Spark plugs on those N/A EJ25's are actually extremely easy. First and Second gen Foresters are some of the best cars in the history of well, cars. Reliable, simple, the right size, very capable, just overall really well done.
Yes,. Anyone with the SOHC EJ25, spark plug service is so much easier than those with DOHC. This fact still needs to be shared more. Why easier? SOHC spark plugs go in diagonally, not straight towards the body frame.
Whoever owns that, could have at least cleaned it up a little. The inside looks really gross. The rust outside is bad enough, at least could have made it look a little presentable.
The Forester is quite the curious model. It came out and held on as a "wagon" type design when other manufacturers were doing crossovers. Then eventually, the Forester finally adopted a more "crossover" type design and then the other brands were then making their crossovers more "truck like".
I considered buying a Subaru Forester first gen back in 1998 in Australia, but ended up buying a Suzuki Grand Vitara 4x4 five door auto instead. It was on a ladder frame chassis and had selectable high and low range four wheel drive. Around town and on the highway you could run it in rear wheel drive. It served me well until it was written off in 2007 due to flooding in a severe weather event.
We bought one of these new in 2002 (1st gen Forester S) with a 5-speed in white with the gray lower cladding. It was great until it wasn't. These cars were plagued with head gasket issues. We put 200K miles on it and sold it. My wife misses it quite a bit. Ours was in MUCH better shape than the one in this video when we sold it. I kept it as clean as possible inside and out, and the new owner was appreciative of that.
I think it’s great that you review a car like this. And what’s really changed is now every car looks the same. This car looks cool now and way back then and the new ones just look like another RAV4.
I absolutely love my 2001 Forester and my 2004 Forester. Mine are a bit nicer than the one you reviewed though. Would love to see a Forester XT review as well.
Bought one new, the standard model in Forrest Green, and we drove it for over a decade, my ex replaced it with 2014 Forester. Great cars no complaints got it over a Rav4 or CRV.
Subaru CVT's are among the best on the market. They reason why they get a bad rap is from countless people who don't service them when they are supposed to.
5:18 - I feel like this remark overlooks the attraction of these vs. the Impreza it's based upon. A Forester rear seat is substantially more spacious than in the Impreza Sport. The same is true for CR-V vs. Civic. Or RAV4 vs. Corolla. They weren't huge back seats, but they were more comfortable than their compact sedan counterparts, and that was a major reason stupid crossovers soared in popularity.
I would love to hear your thoughts comparing the forester and outback of that time period. What are noticeable differences in terms of feel, practicality, etc. I’ve always been more an outback guy, but know many that have had multiple Foresters as their car of choice. I’m aware nowadays if you are taller a new Forester has more headroom than the outback
My mom had a white 1998 Forester L and kept it until repairs started getting far too expensive. Her 2015 Forester is so much worse in the snow, even with good snow tires. The electronics and CVT just can't match the low grip performance of the basic mechanical 1st gen (and 2nd gen) Forester. That car was really slow and guzzled gas but it was a superb winter car.
I drove a first gen Forester for a week as a rental car. My only complaint was the lack of passing power. I was driving around Northern AZ on a lot of 2 lane highways. I had to be super cautious passing slower traffic due to the lack of passing power.
Every 2.5 will need timing belt, water pump ,and.head gaskets all at the same time 🎉 Zack you forgot to mention the back seats recline. And these were plauged with head gasket problems . I used to think i knew it all believe consumer reports and all dodge was bad subaru good. . Then my mom got a used 04 legacy and the jead gaslet went out a few years later. Now its a dead car. Looking at the paperwork now where does it mention the water pump being done. That car always shifted weird too. And i think the heater core was starting to go because if you didn't have the defrost on the wind shield would fog up. That right there almost totals the car i bet.
That's what they all say That's if the said Subaru was repaired correctly with a competent mechanic and a pair of dual layer gaskets. But that's on paper anything can still happen@@nowiecoche
I had a 2002, and it was much the same car. I bought it used with @80,000 miles and the head gaskets were already done. I sold it to a friend with 200,000 and it still used no oil. I only got rid of it because of a long commute, and didn't want to put a lot of money into it. It is still on the road. Rust and head gaskets are what ultimately do these in.
If someone’s taking the time out of their day to come check out your car the least you can do is give it a once over. That goes to all the sellers out there as well. Covid pricing made everyone lazy.
I towed my project car from NM to TX with my 1999 forester. Engine would start to get worse fuel economy when it would run out of oil along the way. The engines and transmissions are bulletproof and easy to work on - was able to do the timing belt in my schools parking garage in an afternoon before security came to fuss at me. Had to sell it to pay for college, but i wish I still had it. Did some great off-roading in Colorado too. MPG on highway was trash for only 165hp with a 24mpg average.
2.5 depending on generation is one of Subarus worst engines ever made. Not because it's actually bad, it's because the material used for the head gasket was made from graphite, meaning it's really weak. If the head gasket is replaced with a multi layered steel one, it will never need to be replaced in the first place and will be a decent daily driver. I can't speak for Subarus automatic transmissions though, the things I've heard about them haven't been good. Subaru holistically is another brand of car, alot of people crap on about them being unreliable because yes some of them are, particularly the ones with crap head gaskets but their not bad cars. Their major drawback is their engine design since it horizontal, it means that you will get gravitational wear of the piston rings overtime, which leads to complete failure earlier on then other cars. That's not to say they can't reach very high ks it just means that once you start burning oil, you probably haven't got a lot of time until the rings are gonna break apart completely. The main things that set Subarus apart from other cars is the kind of wobble exhaust note that some of them have, all of the models, particularly Imprezas handle incredibly well for what they are, due to the low centre of gravity of the engine. And lastly, the AWD system is absolutely phenomenal, you feel locked in and safe when you drive one, which I can't say the same for other cars that even have AWD as well.
I'm sure it still won't pass the Big freaking bottle challenge but some did come with a cup holder center console instead of the armrest. I sacrifice my armrest and swap it just so I can hold bigger cups.. 4:53
