Thoughts on 2012-2014 Subaru Forester?

My GF has a 14 legacy sport, no issues so far. I like that she has AWD for for wet/icy roads. It does burn through tires though. Mileage is around 30mpg avg with the 4 banger. Lots of power for a 4. Big back seat too. Resale value seems to hold up better than the comparibles.

The Mitsubishi Outback is worth looking at. Many of the same abilities as a Forester, but a little more affordable.

My Ausie friend says they call 'em "Its-bits-are-missing," in his homeland, but I simply love my 2004 Outlander especially when it's racked with 'yaks.

A friend of mine has one of those Outlanders, and she likes it a lot. I think that's a little too similar to the 4Runner we already have.

Hmm... What about the new XV Crosstrek? Anyone out there own one?

I've driven a Crosstrek a fair bit and own a 2015 Forester with the premium trim. The Crosstrek is OK. Early models had a lot of road and engine noise, but apparently they've been tweaked. Aside from that it has a small interior and is expensive for what it is: a lifted Impreza. If you want a smaller ride, and don't' care about 2 more inches of ground clearance, the Impreza is your ticket.

The Forester is great: excellent sight lines, huge sunroof, and a massive cargo area for its class. I also got the Eyesight crash avoidance system and like it.

Downsides: The base stereo and speakers are pretty lame. Cloth seats aren't great, and I wasn't too impressed with the leather option: not worth the extra dough. I'm probably going to get seat covers. Yes, the CVT tranny isn't very responsive, but it's a Subaru, not a Porsche. If you need more performance, the XT trim is pretty popular, but your MPG highway drops to 27 from 32.  FYI, I average 27 MPG in mixed city/highway driving.

Thanks, Superfly.

Ground clearance is important to me, which is why the Impreza is not on my list. I live in East Oakland, land of the pot hole. I also drive HWY 1 very early in the morning when I go fishing, and have driven right over MANY fallen rocks in the road with my Outback that would have chewed up the undercarriage of an Impreza.

As for the CVT, I just don't have much confidence in them yet. When the roads are full of CVT equipped Subies with 200K plus miles, I will reconsider. For now, most of the posts I see related to CVTs with over 100k miles are complaining of tranny issues, torque converter issues, dealers confused about fluid changes, etc, etc.