2022 Subaru Forester 2.5i owner review

I purchased my Subaru Forester 2.5i back in 2021 for $36,500.
Owner: Yoon

I purchased my Subaru Forester 2.5i back in 2021 for $36,500. Back during the COVID days, when you could not travel further than 5km from home. It seems almost surreal these days. As a result, the car was purchased unseen till the day it was picked up at the dealership.

I have to say the service from my Subaru dealership has been fantastic. With personalised plates, it was nice for the dealership to organise the plate transfer onto the new car. I just drove there on the day of my pick-up and they did it all. Five stars for their outstanding customer service.

My previous purchases necessitated a joyous trip to VicRoads and all the kerfuffle of getting new plates and swapping them over.

It’s been two years and nearly up to 30,000km. Overall, I’m very satisfied.

Headlights that swivel with the direction of the steering wheel – very nice that Subaru included this across the range, including a leather steering wheel. Shame on manufacturers that give you a plastic steering wheel on a $40K purchase. Sun visors with the extendable inserts, many thanks.

EyeSight has been fantastic, especially after a day of golf. It’s nice to cruise home on the freeway and just have your hands guiding the wheel.

However, I have to say there have been two occasions where it’s just given up and said this is too much. Once I returned home from a friend’s house in the middle of the night with no street lighting whatsoever, and when driving through a torrential downpour. You do get plenty of warning, though.

Performance has been satisfactory, even with five on board. No issues there. What has been commented on, more than once, is the ride comfort compared to my previous Sportage. A comfy ride is much more appreciated by the family than a sporty ride.

It might be my demographic, but I personally feel most cars these days are better than average, especially compared to some of the cars I had growing up. I prefer comfort over sporty handling any day given my usage of the car and any perceived deficiency. You just adapt and drive around it.

Android Auto just works, which is nice and very reliable. Albeit wired, it has worked with a variety of phones from an S22 Ultra, S20 FE and Note 20.

It’s also been used when friends have moved homes and it’s just a fantastic box mover with a nice big boxy interior. Not quite the old-school Falcon and Commodore wagons, but sadly those memories are just that.

Fuel consumption has been good, averaging around 7.7L/100km, granted I am on the freeway more often than not. Though on the freeways, I’ve seen it sit around 6.4L/100km.

Compared to my previous car, which was the last-gen Sportage, the air conditioning is good. (I rambled on a bit with this when I did a review for my Sportage on a different car site, which was most unsatisfactory). The interior has held up really well for a family car, again, compared to my last car, which was showing a bit of wear and tear with scratches and marks around. So a big thumbs-up to Subaru for a well-made interior.

The servicing costs have been reasonable – not Toyota-level cheap but not crazy expensive. And hey, let’s be honest, with a new car, apart from changing the oil and filters, I don’t think there is much more they do. Eyeball the engine and suspension, and make sure nothing is leaking. And see if there’s a customer complaint about the car.

Things that I would like to see improved, and perhaps it’s because I purchased the base-spec model, it’s noisy. On the freeway, especially over the coarse-chip roads, it just roars. My previous-gen Sportage was quieter. Again, not really objective, as this is all subjective based on my ears. Even being in my mate’s current-gen Outlander, that is a nice quiet car compared to the Forester.

I did notice something when I was getting my windows tinted through a contact of mine, as I spent the afternoon with him as he did it. The factory privacy glass from the back doors to the tailgate all have different levels of opacity. I also noticed, versus my Sportage, underneath the A-pillar where it meets the door, the Forester didn’t have any of the sound insulation pads/panels whereas the Sportage had it.

The ceiling-mounted seatbelt – I can’t stand it. I unclip it most of the time unless I know the car will be carrying five people.

Overall, it’s been a good car, and done everything asked of it. I especially love the big, expansive windows, which you do notice when you hop into other cars.

I am going to look at a different car next year. Not quite sure what yet. Fortunately, I will be able to stretch the budget this time around to perhaps a run-out Santa Fe, likely the Highlander as I want the acoustic windscreen compared to the other specs. I do like all the buttons in the Suby and the current-gen Santa Fe has plenty. Or a Lexus NX, which should tick the comfort and plushness. I’m not quite ready to make the leap with a BEV, maybe later this decade.

Owner: Yoon