a homologation rally car 

I haven't been this excited to get a car for a long time so that's a good sign!  The Forester order was based on a great deal and me trying to be a responsible adult/parent.  However, my wife already drives a Honda Odyssey so the more I thought about it I realized we don't need 2 "utility" vehicles.  My dealer I think purposely had a shiny new STI sitting right out front so guys have to go right by it to get to whatever else is being sold in there   

[5 Wheel Drive]

Great review!  One question Jonathan, does the passenger seat still sit considerably lower that the driver's seat in the new one?

I really like the new dash look and layout compared to my '09.

[Fobroader]

I had placed an order for a 2014 XT touring as in February they had sky high residuals which meant a lease payment of $350/month ALL in nothing down for me.  (no PST here and I get loyalty discounts).  After going to the dealer a few times to do paper work etc I switched my order to a 2013 STI instead.    I think I'll be a lot happier this way.  Neither is in yet though.  Soon I hope.

Went for a Forester....came home with an STi.....a hardy cheers to you!! Yes, much better decision, as nice as the Forester is, it cant hold a candle to a homologation rally car 

I haven't been this excited to get a car for a long time so that's a good sign!  The Forester order was based on a great deal and me trying to be a responsible adult/parent.  However, my wife already drives a Honda Odyssey so the more I thought about it I realized we don't need 2 "utility" vehicles.  My dealer I think purposely had a shiny new STI sitting right out front so guys have to go right by it to get to whatever else is being sold in there   

Bastards....with their shiny things right in your path  Good on ya buddy, it should be a blast to drive.....as fun as the Odyssey is and everything, me thinks the STi will be a little bit more engaging.

[cruzzer]

We were leaning towards the Mazda CX-5 (6MT/FWD) to replace the '06 Forester (5MT) in the driveway but the new 2014 Forester is improved in many key areas and is now a serious candidate. The pricing however is a big issue. While the pricing of ALL the Subaru products in Canada is too high when compared to the US the Forester is particularly over priced (base model $21,999US vs. $25,999). Then add in delivery (according to the Subaru US website it's included in the US price vs. $1595 in Canada. So in total, US$21,999 vs C$27,594. I don't expect the pricing here to be the same as it is in the US, but to me this is excessive.

[hemusbull]

5 grand extra for the smaller engine? Come on, Subaru, don't play VWs diesel games!

[Solstice2006]

That was the longest First Drive I have read on Autos.ca.  Longer than most test drives, and the last page looks like a copy and paste from a Subaru source, the details for each trim rivals your Buyers Guide.

Hopefully we can see a new comparo this year, with the new engine in the Mazda CX-5, the new Rav4, the new Subaru Forester, the Escape, and Honda CRV, and the Tiguan (I assume this is the class it competes in.  I've been told the Equinox is too big against some of these other CUVs.

Nope, my Mazda6 review was longer  The trim/prices section is a cut/paste/delete the BS. After I had gone on for that many pages and realized I hadn't even begun discussing trims and prices, I just wanted to make sure the information was available, without bulking the review up even further. I thought it would be nice and short, but this car has a rather long and impressive list of features that really surprised me... but none so much as the leap in interior quality.

The comparo will come as soon as the Outlander hits press fleets - RAV4, CX-5 2.5, are already available and Forester will go on fleet soon, I'm sure, but Mitsubishi is a smaller operation, so they are the wild card, but I still want to see how they compare in this mix.

And as to the Buyer's Guide, we're working on that finally, so we won't need to do this again...

I forgot about the detail of the Mazda6 first drive as well, I was very intent on reading it, it didn't seem as long.  Probably two of the most talked about cars this year (so far), the Forester and the Mazda6.

Little surprised to hear your waiting on the Outlander for the comparo.  Thought it would be more inline with the Equinox (187"), Sante Fe Sport(185"), and Edge (184"), in terms of size (It's 5 inches longer than the CR-V (178")

Thanks for getting back to me on the Buyers Guide issue.

[Solstice2006]

Thanks for the article.  I am very much interested in the Forester to replace my current car too.

I think Santa Fe w/ 2.4 L NA engine should be in the comparo as well, if possible.

As I have discovered.  this a tough category, for comparisons.  There are several CUV's (Sportage, Escape, CR-V, RAV4, Tiguan, CX-5, Rogue, and Forester) that are considered mid-size (and are under 180" in length). Then there are ones that are a little bigger.  Like the Ford Edge, Mitsubishi Outlander, Hyundai Sante Fe, Kia Sorento (5 seater), Chevrolet Equinox, and GMC Terrain.  So the mid-size CUV line is very confusing, and there are no rules, but it does make it difficult when trying to comparo.  Less problems with the 7 seaters, and the small CUV categories. 

[Solstice2006]

We were leaning towards the Mazda CX-5 (6MT/FWD) to replace the '06 Forester (5MT) in the driveway but the new 2014 Forester is improved in many key areas and is now a serious candidate. The pricing however is a big issue. While the pricing of ALL the Subaru products in Canada is too high when compared to the US the Forester is particularly over priced (base model $21,999US vs. $25,999). Then add in delivery (according to the Subaru US website it's included in the US price vs. $1595 in Canada. So in total, US$21,999 vs C$27,594. I don't expect the pricing here to be the same as it is in the US, but to me this is excessive.

