Forester vs Outback

[sadarahu]

I'm considering buying used Subaru (probably 2008). I'm founding lots of confusing info on-line regarding the MPG. Some say it's the same some show difference by 2-3 miles/G.  It seems that outback is a bit heavier and I wonder you you people can confirm if both models have the same MPG or not ?  I would also like to know what is general trend, another words which of the tho would you prefer ?


Thank you for you time and replies.

ARTHUR

[AdventureSubaru]

Outback is a little bigger and heavier and as such will get slightly lower gas mileage. The tradeoff is a steadier/smoother ride and much more cargo capacity. I far prefer/reccomend an outback over a forester unless you have unique need for the forester. (Some of the off road folks like them for the shorter wheel base to fit more places) Both are very dependable cars though, so it's tough to go wrong.

 

Having owned and driven both, I found the outback to be a better ride and more versatile. Never really noticed a difference in gas mileage.

 

Forester is technically an SUV which can make the insurance bills higher.

Edited July 7, 2016 by AdventureSubaru

[gbhrps]

sadarahu,

 

I'm a little bit prejudiced towards the OutBack, simply because I've owned 4 of them over the years, while my brother has had as many Foresters. They all have proven to be reliable, and in our winter weather, when equipped with good ice grip tires, almost unstoppable.

 

My wife has her Lexus, but the car of choice for bad weather and cargo carrying, is the Subie.

 

The OutBack stance is not as high, and is wider than the Forester, and therefore less likely to roll over in an accident. Both have the same engines and transmissions (4 cylinder) and except for weight and shape, should get within a mile or two of each other mileage wise.

 

It really comes down to what you want in a car. I suggest that you take each one for a drive and make up your own mind. One or the other should fit you just right.

 

Good Luck, and here's hoping you join the Subie family.

[heartless]

Don't base your decision on the rated MPG - that is kind of a silly thing to do. Yes, the 2 models are very similar, but a couple MPG either way is not the best deciding factor here. if it was 10mpg or more difference, yeah, it would make more sense to look at that, but a couple of mpg?

 

Actual MPG will vary greatly depending on driving style, traffic & weather conditions. Heavy traffic conditions (stop & go) will get lower MPGs than free rolling open highway driving; putzing around in town will be lower than out in the country; bad weather will be lower than good... a heavy foot on the accelerator will be lower than gentle acceleration...

 

Rated MPGs are little more than an estimation of what the car "should" get in ideal conditions... and there is very little "ideal" in the real world.

 

Both are quite capable of getting in the 25-30mpg range depending on all of the above factors.

[robm]

There probably isn't much difference in the MPG.  But the Outback has a longer cargo area than the Forester.  High cargo areas may look good on paper because they have lots of volume, but in practice it is square footage in the cargo area that is useful. 

 

You can stack the boxes in the Forester, and get everything in,  but when you hit the brakes and all those boxes slide forward and try to attack you, you will wish you had the Outback.

[sadarahu]

Thank you all for your input. Hopefully this will be useful for others. I have a chance to buy Forester 2007 /80k so I made a decision based more (at the moment) what was available (or for-sale). Still have few questions thought and I really appreciate. It has been a nice surprise to me to get responses so quickly.

 

1. I travel long distances several time a year (3-7k miles). Is there any way to check and tell the condition of head gasket (as it is known to cause issues) ?

 

2. Does it make sense to replace the head gasket now to make sure I will have no problems when on the road ?   I would appreciate if some of you who did that could report a cost (so I can have a rough idea how much can pay for the labor). I have met one guy some time ago who claimed that after viewing some YT videos he did it himself in a garage. I do not have a garage and lift so woill have to rely on the mechanic, but knowing how long (hrs) it would take will also could help.

 

3. Since OEM radio sucks (does not even play MP3 CDs, I ordered this KENWOOD http://www.crutchfield.com/p_113KDC125U/Kenwood-KDC-125U.html?tp=5684&omnews=13703054 radio/receiver. Any tips for replacing ? I see my Forester has nowhere antenna so I was wondering how to deal with that ? 

