2007 Subaru Forester XT 2.5 turbo boxer petrol

Summary:

The "Aga Oven" of cars - old fashioned and unsophisticated, but brilliantly usable

Faults:

Droplinks failed twice.

Secondary air system failed twice.

Front brake calipers bleed screws seized.

Passenger front window getting slow to wind.

General Comments:

Those in the know have SG5 Foresters and keep them until they fall apart, hereabouts in farmer land.

They are immensely practical, genuine go-anywhere, any-weather capability. Hard-wearing, flexible and spacious interiors, yet small and narrow enough on the outside to be a UK-sidestreet practical car. You can also do thousand mile motorway days in comfort.

Few cars are genuine all rounders like this.

The four speed auto 'box is a thousand times better than I expected it to be, having owned a manual a few years ago. It's a genuinely usable and likeable car, if a bit dull and "worthy".

Some stuff has failed, but this is a fifteen year old car, that has a very hard pony-and-dog life after all. Recommended for folks who need a rough house medium family car.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 6th September, 2022

6th Sep 2022, 23:12

Good review, never had a Forester but had a Legacy from the same time period, was an excellent car.

7th Jan 2024, 14:22

Original Poster here.

Ticked over 100k miles in five years.

Starting to look a bit unloved, but is mechanically fantastic with specialist services, aftermarket Pedders suspension and Toyo Proxes.

I found out that changing from bulbs is a bumper-off job, and is annoying. Also the HiD lamps are expensive.

The main annoyance is the heating system that has 20 degrees C as its lowest heated temperature. It's miles too hot for me.

That's IT. The Forester has been and still is a magnificent tough all rounder. No weather, or terrain stops it. Drives like a normal car on the road.

Comfy, refined cruiser, 28 mpg overall.

Bloody love this boring car.

In reply to 7th Jan 2024, 14:22

18th Mar 2024, 19:45

Original poster here -

My beloved Forester is no more. After an £800 MOT failure last year it just suffered a £1450 MOT failure this year. This old, niche car is beyond economic repair.

It's been a fantastic companion, treated like dirt (with meticulous maintenance) and only let me down at the end.

Nothing wrong with Foresters at all. Just died cos it's had a hard 17 year life.

Farewell.

2007 Subaru Forester CX 2.0

Summary:

Good-looking and great to drive

Faults:

I bought this car to replace my previous Forester, which throughout my five years of ownership was totally perfect in all respects.

The new car was registered by Subaru and converted to run on LPG by them, it then stood for about 12 months in their compound.

The car looks beautiful, and with only 300 miles is as new.

I was advised to run it on petrol for the first 1000 miles to run it in, which I did. On switching to gas I discovered a serious misfire and engine shuddering, this is so bad that it's embarrassing as the car bucks and jumps.

The dealer test-drove it and agreed it was far from satisfactory and called in Subaru engineers.

The outcome of this is that it needs two new cylinder heads, valves and camshafts - some modification to the combustion chambers is required for it to run properly on LPG.

The work will be done within the next few weeks, I have every reason to suppose that this will cure the problem, both the marque and the dealer are top-notch in my experience.

When running on petrol the misfire is noticeable but nowhere near as bad.

General Comments:

The car looks fantastic in Newport blue and has all the boys toys.

The engine has been uprated from my previous one, and the gain in performance is very noticeable.

Love the car and I'm confident Subaru and the dealer will sort it out.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 8th April, 2009

8th Apr 2009, 10:08

You should reject the vehicle. As described it's unfit for purpose.

11th May 2009, 06:59

The dealer in Leeds has now carried out the work on replacing the cylinder heads etc. I now have the car back and can honestly say it is a delight to drive. I did 200 miles in two days running on LPG, cruising at 70 MPH for most of that time. The car never missed a beat and returned unexpectedly good gas consumption results. I am now very happy with this car and expect it to be trouble-free for the rest of the time I own it, just like the last one.