100% agree, which is why Subaru and VW are on my list of cars never to be new.  How can I buy a car from a company that doesn't respect or appreciate its customers.  For imports, Toyota is among the closest MSRP when comparing US and Canada pricing.  Not that I like to buy new, demo is the closest thing so far, but it's the principal.

[johngenx]

The RAV-4 pricing Can/US is very close.  Subaru of Canada has some of the largest pricing disparity in the market.  Add in very high dealer fees, and very expensive service departments, and it's kept me from buying a new product.  Four used ones, yes, but not a new one.

[jyarkony]

Great review!  One question Jonathan, does the passenger seat still sit considerably lower that the driver's seat in the new one?

I really like the new dash look and layout compared to my '09.

no - Passenger seat is quite a bit higher! i remember noticing how high the seat was compared to driving, because I crank the seat down all the way to its lowest.... and most trims do not have passenger seat height adjustment, if i recall.

[Threader]

I had placed an order for a 2014 XT touring as in February they had sky high residuals which meant a lease payment of $350/month ALL in nothing down for me.  (no PST here and I get loyalty discounts).  After going to the dealer a few times to do paper work etc I switched my order to a 2013 STI instead.    I think I'll be a lot happier this way.  Neither is in yet though.  Soon I hope.

Congrats! I was 2nd in line when the new 2008 STIs rolled into Canada (only 400 were sent in 2013 in all of Canada). The worst part is the breaking in procedure. Lots of self control not to floor the sucker for at least 1000kms. Have fun!

[Baron von Raschke]

Which competitor SUV were you trying to keep up with?

[tazcubed]

The 2014 Subaru Forester sticks to the compact SUV formula, offering convenience, practicality, and a bit of extra oomph for upgraded XT models.

Read More...

One of the best things about Subaru is that they generally keep it simple and functional. I've got a 2012 Forester and other than the hated nav/stereo it's a great vehicle. More than other manufacturers, Subaru doesn't rely on unproven gimmicks and seem to know what actually works for drivers while being reliable. The Forester has great outward visibility and versatility - more so than my Explorer Sport. I didn't really realize the difference until I had to move a rear-facing child's seat from the Explorer to the Forester - much easier to get a kid into the Forester (and yes, I had tried fitting the seat in the Explorer before considering it as a purchase). I'll be looking at the 2014 and it'll probably be tops on my list to replace the Forester when it eventually comes time.

[jyarkony]

Which competitor SUV were you trying to keep up with?

believe it or not, a GMC Terrain... I have no idea how that guy kept it on the road at that pace. he was bootin' it.

[jyarkony]

Thanks for the article.  I am very much interested in the Forester to replace my current car too.

I think Santa Fe w/ 2.4 L NA engine should be in the comparo as well, if possible.

As I have discovered.  this a tough category, for comparisons.  There are several CUV's (Sportage, Escape, CR-V, RAV4, Tiguan, CX-5, Rogue, and Forester) that are considered mid-size (and are under 180" in length). Then there are ones that are a little bigger.  Like the Ford Edge, Mitsubishi Outlander, Hyundai Sante Fe, Kia Sorento (5 seater), Chevrolet Equinox, and GMC Terrain.  So the mid-size CUV line is very confusing, and there are no rules, but it does make it difficult when trying to comparo.  Less problems with the 7 seaters, and the small CUV categories.

You feel our pain, I see. Also consider the price, in which the Tiguan can run you more than a loaded Santa Fe - those two nearly tied our last comparo, but yes, I'd like to have the Santa Fe 2.4 in this Comparo and hopefully the manufacturers will be able to line up equivalent models around the $32K mark, which is a much more realistic price point than the spendy $40K SUVs we had last time. To a certain degree, we have to allow the press fleets to self-select our comparisons because we simply do not have the clout that the big US mags have to order vehicles to spec for their comparos... that's why it is gratifying when we are able to line up some specific competitors within reasonable pricing disparity.

[sailor723]

From  the Subaru Canada website it appears that there is no discount for cash or zero (or near zero) financing. Given our special $5,000+ "only in Canada pricing premium" it seems like a US puchase is still at least worth considering. 

[SaskSpecV]

From  the Subaru Canada website it appears that there is no discount for cash or zero (or near zero) financing. Given our special $5,000+ "only in Canada pricing premium" it seems like a US puchase is still at least worth considering. 

Agreed, but I don't think the US dealerships are selling new vehicles (particularly in-demand new vehicles like the new Forester and Crosstrek) to Canadians.  At least that's what Keene Subaru and Subaru of VT had on their websites last time I checked - which is odd, because they specifically cater to Canadian buyers.  They'll happily sell you a used Subaru from their lot though...

I actually don't mind Subaru's pricing strategy - price the vehicle (reasonably) competitively right from the start, and don't offer big discounts/cheap financing until a few years down the road.  The US pricing discrepancy really does hurts their "value" argument, though the extra features on Canadian vehicles (usually) offsets some of that difference.  However: Absolutely, positively, NO justification for the dealership gouging customers with "mandatory" BS admin fees...