[Closed] Subaru Forester - Good car for bikes?

Riding mate of ours bought a Forrester as he has boght some woodland and wanted something with some load lugging capability & 4wd for getting along steep, muddy paths in the winter.

He's happy with it and for carrying one bike it's fine. But for multiple bikes (vertically), we could get more bikes in the back of another mates Corolla T-Sport than the Forrester as the roofline is quite low in the Subaru.

Interesting. Also considering a V40. Anyone?

v40's are horrid horrid cars. I used to use one a lot from a company pool and when i had an accident and wrote it off a number of the other regular users thanked me for killing it.

I wouldn't go for a forester unless you need 4wd to be honest, more to go wrong, more drag (and hence fuel) while driving and they do seem to be a slightly odd shape internally which doesn't leave as much room as you expect.

I may just end up with a golf at his rate!

I've had Foresters, Impreza hatches and Legacy wagons- imo the Forester doesn't have much more load carrying capacity, as far as bikes are concerned, than Impreza hatches. They both need the rear seat down really, and they're not the sort of thing that you cram the bikes and gear for a couple of mates and yourself into, though doubtless somebody will now come along and say otherwise. Forester you tend to pay a fair premium over the equivalent Impreza as well. I'd go for a Legacy wagon, or best of all an Outback, though the Outback is a bit thirsty (2.5 four or 3.0 6 only).
If it's a cheap runaround, mainly for slinging one or two bikes in the back, an Impreza 2.0 hatch can be picked up pretty cheaply now.

All obviously are awd which is a plus. All are pretty good fun to drive. None are particularly economical. Dealer servicing is expensive, some parts are expensive.

Cheap to buy, expensive to run! Roof rack on a regular hatch might be a better bet unless you really need 4wd. Even then you could get a 4Motion VW/audi/skoda.

(or a 4wd panda like me 😀 )

cheers for the advice guys. I'll consider a few other cars now.

Mondeo ST TDCi estate......?

Stumpy - A runaround? I was thinking more £2k or less.

Oh.....I did wonder as I wouldn't call a Forester a runaround as such. You didn't post a budget, but did mention a Saab and a Subaru....my normal though of a 'runabout' would be Corsa/Fiesta etc. My old boss drives a Cayman and has a Mitsubishi L200 as a runabout, so I guess it's all relative!

Can you get a Forester for £2k?! I guess so. How old would that be though?
I'd have thought that you could pick up an Astra estate for peanuts.
Or how about a Citroen C5 estate?? Massive and depreciate like mad. Ugly as erm.....(insert swearword beginning with the letter after E, but before G) here.

Foresters on a V plate so 1999. with decent mileage start about £1600. Saabs are worth naff all.

I've just had to give up a nice company car and am just looking for a 'bike' car for the weekend as I should be commuting by bike.

Don't really want an astra. Will look at vectra/omega

I absolutely refuse to drive french cars. Irrational dislike I'm afraid.

I've not looked into it, but how about Vauxhall Signum? Quirky choice that I think depreciates badly, but a kind of halfway house between estate & hatchback?

berlingo? youll look like postman pat, but we had three bikes in one no probs.

Wot they said, i've had 2 foresters - its based on the impreza floorpan so its not massive inside, you'll need to put the back seats down for >1 bike normally. You can get 4 on the roof though no worries. They do go offroad quite well but then i can get my wrx and my legacy gt in all the same spots so maybe they are not so worthwhile. Like all perm 4wd expensive to run relatively. I'd go for the mundano myself .....

Starters, pre-2003. No. Why? The Boxer engine has two head gaskets and pre-fix 2003 the head gaskets have a habit of failing- you get a bill x2 NOT one to repair.

Post 2003? I have owned ALOT of cars in 4yrs of driving. Sheesh, alot. However I've only had mechanical problems with one, the Forester. A clutch and a driveshaft. mine is slower than slow (non-turbo, will get this in a mo) yet I love it. I cant explain it. It pulls like a train round roundabouts, it kinda latches on with the front then warps itself round. Last week I was telling off my GF wagging my finger at her and the rear went sideways right, then wagged left. Throughout the corrections (in the rain) I was still wagging my finger and telling off my GF for leaving two bottles of red wine to clatter around in the footwell. I know, she was amazed that I was still complaining throughout. Any other car and I would have been silent and worried. I didnt even think about it (or register)
If you have a brain/common sense, buy the XT- a Imprezza WRX underneath (and you can lower it) yet no one will break into your house to nick your keys like they would if it was a Imprezza WRX.

