Top 2 Mistakes Subaru Made With New Forester And How They Could Fix It

We are wondering how many Subaru customers are looking at the Mazda CX-5 turbo?

I am looking at Mazda. Subaru is dumb for not listing to the demand. Just like the WRX hatch. Bye Bye Subaru

Auto Start Stop where engine shuts off to save gas at red lights is only reason I didn’t buy newer Subaru. ASS turns itself back on when brake is depressed firmly, ie it cannot be permanently turned off. Heavy duty starter and battery increase maintenance cost and decrease reliability. Gas savings is less than trivial.

Subaru is increasingly out of touch with its customers. They are losing them at both the hybrid end, and also the performance side of things. Not sure we are going to see a return of the turbo anytime soon, and I don't buy that the Forester is selling so well that they don't need to do anything else. At this rate, they are just going for the participation trophy, and the dog themed ads can only do so much.

Just sold our 17 Forester and couldn't be happier. After 2 windshield replacements, the passenger airbag sensor issues and the car not starting sporadically, I'm glad to be rid of it.

I love my 2014 Forester 2.0 XT. Subaru management made a critical mistake. If they don't come up with an XT next year it will be Bye Bye Subaru after 5 Subarus. Will be looking at a Turbo RAV4 or a Mazda CX5 Turbo.
Standard Forester doesn't have enough umpf going up to the mountains and in snow. Though it makes a nice shopping cart around town.

How long have you two been working for Mazda?

Considering how abysmal the last generation’s XT sales were and that the turbo is available in the cross-shopped Outback, don’t get your hopes up for this Forester to ever get the T letter. It will likely be available with the hybrid system soon. The mild-hybrid previously available in other markets was terrible. The new system borrows lots from Toyota, while keeping the H engine and a mechanical link AWD and providing better performance than the 2.5. That will be the model that people will get if they want a faster ride, just like with the Rav4.

In reality, the worst two things they’ve done to the Forester is the Direct Injection system and auto start/stop, both of which add to long-term reliability issues that Subarus suffer from, namely the 2.5 head gasket leaks and CVT failures.

Subaru works hard at their reputation. With the weakened AWD systems, shoddy CVTs and odd styling, all they’re riding on is their reputation. If they lose that, they’re toast.

Let's be accurate here: The gas engine is charging the electric battery. It's not "self charging."

At this point there’s likely not a market in the US for a new hybrid. With the EV technology outpacing the abilities of hybrids, there’s no reason for Subaru to open themselves up to the endless criticism from people that love to complain but aren’t close to actual or potential customers.

I recently leased a 2019 Forester. It's an excellent car. My biggest criticism of it is the city fuel economy as you'd expect... so a hybrid or EV variant would be ideal for me. I would absolutely buy out the 2019 Forester lease if there's no hybrid or EV available, but I'd really like to see a fully EV Forester. Charging stations in this part of the country and at my workplace are available, and if it's anything like the Hyundai Kona EV we're looking at around 250 mile range. I don't ever really see needing more than this on a regular basis, and the one or two trips a year we take that it "could" be an issue, we'd just take my wife's car. In order for the EV not to be effective you'd need to be a niche customer that is in remote locations without access to the power grid - heck, we just took an overnight camping trip last weekend which was about 100 miles away and they had power stations available (mostly for inverters etc.) but to my point: you can even charge in the "wilderness"... I'm sure this will get better with time as well.

Subaru's claim to fame has always, always, always been about the legendary performance in adverse weather conditions. It's my main reason for driving a Subie. The jury is still out on how the new RAV4 Hybrid performs in the snow since it just launched early spring/late winter this past year, but I personally am willing to sacrifice a few mpg/eMPG to have all-time AWD. I'd rather the car pro-actively avoid a loss of traction compared to "recovering" after the fact.

I'd also support them SKIPPING a hybrid variant of the Forester altogether and just going right for an EV. I don't really know I'd be interested in the Hyundai EV, but might consider a RAV4 Fully EV if they ever launch in the future, but hopefully Subaru will start marketing the collab effort with Toyota soon.

Subaru alienated their own customer. Me a proud owner of the XT Turbo Forester. I refused to buy the new Gen 2019 Forester for lack of adequate power. I will buy the excellent Mazda CX-5 Turbo!

I currently have a 2005 Forester XT as my camping and trail riding vehicle. I absolutely love the thing and don't think I will ever get rid of it. I was looking at trading in one of my other cars for the new Forester because it is the first body style I have fallen for since my other model. A few things really bothered me about these new ones though. 1st lack of a turbo model. 2nd the crappy CVTs are a nightmare on all vehicles. 3rd the OSS systems create horrible nightmares down the road on all vehicles. I am holding out to see if with the next model they introduce a turbo again but If not I will be spending my money elsewhere.

Not including memory with all power seats is why they lost me as a customer. You have to spend about $5000 in upgrades to get a memory seat. That is just plain stupid! It is a safety issue as well. It is next to impossible to adjust a six way power seat to the same position each time drivers change. Price gouging at it's finest! The switch assembly probably costs them $25 on a $30,000 vehicle.