This in depth review of the 2019 Subaru Forester Touring was everything and 🔥🔥. It's incredible and inspiring to see you both doing what you love. At some angles you two look like twins. I was very much looking forward to this review, and you two brought it. I've been into the Forester for a few years, and your review and content was hands down stellar. How old are you two? I'm amazed by the level of quality and professionalism from you both for being so young, again truly inspiring. Hopefully you both will review the all new Jetta GLI, I drive a fully loaded 2k14 Jetta that I truly enjoy. I cannot say enough great things about this review. Thank you.
Really well done. Some reviewers spend too much time talking with the camera on them and not transitioning the camera enough on the vehicle. This was very informative and really showed the vehicle in detail. Keep em coming.
I have 4 real recommendations for 2019 Forester owners: 1. Use injector cleaner fluid every few months. The Direct Injection engines leave carbon deposits, which destroy your engine. 2. Disable the Auto Start/Stop system every time you drive. It will save your engine long-term. Car engines are not doing well with constant restarts. 3. Take it easy. Just because this car has ground clearance and a strong”ish” AWD system, doesn’t mean it’s a tank. CVTs overheat and wear out. The engine is weak. There is no underside cladding for most systems. This is a family compact CUV, not a Defender. 4. Finally, the OEM tires often suck. Research them and if needed, replace them immediately.
Fuel injector cleaner will not prevent carbon deposits. The back of the valves can only be kept clean by detergent gasoline passing through intake manifold that is why Toyota uses dual injection.
Gasoline by itself has enough detergent to do the job. The problem is getting it to the valve. With regular port injection the fuel, air, and crankcase fumes flow through the intake manifold and past the intake valve into cylinder. The backside of valve is thus kept clean. With direct injection the fuel is added at the last split second directly to the cylinder. No fuel ever goes through the intake valve opening, the valve is already closed. As a result over time carbon deposits can build up. The valve may not seat properly and the carbon can insulate the valve causing it to run hotter. Valves are cooled by proper seating, seats cooled by water jackets around cylinders. Auto manufactures started using direct injection to gain mpg not to make engines last longer. The same goes for cvt transmissions, more mpg and cheaper to make. The 6-speed auto is proven the cvt is not, maybe some day. For me no cvt, no turbo, no direct injection. I want my suv to last 250k, not to just past warranty.
A S First off, some gasolines do and some do not. Do not make false generalizations. Many cars’ DI engines have had fouled injectors due to build-up. Ford’s EcoBoosts are a good example.
Since 1995 the EPA mandates that all gasoline sold in the U.S. has a minimum amount of detergent. Top tier gas has more than is required which is good but port injection engines will always have cleaner intake valves than direct injection with the exception of dual direct injection which should also have clean intake valves.
Nice video. I have the 2019 Forester limited and I love it. Out of the 13 cars I've owned throughout my life, including Honda, Mazda, VW, Nissan etc, I can honestly say this is the absolute best.
I am also planning to buy one. But scared due to the cvt transmission issue and the carbon deposits in direct injectors. Howz your opinion about its performance and handling till now?
I am also planning to buy one. But scared due to the cvt transmission issue and the carbon deposits in direct injectors. Howz your opinion about its performance and handling till now?
Excellent review I like very much the Forester it is a shame that there is no more a turbo engine for the first time nice weather thank God looking good Drew
We have a touring model and despise it. Keep in mind we are a Subaru family, been driving them for decades. This 2019 Touring model is an anxiety generating vehicle we hate driving or being in, at all. Literally, the best experience we have is when it's just sitting in the driveway. The facial recognition is an absolute nightmare that does NOT work about 75% of the time in our experience. The bane of its existence is sunlight. If there is sunlight coming through the windshield it turns itself off. Even when it is "on" it doesn't work properly, and god forbid you have sunglasses on or the alerts just won't stop... The "assist" software seems to have been designed around a crack head driving instructor. We live in a tight urban area and this thing is a rolling ALARM system from the time we get in to it until the time we get out of it. Literally, the vehicle "alarms" between 7 and 15 times per trip anywhere we go and regardless of who is driving. Please keep in mind, we are SAFE drivers nobody has any speeding tickets or wrecks. We know how to drive. The rear sensors are a complete disaster. Backing out of angled, steeper, driveways frequently triggers the rear sensors to SMASH on its brakes because I guess it think its running in to a wall or something. Most of the time when I egress from even a slightly elevated driveway I have angle out at a sharp angle to prevent the RAB system from giving everybody in the vehicle a heart attack. Why? well because the emergency braking system sounds like the front gun of an A-10 Warthog (The Air Force's tank buster). Yes I mean that literally. Also; we have a sprig of lemon grass that sometimes grows across the driveway threshold and this thing thinks its the neighbors 9 year old lying in the driveway, again ALARMS AND BELLS ALL OVER. Honestly, how can someone even remotely consider driving the piece of crap "off road" at all! The Auto Stop/Start feature is a modern design tragedy as well. Basically, you NEVER know when this thing is going to shut itself off or on or whatever. You really just have to step on the gas and pray that it does what you want. The rear gate also enjoys giving us attitude whenever it wants. Sometimes, and for no good reason the rear hatch just won't open. Instead it will beep at you twice, and ignore your commands. Which is great when you are in the grocery store parking lot with kids and handful of groceries. The only way to fix it, is to take it back to the dealership where they have to climb through the car and manually release the hatch, THEN power the entire car down by disconnecting the battery, and then it will work. Hate to keep you all day, but I am on a mission to get the word out about how this car REALLY behaves in real life, not on open empty roads. This car has software demons that Subaru must address sooner than later. At this point, we intend to move to a different car company for the first time in our lives by the end of the year if Subaru cannot come up with a more amicable driving experience. If you are planning on purchasing this vehicle we recommend keeping it overnight and really testing it out for yourself. Had we done that we most likely would have stayed in our 2015 Forester, which we loved... We just had no inclination that Subaru had gone this over the top with all these so called safety features. We think the car is actually dangerous and do NOT recommend it to anyone.