You can get more bikes into the back of a Vecta estate but don't your friends have cars? If not, how many times a week do you need to carry 2+ bikes in your car? Once a month? This is a car for you day in day out not others 🙂

Its flawed, yet its 90's Jap-retrotastic. Sorry, I love it.

Ps. Skoda Octavia 1.9TDI? Laurin & Klement is a nice bet BETTER than a Saab/Vectra (and cheapish) 😀

Tend to agree with hora. I've got a non turbo as well, and it's not great for carrying lots of bikes inside, but how often do you need to do that? I've had quite a few cars but for some reason I think the Foreseter is one of the best.
It just seems to do everything well. Not the best load carrier, or off road, or quickest, but just all round great fun.

I have a '99 Outback (2.5 n/a, 5spd w/ hi/lo g/box). Happy to say it's the best car I've ever owned. Easy to acheive 10l/100km combined, better on highway.
Some parts can be dear, but servicing itself is very straight forward, though plug changes are fiddly (but only required at 60k miles).
Higher mileage (120+) cars can suffer head gasket troubles (so can anything), but machine work isn't usually required. The cambelt change is laughably simple, when compared to transverse engine eurotrash.

Though it's a good sized car, I wouldn't consider it a bike swallower. I use a towbar mounted rack, which leaves huge amounts of room inside.

I've had 2 Foresters both without incident, a 2003 XS and a 2007 XT. I would tell anyone within earshot to avoid the XT - while its as fast a **** in a straight line it handles like a drunk elephant and is simply quite scary. Now, i'm not a bunny when it comes to driving but will not profess to being a pro however I know how to drive. And the Xt was truly unpleasant sometimes. Yes it sticks like poo to a blanket but its really too heavy an engine with too much power for the chassis. Its like driving a boat. Anyway, someone put me out my misery but rearending me at 70kmh and thereby writing it off. I do recommend them to be in an accident in 😉
I've had 3 WRX hatches as well. Latest is the 2005 2.5T Hatch. Its not a sensible car by any stretch. The Legacy Wagon on the other hand is. I'd get one of them - handles well enough, goes well enough, is massive inside, well specced. Waaaay better then that 2003-2008 forester and the new 2008- one which i felt was as plasticy as a cheap dildo. Main thing with scoobs is they like to chew tyres, they guzzzle fuel a bit but when the going gets rough they are very poised. I love wragging the WRX on a track and then pootling around in it, great car.

NZCol, didnt they stiffen up the suspension at all over the X/XL? Thats crackers!

Theres just something you can't put your finger on with the Forester. One mate calls it 'the Station Wagon', GF calls it farmerGiles and another 'oldmans car' 😆

Theres always the Forester STI of course but i dont think thats going to come into your budget....
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I bought this 1999 example about a month ago. It cost almost exactly GBP 1000 and has 160,000km on the clock. Flat four (or boxer four if you like) engine is reasonably gutsy but slightly uneconomical, probably partly because of the full time four wheel drive. It goes well in the desert (it drove out of this picture) so I imagine it would be okay in mud. Handles sooooo much better then expected, aside from some body roll it really goes round corners with amazing flair, just a touch of under-steer on the limit. Probably handles well as it's based on the old Impreza. Two bikes plus camping kit for two in the back no problems. Swallows one bike without having to remove either wheel. Recommended.

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[i]Swallows one bike without having to remove either wheel.[/i]

How?!!!

If not, how many times a week do you need to carry 2+ bikes in your car?

What is the point in having a car if not transporting bikes? For several years, the whole function of having a car was to transport lots of bikes and kit. Certainly wouldn't want to be wasting all that money on one if there was any other reason.

Why are you just down to those two cars? If the cars main use if for bike stuff then I'd have thought there were better choices around. A big estate car perhaps. A Mondeo hatchback is a great bike car as the boot is very wide, meaning you can fit a small (XC or road) bike in the boot with the seats up.

hora - yeah its diff suspension but its no way built to handle the power so its scarily wallowy. I also drove a Forester STi (Jap import but same spec as NZ) and it was a horrible crashy noisebox plus also has the same rear torsion bar and strut setup as the XT so did the same 'bow up' under acceleration and 'arse in the air' on the brakes. Terrible thing.
Gave up, went back to sports cars as sports cars and legacy wagons as cars that will go up and down most things in any conditions while you don;t give a sh1t about them.
PS I can get my 29er in my WRX with both wheels on or two 26ers with both wheels on no worries. Or 4 on the roof.
I love scoobs except the diesels which are awful. The new STI Spec R i had for 48 hours was , well, awesome. If i could afford the 68K i would buy one immediately,

traildog I see where you are coming from. Its about compromises then.
I always say buy the car that you visually like/appeals to you and that you will have to live with 365days a year. You dont ride/use the car for biking 365days a year so in some cases even a MX5 with a bike rack would suffice.
Its your hard-earned cash so buy/chose the car that fits all your criteria not just for a hobby otherwise we'd all be driving round in T4 transporters or Berlingos 😉

Edit- I'd like to know how to get my bike with wheels on into the Forester- I struggle with just the rear on!!!!

