Ground clearance does not equal fording capability.

Your maximum fording capability is determined by how deep you can go before your engine chokes on water.

Since all of these Compact SUVs are based on car designs, some of them have air intakes that are low to the ground. The Subaru might have the same ground clearance as the others, but the top of the Forester's hood isn't very high compared to a CR-V's... thus, the maximum intake height possible (I'm not familiar with the actual intake position), is lower.

The only way to know for sure is to visit all of these cars at the dealerships, open up the hoods and check the intakes. Maximum fording height should also be indicated in the manual.

Ford service is hit or miss. Some casas (one or two lang, actually) are notorious for bad service, others are very good (Ford was just second behind Chevy in a survey on dealership service satisfaction in the Philippines earlier this year). You can check out Fordclubph.com for feedback on casas.

As for parts, since it's a new vehicle, yes, you'll be getting original parts, just to be sure.

The Hayne's Manual is basically a full service manual for your car. It's a good investment if you're not familiar (or even if you are) with the oil bits of the car, and if you have to have servicing done outside the casa, you can lend it to the mechanic who's doing the work, to make sure they don't mess anything up.