4. Are there any issues with puting on bigger tires ?

 

5. Any lift kits, protectors etc to make suspension higher (to go off road). I've seen some kits on YT but no info which is worth the money and where to buy it.

 

 

Thank you - ARTHUR

[heartless]

i dont know for sure about the 2007 model, but our 2002 Forester has the antenna embedded in the drivers side rear cargo window glass... looks kind of like an oddly shaped defroster grid.

If at all possible, get an adapter harness kit for your new stereo - it would have the plug-in to match your vehicle, you just wire the new stereo to it, and simply unplug the old one, plug in the new one - no wire cutting/splicing in the vehicle that tends to lead to problems.

something like this: http://www.crutchfield.com/p_120708901/Metra-70-8901-Receiver-Wiring-Harness.html

(use their vehicle specific finder tool to match up what you have already to get one that will work right)

 

Issues with larger tires would be pretty basic - clearance (especially when turning) and the speedometer/odometer will be off - how far off would depend on how much of a size difference there is. Use https://tiresize.com/comparison/ to get an idea of how the speedometer would be affected.

 

for the suspension stuff, i will let someone else take those questions since I am fairly new to the 2000+ generation myself.

[Rooster2]

Regarding potential head gasket issue, I would not worry much about it. On later models 2002-2010, the potential to leak is not something that leaves you broke down and stranded on the side of the road. It presents itself as a very slow coolant. The coolant level should be well monitored, and keep an eye out for coolant leakange on your garage floor or driveway. Subaru sells a "coolant conditioner" to address this problem. It is simply a "stop leak" product, and works well.

 

My preference is an Outback over a Forester. The Outback has a longer wheel base, so rides a little better, and drives smoother on rough roads. Cargo area is much larger on an Outback

[idosubaru]

Tires and lifts no big deal, go for it.  Tires will of course affect gas mileage and speedometer reading will be off depending how big you go.  A little bit is marginally and doesnt' do much more than compensate for the average low reading of the speedometer.  10% off and you're actually traveling a good bit different at highway speeds, just take note. 

 

Headgasket - they don't fail catastrophically (or very rarely do - usually that only happens on previously replaced headgaskets where failure modes vary more wildly).  They just start leaking externally and you can drive them years and 10's of thousands of miles without issues - just top the fluids off as they get low (usually oil on that year, but could be coolant).  Someone just posted last week that they've been leaking oil in theirs for 50,000 miles now and it's never gotten terribly worse so they keep adding oil like all the people who know Subaru's suggest you can do - that's common, not anecdotal. 

 

Headgasket replacement $1,200 - $2,000.  Use Subaru OEM gaskets (preferrably turbo engine gaskets) and resurface the heads (no matter what the shop, mechanic says). 

Price depends on mechanic, other parts replaced (timing components), and resurface costs (should be inexpensive but often times uninformed car people are at the mercy of whatever shop/mechanic they're using. 

Preventative isn't really necessary since they give you plenty of time to plan and don't leave you stranded - but either way plan the steps out - get the turbo gasket and find a shop that will resurface the heads for a reasonable cost without incurring typical high costs of complete valve job, check for cracks, flatness, pressure test, etc which is pointless on those heads. just resurface and be done.

 

If you wait or buy a few years newer like 2011 you can get into an FB engine which means no headgasket issues and no timing belt maintenance. 

On a 2007 Forester you need the timing belt replaced which is $500 - $700 to replace in a sub-par poor manner.

If you buy that car you're into a big expense right off the bat - yours is due by age at almost 10 years old and 105,000 is the mileage interval for it.

It's stupid to just replace the belt - the complete timing kit should be used. 

Done right it should include a complete timing belt kit (and oil pump reseal IMO) for $700 - $1,500 depending what all you get done and parts source/mechanic.