Hora - back seats folded down obviously. Put the bike in front wheel first. When the front wheel reaches the front seat twist the handlebars so that the front wheel is vertical and voila...

Right. Im going to try this!

Edd. You are a star, I put my road bike in this morning (no need to move front seats about either)

Pretty happy with the Focus C-Max 2.0 TDCi I just got. Not too MPVish, drives like a decent hatch and is fun for baiting german saloons.

Glad it worked for you hora.

2005 Outback (Think Legacy on stilts) here.

Nice to drive, awesome in the snow that we had, 2.5 non turbo is good for 35mpg on the motorway. Sounds nice up near the readline too.

I would buy one again. Not huge inside for multiple bike swallowing though so a towbar and hitch mounted rack is on the cards.

Cheers for all the advice chaps.

I blame you lot....had to go to the garage to pick up a small part for the Legacy..and there shimmering in the light was a 2008 STi Spec R....22K off the price. Thank **** i had my bike in the car and when i tried to fit it in it wouldn;t go very easily. Thank god for that otherwise I'm not sure I could have controlled myself !

subarus are awesome riding cars here in oz, cos lots of good places are up unsealed roads and you can give it some jip on the way!

Oh and the Forester slides/steps out predictably and controlled 8)

I never knew though that with 4WD you have to keep your foot on the gas and point the way you want to go rather than counter and lift off. I lifted and the car swung the other way! (It was wet on a S-bend).

I replaced a Forester with a 9-3 hatch.

The Forester was diasrmingly fast... but it was Prodrive one 😉 Brilliant car, bit pants inside though. Parts cost a bloody fortune and it needed quite a few of them. MPG wasn't too shocking when driven "sensibly" but a tad frightening when "pressing on" (driving through France we were filling up every 2 hours...). Probably the best handling car I have ever had mind!

The 9-3 was also pretty mental fast (2.0 High Output Turbo... or HOT). It had a strong tendancy to torque steer when being driven a bit quickly, but you soon got used to it. The boot was properly large - used to get a Yeti 575 in there, all the camping clobber for 2 of us and a shed load of beer, and the parcel shelf would still be in place! It was by far the most comfortable car I have had - just demolished miles and you arrived in a much better state than from anything else (no aches and pains, not even that tired - did a mental drive from Amsterdam to Britany in an indecently short time and arrived ready to go out for a drink).

Of the two - I would have another Saab, but remain in two minds about the Forester. Given that you are looking at these two I am guessing budget isn't stretching to new motors, the Subarus of that age have been pretty abused by and large - farm vehicles and the like (usually, not always). Saabs tend to get an easier life 😉 The new diesel Forester is tempting me though... as is the diesel Outback.

Speaking to another STW last night Robs - he mentioned that theres a 5yr 0% finance deal on Scoobys at the moment. Might just be his local garage though.

subarus are awesome riding cars here in oz

The only country I've ever been to where the general standard of driving was so horifically poor it actually scared me at times.....

Hora - just got a new Vitara last year, cannae change that for a couple more! It's very, very slow but actually drives quite nicely and is handy for lugging stuff over fields 😉

But then I do have the Triumph for when I want to go a bit faster 😉

RobS, I know its slightly different but Ive always liked the Jimny. Ok, the reviews pan it (thin construction/bouncy etc) but there is something about it. Basic, unpretentious etc.

Am I being metrosexual or worse? 😕

worse.

we had a forester for 5 years back when living in oz (02 model) and it rolled round corners was a bit slow drank fuel and terible light steering but we loved it and is still probably the best car we have owned! solid little car tough as old boots and goes everywhere.
went for megane estate back in blighty because we thought it would be cheaper to run etc and it is but its always going wrong doesn't feel tough enough for us and we hate it! we will be buying a legacy next sod the price of petrol!

In one repatriot. I'd like to know why I like mine soo much considering its the only car Ive had a mechanical issue with (driveshaft) yet I would forgive it for anything it'd throw at me.

Its scratched on one side- previous owner couldnt park for toffee. I STILL havent bothered to sort that out.