2002 Subaru Forester consumer reviews

I own a 2002 Forester S and am quite satisfied with it. The difference between a L and S are worth saving for the S. It has the best sun roof I have ever seen in a car, heated leather seats, heated mirrors, heated windshield wipers, a 6 CD player/radio that sounds quite good. The car has been quite reliable, and drives great. The view from the drivers seat is wide, helping with safety. The car handles great in all conditions, especially snow. It looks a little boxy, which turns some people off, but performs well. I don't want to sound negative, but buyers want to know: The biggest knock on the older Subarus are the seals. Expect to change some of the gaskets before 200,000 miles. The head gasket being most expensive. I have yet to do this on mine, but have recently done the valve gasket and oil seals. You can delay this issue by changing the oil and coolant on time, every time, using oil treatment, or synthetic oil. The good news though is once you are over this bump the car will likely last 300,000 miles before something else major goes wrong. Outside of the above, I've had only a spatter of tiny issues, such as headlight bulbs, wiper blades, or dash bulbs, that are common and easy to fix. - Overall, this is just a great car.

i bought this vehicle brand new in 2002 and it runs spectacular. There have been no issues. I have towed a Boat and jet ski's as well as another car and no adverse reactions. This is a very depependable car.

I have loved this car since I bought it. It handles really well, and is especially reliable in snow and rough winter weather. It's a really classy car. In dash cd changer plays 6 cds; sound system is incredible. Retractable sun/moon roof. Power everything. Decent gas millage. And reliability. All for a reasonable price. I love it.

I have a 2002 Subaru Forester S model and I can be happier, it has everything I was looking for and more. How ever it has issues as no car is perfect. The backseat is a bit small, the front cupholders when open and occupied you cant get to any of the climate controls, also the vents blow right on the cup so lets say you have the a/c on and you have a hot latte, the vents blowing the a/c blow right on to the cup and by the time you get to work you have a luke warm coffee. Also it has this one annouying trait, the keyfob's beep isnt a "beep" this car's alarm system is hooked up to the horn so every time you lock it, it will honk (and not just a soft honk its an angry in traffic loud honk)and to unlock it two honks, and if you try to un/lock and a doors open it will honk 4 times. I havent owned it long enough to tryout it's awd system yet, but from my research (and I've dont ALOT of it.)Subaru has one of the top 3 AWD systems in the automotive industry. (the other two are Audi and Porche.) I live in the mountains and it's amazing on gravel roads in the mud the wet and the dry trails, driveways, and roadways. It hasnt steered me wrong yet. BUT!WAIT! If you are going to buy this car (or ANY AWD systemed vehicle!!!).. Take it to your mechanic and have themtake a look at it. Some mechanics charge a fee for looking at it, some you need an appointment. Whatever the case may be, have it checked out. Make sure the suspencion is all good, the AWD systems intact and the undercaged isnt all the banged up (some people like to take these amazing cars offroad and get alittle carried away). But in the end, awkward cupholders, on the small size when it comes to leg room for the back seaters, and it's LOUD keyfob 'beep'. My main primary use for this car is just getting around, offroading (because i live in the mountains so no paved roads), having fun(because it's a VERY fun car to drive), and outdoors use, best for camping but if you're going to bring more than 2 people you'll want to invest in a cargo pod for the roof rack. Have fun! and good luck!

You see the Subaru Forester isn't really a drivers car. As you can see from my ratings everything is 2 stars (except comfort). So well it really isn't very good. I guess.

I bought my Subaru Forester because of the high rating for reliability. I am retired and needed a dependable vehicle. Although I love my Forester, I was shocked to have the head gasket fail at 115,000. I have had many cars and I have driven some of them to 200,000 and I have never had a headgasket failure. I wonder if this is normal for this engine. It is quoted as a $2,000 repair. I will repair it but I wonder at the reliability of future Subarus.

Good second car 'very good in snow and ice with winter tires . We use it for driving to ski hills.Good handling and ride .Wind noise high above 90km/h. .

I bought this car and used it to travel 90 miles each way to work each day. I never had to worry about bad weather or even bad gas mileage. I could easily get 330 - 350 miles per tank while commuting. I have the huge sunroof with heated leather bucket seats and all the accessories - I couldn't be happier with this car. My 2002 with 115,000 miles runs smoother and more quietly than my wife's 2004 Rav4 with 25,000 miles. This car is going to last me another decade easily.

Purchased used 11,000 miles on 2002. On trip with weather extremes from Sunny and hot to Icey and cold with lots of snow in Yellowstone. Averaged 27 mpg 0n 3100 mile trip Had full control in adverse conditions. Easily handled Interstate speeds 75mph plenty of power when needed. Plenty of cargo capacity, brought a 28 inch snow blower and a large copier back from Minnesota inside with luggage, dog and 2 of us. Fantastic vehicle