2014 Subaru Forester

[supermanila]

Thanks for the reply sir. When I tried to open the door, I used my left hand to pull the door handle, while my right hand was just holding the key. So I think I was within distance. But anyway, just wanted to clarify with you lang which is why I asked. Thanks!

[LoBudget]

I just tested the NA version and I must say its pretty good. Acceleration is better than other 2.0s in its category. Mostly for comparison versus a RD1 CRV with the B20Z engine, this new forester feels faster and lighter on its toes. Im sure I'll get a reaction to this, but IMHO in moderate speeds its feels peppier than the GLS-V Montero even on intelligent mode. There is a notable different feel to the car when it is on sport mode versus intelligent. Too bad they dont have a fully loaded version that is like the XT minus the DI and turbo for around 1.5M coz that would really kill sales of other vendors. Cornering at 50-60kph in a slight downhill "tickles" my sons stomach (his words) and there is really no body roll compared to others in its category.

I actually like the feel of the CVT than a standard AT. Sales guy recommends the non-Turbo for daily/city driving over the XT, since the DI is slightly thirstier than the NA. I must say this sales rep (I dont want to be gender biased) was more informed than the female counter part at another location. No discount or anything extra even if you get it at MIAS, or so they say. The test route is also better than, say BGC, since you get to ride it on EDSA and some faster roads with mixed road/terrain conditions.

The test drive unit in EDSA is the one they used in the review for TopGear where they brought it to Sagada.

[allen29]

finally some words about the NA version thanks LoBudget!

been wanting to know more about the NA version (as the XT may be out of my budget), nice to hear good words about it so LoBudget, would you say the NA version isn't underpowered at all? thanks again

I just tested the NA version and I must say its pretty good. Acceleration is better than other 2.0s in its category. Mostly for comparison versus a RD1 CRV with the B20Z engine, this new forester feels faster and lighter on its toes. Im sure I'll get a reaction to this, but IMHO in moderate speeds its feels peppier than the GLS-V Montero even on intelligent mode. There is a notable different feel to the car when it is on sport mode versus intelligent. Too bad they dont have a fully loaded version that is like the XT minus the DI and turbo for around 1.5M coz that would really kill sales of other vendors. Cornering at 50-60kph in a slight downhill "tickles" my sons stomach (his words) and there is really no body roll compared to others in its category.

I actually like the feel of the CVT than a standard AT. Sales guy recommends the non-Turbo for daily/city driving over the XT, since the DI is slightly thirstier than the NA. I must say this sales rep (I dont want to be gender biased) was more informed than the female counter part at another location. No discount or anything extra even if you get it at MIAS, or so they say. The test route is also better than, say BGC, since you get to ride it on EDSA and some faster roads with mixed road/terrain conditions.

The test drive unit in EDSA is the one they used in the review for TopGear where they brought it to Sagada.

[LoBudget]

finally some words about the NA version thanks LoBudget!

been wanting to know more about the NA version (as the XT may be out of my budget), nice to hear good words about it so LoBudget, would you say the NA version isn't underpowered at all? thanks again

IMHO, it is not underpowered. Its closest comparison is the XV where NA Forester is just heavier by a regular sized passenger and that they share the same engine and transmission. Based on what I have read here, the XV does around 10km/l I dont recall the specific conditions, probably mixed city and highway. For me the CVT felt like a normal AT minus the shift shock. I dint try to WOT the unit so I dont know about the delayed response compared to an AT. You can probably get more information about the XV from the subaruclub.ph site on how they feel about the power.

I definitely encourage you to do the test drive especially at the EDSA branch since they have a longer "course" to drive. You can probably schedule a test for both variants for the same day so you can really feel the difference between the two. You can probably give a better report than mine. Also you are encouraged by the sales rep to push the unit, as he says it is a test drive after all. In fact he had me do a high speed corner, at the bend of Temple drive at the back of Meralco. I dint really pull a Gran Tourismo move but at a good 50-60km/h at the apex. He wanted me to drive it on the rough pavement in Giraffe street but that had been asphalted over already. In the White Plains area they have those white mini humps that rattle the sh*t out of my CRVs dashboard, the forester took that like it was regular pavement. Either my suspension is totally messed up already or it really shows the capabilities of the forester.

[8BRZWRX]

I was told "white" has a long long waiting list. I saw the white one parked at the Skyway office in Bicutan a few days ago for what I assume is an ePass tag. It really looks good.

M.I. still does not have the paper manual so would anyone know if there's an "auto lock" when you close the door and walk away from the car?

[karl2001]

Planning to buy new ride forester is one in mylist any other feed back regarding performance , fuel consumption, parts cost at maintenance expense

[NeilJohn]

Test drove the forester 2.0 today. Suspension is very much improved from the previous model, firm yet supple, like the CX-5. Steers and handles like the CX-5 -- which to me is the gold standard in this class from the units in the same class (forester, XV, CX-5, tuscon) that I have test driven. Has SI drive modes -- sport and Intelligent. Sport mode is great, acceleration is linear and responsive. Intelligent mode is a misnomer, should have been named fuel saving mode instead as it is not intelligent at all, has throttle lag and slow response. Also has an X-mode like the FXT.

In summary, great car! -- no need to go for the FXT unless you want leather seats, moon roof, sport sharp mode, and of course that additional power. The 2.0i's pulling power is more than adequate. Just forget about the not so "intelligent" mode.

Cheers

disclaimer: daily drive is a Genesis Coupe 2.0T

[LoBudget]

In summary, great car! -- no need to go for the FXT unless you want leather seats, moon roof, sport sharp mode, and of course that additional power. The 2.0i's pulling power is more than adequate. Just forget about the not so "intelligent" mode.

