2008 Subaru Forester consumer reviews

Our family has THREE Foresters!!! Very reliable car. Never breaks down. We are looking at another for our son. Love them!!

BEWARE!! The Foresters from 98-2009 are good for about 60-70k miles, then the problems come, with head gaskets. We've had 3 in the family and all eventually get there. If you don't believe me, just Google Forester Head Gasket problems. Very disappointed at Subaru as they will not do a recall, for 10+ years they have known about the problem. If you go ahead and buy one, don't say I didn't warn you.....

This is the best car I have EVER owned. The moonroof is AWESOME!!, it rides smooth as butter and the interior is elegant and high quality. The only issue is you hear a little outside noise when driving, but hey, you also have that great sound system to drown it out. It handles like a dream, the color is classic and it comes with heated seats!!! Love It!! If you can find one, buy it.

These vehicles are long term reliable. The only complaint is that on the less expensive models the seats can be uncomfortable. However, if you bring along a small memory foam pillow for long hauls that seems to work. The AWD is fantastic for any road condition. The engines, maintained properly can last in excess of 250,000 miles. I base that on actual experience. My 2008 has 135,000 miles and required spark plugs and plug wires at 124,000 miles. Make sure you use spark plug wire grease on the wires or they won't make a good connection. They are reliable and the new models have better seats and the price is right. Buy it and drive it. The body integrity and engine are good for the long haul. For the price you can't beat it. We regularly drive from DC to the Myrtle Beach area and the car gets around 27 mpg and more in highway driving. It's completely safe in the rain and that makes for pleasurable driving.

The 2008 Forester is new to me and replaces a Ford Focus which I loved. I found that at age 80 I was using the hand grip over the door to haul myself out. The taller Forester solved that.I can exit and enter with ease. I was surprised that my 2003 Focus had nice little touches that the 2008 Forester lacks. I think the Forester's instrument lighting is poor. With the too quiet clicking and dim lighting of the turn signals I neither see or hear when they're on. Why aren't the turn signal lights on the dash as bright as the cruise control? Insturment lighting is generally too dim. I have 2 choices: wear sunglasses and say bye bye to instruments or go without sunglasses and say bye bye to instruments as glare shuts down my irises and I squint. Turning on headlights proves iinstrument lights are only good at night. But in all other respects I love the car. With a sunroof and frameless windows I can almost convince myself I'm in a convertible. With the ease of folding the rear seat backs it quickly becomes a little workhorse for carrying weeds to the dump etc. Great cottage car. Roomy, comfortable and peppy. It is pretty much good for anything I might want to do.

Bought used with 73000miles. Great cargo area for bringing home a Christmas tree or other big stuff. When it snowed, it went great on through. Dashboard stuff is real practical and easy.

This car does just what we want it to do. It gets reasonable gas millage around town, and handles potholed mountain roads better than many SUVs I've driven. The AWD is great on snow and ice. We've had no problems at all in over 30,000 miles. Probably the only complaint I can think of is an illusive squeak that sometimes comes from the dash when it is cold.

excellent bad weather car. A few minor problems, inexpensive to maintain except for yokohama tires,poor tread life.

This is my second forester. Purchased a 1999 new and loved it. Bought a new 2008 and it handles well and performs well but the interior is uncomfortable. The driver seat is hard and after a 100 miles it hurts my back. The layout for the controls are poor and very small. It requires you to take your eye off the road to adjust the a/c, etc. The Yokohama tires are a joke. Need to be more M & S, not a street tire. Auto tranny shifts well, that surprised me cause I really liked the 5 speed in the 99 model. The a/c does not work up to par in real hot weather, tends to go back and forth in the temperature. Drivetrain is great, looks good but again the interior feels more like the cardboard seats they used in the 70's.

Fun to drive excelent short turning radius, good vision all around, reasonable gas millage, adequate power from the four cilinder boxer engine, corners well in mountain driving, carries all my art supplies, easy to load and unload can go nearely anywhere there is a semblance of a road. reliable. One of the few cars built today by any manufacturer that I can drive in comfort due to its leg room and head room I have had only one problem so far and that was an AC leak which the dealer easily fixed the second time around when the dye they used pointed out the leak. Good dealer service.