Just curious, I have a '00 Outback and a friend is thinking about getting a Forester, why would one choose a Forester over an Outback?

 

A comparison of some the specs shows the outback has more headroom, legroom, ground clearance, cargo capacity, towing capacity, performance, etc. Is it a vehicle classification (i.e. small SUV), style...?

I would say, style, price, and MPG, ohh and maybe speed. I think (probably wrong) the forester is slightly cheaper, slightly lighter which makes for slightly better MPG and speed. Some prople also don't like wagons, but small suvs are good. Also, maybe need. Why drive a surbaban when all you need is a focus? ok, bad example

Recently I did some compairing between the two. I found that atleast for the 2005 models, the forester had more leg and head room. Also you sit higher in the Forester. As for the towing, they should be the same since both vehicles have the same trivetrain components.

I have owned both, Drive each and access your needs. For me currently, the Forester is Fun to drive, corners better and the little taller cargo area works for me now. Had a 90 Legacy LS wagon previously (miss the 2.2L, still feel it was a more reliable engine than the current 2.5).

 

But at the time I had the 90 Legacy and the 98 Forester came out, I thought 'Who would ever buy one of those?'.......Well I did a few years later.

(Be careful what you say or wish for.........)

and parking ability. If you live in a city and use it as your Home Depot car it takes things inside that you would need to put on the roof.

I have to turn it around in my back yard to come out of my driveway frontwards. The Forester will just clear in two moves and a Legacy-Outback takes three. The Forester can get into a city parking spot the bigger ones cannot.

Which car do I think drives best? The Legacy. My family has a few in New Zealand as well as some Outbacks (one brother in law has a car rental company in Queenstown). I have driven a number of Subies with the exception of the Outback Sport, and the Forester is big enough, drives well enough, and has enough power to satify me.

Interesting....I guess it comes down to preference. BTW comparing base model of each the Outback has more headroom (40.5/39.1)/legroom (44.1/33.9) and vs. Forester headroom (34.8/39.8)/legroom (43.6/33.7) towing capacity 2700lb vs 2400lb. The forester is not as long (6" less) or heavy (220lb less) and less expensive.

 

thanks for the replies.

The Forester is based on the Impreza while the Outback is based on the Legacy.

 

~Howard

Forester is better off road b/c of shorter approach/departure angles (i.e., less overhang.) The OBW has good clearance but approach angle completely sucks and you will bang up the front bumper on any decent size ditch or hole.

 

The Forester also has a full-size spare tire whereas the OB gets that worthless donut spare. Maybe not a big consideration, but if I was in the market for a small SUV I think I'd look hard at the Forester. Also, the '03-up Foresters are much better looking than the '98-'02 version.

When my wife and I were looking for a car a couple of years ago, the Legacy wagon was on our list. We weren't even considering the Forester- we just decided to drive one for the hell of it. I went into the situation "poo-pooing" the forester, but ended up liking it. Everyone has their own criteria, but for us, we like the egress/ingress of the forester, and thought the cargo area was more suitable for us. The one pet-peeve I had about the legacy was that you had to lift up the rear bench to fold flat the rear seat. with a car seat in the back, that wasn't going to work for us. I did find the ride of the legacy more 'comfortable' but this is a subjective opinion (as are all our other deciding factors).

 

Your friend should just pick the car he wants. The specs on paper should just be a starting point in making his decision. None of the things I mentioned may even be applicable to him. It's hard to comment because we don't know what he's looking for in a car.