Dont forget: OEM reverse camera, MID, power lift gate, and push start button... and maybe even the rims and power adjusting driver seat. They should have done the same as the XV where the base and premium have the same rims (at least I think they do).

[NeilJohn]

Thanks mate, you're right about the those.

Re:power adjusting seat -- once you're used to it, you'll realise how convenient the feature is. It makes adjustment just a bit faster, especially in adjusting seat height.

The only thing that you may really want added (at least in my case) to the non-turbo guise would be a reverse camera and maybe the power lift tailgate. Just the same you can unlock the tailgate using the remote in the key fob.

Cheers

Dont forget: OEM reverse camera, MID, power lift gate, and push start button... and maybe even the rims and power adjusting driver seat. They should have done the same as the XV where the base and premium have the same rims (at least I think they do).

[karl2001]

Planning to buy Subaru Forester XT nakaencounter by kayo ng dealer option na sa kanila bibili ng insurance. Any feedback

[April_Ryan]

Planning to buy Subaru Forester XT nakaencounter by kayo ng dealer option na sa kanila bibili ng insurance. Any feedback

Subaru Pampanga asked if I could get the insurance from them. And when I said I wanted 3rd party, the agent asked for an opportunity to match the quote.

Didn't get my unit from them though, so no other feedback apart from that.

[imperialv]

Planning to buy Subaru Forester XT nakaencounter by kayo ng dealer option na sa kanila bibili ng insurance. Any feedback

Yung Subaru Pampanga and Subaru Alabang are franchised.. Not sure with the two... Pero sa MI, they will not force you to get insurance from them.. Mas better if you get your cars directly sa MI Edsa or MI Global

[LoBudget]

Thanks mate, you're right about the those.

Re:power adjusting seat -- once you're used to it, you'll realise how convenient the feature is. It makes adjustment just a bit faster, especially in adjusting seat height.

The only thing that you may really want added (at least in my case) to the non-turbo guise would be a reverse camera and maybe the power lift tailgate. Just the same you can unlock the tailgate using the remote in the key fob.

Cheers

What is frustrating about the OEM camera is that you have no option to have that installed on the base unit, there is no provisioning and the MID screen cannot be added either. The power lift gate is something really cool, but I can just see those mall security people messing it up, where they will force the door to close instead of using the button. Then we can probably add the carwash attendants where you will also have to explain how it works. Getting the XT would also reduce my desire to use valet parking since you never know how those people treat your car and if they are fully aware of how to properly drive the unit.

[cfule]

What is frustrating about the OEM camera is that you have no option to have that installed on the base unit, there is no provisioning and the MID screen cannot be added either. The power lift gate is something really cool, but I can just see those mall security people messing it up, where they will force the door to close instead of using the button. Then we can probably add the carwash attendants where you will also have to explain how it works. Getting the XT would also reduce my desire to use valet parking since you never know how those people treat your car and if they are fully aware of how to properly drive the unit.

well this happens the day i got my XT, brought it to big bert's for paint protection and i had to explain to them how to operate the tailgate and at the mall, di ko na din pinapabuksan sa guard yung likod, sabi ko tingnan na lang nila, kita naman, my tint is not that dark. and on the carwash, binantayan ko nung unang wash at inexplain sa suki kong taga hugas, at baka nga masira nila. and nung minsan e nakita ko pinaglalaruan nung mga kasama, ngayon lang ata nakakita ng power tailgate

[supermanila]

I think sir the good thing about the power tailgate of the Forester, is that you can close it normally like any other tailgate and it won't break anything (unlike other power tailgates daw where you have to do something first if you want to close it manually). This is according to a review I saw in Youtube where a Subaru representative explained it as one advantage over their competitors. So what you can do if a guard wants to check it is open it via your in-dash button (I think it has one right?) and just let the guard close it manually the normal way

sir how much is big bert's paint protection for a forester, is it still considered small sized at 5.5k?

[Flip]

Planning to buy Subaru Forester XT nakaencounter by kayo ng dealer option na sa kanila bibili ng insurance. Any feedback

Sabi sa akin ng agent from MI, insurance is compulsory in house for the 2014 forester, 60k ata premium sa XT.

[cfule]

Sabi sa akin ng agent from MI, insurance is compulsory in house for the 2014 forester, 60k ata premium sa XT.

i got my insurance from STANDARD, and they quoted me 35k premium for the XT. 60k is a ripoff! about the big bert's paint protection, i think 5.5k nga yung sa forester or 6k, for 4 visits the whole year. kuniha ko lang is yung 1400, yung one time lang. chop chop ko na lang avail yung 4 visits na complete package, although i have to pay more if i do it that way

[supermanila]

sir thanks if you were charged 1400 then I guess the forester is considered as medium sized. 6.5k for the optiguard in that case.

sir how's the FC of your XT now? I read from some forums that it gets better over time daw. thanks.

[cfule]

sir thanks if you were charged 1400 then I guess the forester is considered as medium sized. 6.5k for the optiguard in that case.

sir how's the FC of your XT now? I read from some forums that it gets better over time daw. thanks.

These are my full tank history, got it mar19, im at 1400kms now

19.08L 8.06 km/L mostly hiway from manila to quezon
44.86L 6.36 km/L mostly city with little howay
50.8L 5.32 km/L mostly city
37.14L 5.48 km/L mostly city
40.12L 6.12 km/L mostly city with little hiway
20.95L 7.23 km/L mostly hiway from manila to quezon

[istan]

*supermanila
Nope, it does not. :D
Enjoy your car though.