 

Put that maintenance costs into a newer Forester 2011 gets you into an FB engine

2012 gets you into an FB20 - if that's anything like the 2.2, 2.0, and 1.8 engines of the past it's going to be a beastly engine making 200,000 without blinking or looking at your wallet. 

[sadarahu]

Thank you guys. I'm really thrilled with your responses. It is all very helpful and educative. I already bought the car so perhaps in a few years I switch to the newer model (although I do not like new design, and style). I'm kinda old fashion pal so more important for me is off road behavior (when I'm traveling). It looks like I have at least one year to think about possible maintenance costs.

As far as buying a newer model I had to consider the fact to get credit or pay cash. Since I went through very serious transformation of not dealing with banksters anymore (no CC, no credits nothing to owe....) I only buy what I can afford. Perhaps in a year or two would be able to pay $36k for the latest mode but for now I deal with what I have and so far I am happy.

 

The radio I ordered should come with the free harness so thank you for the suggestions. This is really nice site.

 

 

Just wonder if there is anything that needs protection under - when going off road. Last year being stuck in mud my Toyota Yaris somewhere in Georgia I got some minor damage of few things so would like to know it there is anything that's crucial, exposed and worth some protection ?

 

Thank you all.

ARTHUR

Edited July 13, 2016 by sadarahu

[heartless]

 

The radio I ordered should come with the free harness so thank you for the suggestions.

 

I am guessing you have never done a stereo swap before, have you?

 

The "harness" the new stereo comes with will only have the connector that plugs into the back of the stereo unit - the car side will be just plain wires - no connector.

 

That is what the adapter kits are for - they come with the connector to actually plug into your specific vehicle so you do not have to cut/splice any wiring in the car.

you wire the stereo harness to the adapter connector and simply plug it in to the stock connector in the vehicle. It also makes reverting back to the stock stereo much quicker if you decide to sell the car down the road, but want to keep the new stereo

[Rooster2]

I am guessing you have never done a stereo swap before, have you?

 

The "harness" the new stereo comes with will only have the connector that plugs into the back of the stereo unit - the car side will be just plain wires - no connector.

 

That is what the adapter kits are for - they come with the connector to actually plug into your specific vehicle so you do not have to cut/splice any wiring in the car.

you wire the stereo harness to the adapter connector and simply plug it in to the stock connector in the vehicle. It also makes reverting back to the stock stereo much quicker if you decide to sell the car down the road, but want to keep the new stereo

A company called Crutchfield Electronics sells car stereos and etc on line. I have bought their car radio adapter kits in the past. So much easier using their interface, as opposed to cutting wires and making wire connections. They also have great customer service techs to help you solve your problems.Their website is: http://www.crutchfield.com/S-f49TZ8azzAE/

Edited July 13, 2016 by Rooster2

[idosubaru]

 

As far as buying a newer model I had to consider the fact to get credit or pay cash. Since I went through very serious transformation of not dealing with banksters anymore (no CC, no credits nothing to owe....) I only buy what I can afford. Perhaps in a year or two would be able to pay $36k for the latest mode

 

good job!  i'm all for paying cash, well done!

 

not the latest model - a 2011 is 7 years old now, but yeah, either way i totally get that you look for what's a good fit for you.  just throwing out options, never know what all the variables are. 

[sadarahu]

Received the radio today, but no installation kit :-(   DISAPPOINTED.  I also see this radio has no dial (which I really prefer).  Waiting for CRUTCHFIELD to respond.

[Rooster2]

Received the radio today, but no installation kit :-(   DISAPPOINTED.  I also see this radio has no dial (which I really prefer).  Waiting for CRUTCHFIELD to respond.

Did you order the adapter kit in addition to the radio from Crutchfield?? If so, are they back logged??

[heartless]

Received the radio today, but no installation kit :-(   DISAPPOINTED.  I also see this radio has no dial (which I really prefer).  Waiting for CRUTCHFIELD to respond.

 

tried to tell you that...

 

install kits/adapters are sold separately so that you can get one specific to your vehicle.

Edited July 15, 2016 by heartless