A K I don’t doubt any of your experiences but it seems like at least delving into the settings would give you some relief. Doesn’t it have a hard off button for Driver Recognition as well as the Auto Stop/Start button right next to it? Also, some of the beep warnings may be lead car acquisition/lead car moving among other settings which could be turned off. It seems unlikely though that most of us would often trigger the lane departure/lane active assist beeping/system unless actually drifting frequently to the very edge of lanes- probably not a system that I would ever have on except on a limited access highway. As far as reversing and auto rear braking the manual explains pretty clearly its limitations and conditions where it may be triggered because of slopes or misreading elements, another system to turn off or ignore at the specific instance where you know it is compromised or might be. I have heard of others (on the internet, not actual owners I’ve spoken with) complaining of the power rear hatch issues and some head unit issues. I hope your dealer helps you resolve your legitimate complaints and concerns.
As a touring owner I don't have any of these issues. The car beeps quietly at you from time to time but its just not that annoying. The backup warning sensor Gives my some grief when a bike is on the rear rack but there is a button for that. I also had a 2015 Forester before and the new one is a vast improvement, we are very happy with the car.
Sport and the one just above offer the premium sound as an option ! 👍 On the top trim, I'd Have to go w/ the Saddle Brown seats. To me, the dark grey clashes w/ the headliner. I love the "step" just inside the back door for easy roof access! 5th Gen. Forester has got my business for my next vehicle! Excellent Review Men! Thank You! P.S. auto start stop is my ONLY gripe. Mine will be turned off. 👍
So, the moonroof does actually open up further, that was only the first stop; A second press of the button would have slid it all the way back. I was between this and the Rav4 Hybrid. I didn't even get to test the hybrid because it wasn't out yet, and didn't test the Rav4. I did get the chance to drive the new Rav about a week after getting my Forester Sport and it was definitely the right call. Smoother, quieter, and definitely more refined; I also found the Rav uncomfortable (in XLE trim) in that it had manual seat adjustments, a lack of headroom (and I'm not a tall person), and a more claustrophobic cabin. My main remaining gripes are that I can't vent the large moonroof and the spoiler will retain soap/water FOREVER after a wash, always leading to runs on the rear window. I figured out how to get single MPH cruise increments after a month.
Very well done review. You guys have convinced me...I definitely want to consider the Forester now. I hate the look of those taillights, but it’s a really minor quibble.
Hi guys! Great video review of 2019 Forester. My question... is the boxer engine noisy? How does it compare from a noise standpoint with other SUV's in its class? Do you hear engine noise while driving? Is the engine noise heard in the cabin anymore distracting than other SUV's? Thank you for taking the time to answer. Again... great job on the video!
Thanks! As far as noise, I'd say that Subaru Boxer engines are louder than most competitors at startup BUT they are average if not quieter than rivals when driving. Overall, the Forester is pretty refined in sound insolation
Wish they didn’t do those old school switches for the front heated seats. We have them on our old Outback. They are in the way of arms and hands and got pressed a lot unintentionally and they remain on until you realize and switch it off. They need to move them to center dash somewhere around the HVAC controls.
What about the spare tire? Does the spare tire match the other 4 tires? Can a full sized tire fit in the spare tire well? If the spare tire does not match, you need to convert from AWD to front wheel drive otherwise the differential could be damaged with different sized tires.
I’d prefer you guys review the trims that most people will order: Premium on the Forester and XLE AWD on the Rav4. Most other reviewers simply review the top trims, but those are rarely purchased and the lower trims tend to feel/look/sound very different.
Hey CC, nice video. Subarus are good looking vehicles. But I was wondering if you guys are willing to look at any Jaguar vehicles, if there are any dealers in Kentucky?
@@CarConfections If you two will be able to pull that off I've got a good first recommendation. The Jaguar F Pace crossover. A friend of mine just picked up a 2019 and it's beautiful. What will really catch your eye is the siding on the bottom of the entrance that lights up. Our fellow subscribers will be looking forward to it!
I am also planning to buy one. But scared due to the cvt transmission issue and the carbon deposits in direct injectors. Howz your opinion about its performance and handling till now?
Silent Refusal Subaru CVT’s don’t have the best reputation for long term durability. Maybe they’re better now, but that would be my concern. Also heard mixed things about whether the head gasket issue has been resolved with the 2.5L engine or not.
@@hobofactory The issue of long term durability is objective. The iseecars.com website conducted a study and found that the Rav4 is 4th on the list of original owners keeping their cars for 15 plus years and Subaru is 13th on the list. So long term they are on the road longer, but in terms of complaints and issues, The Rav4 has 2,196 while the Forester has 581.
David Vega interesting stuff; I do have a few thoughts on that, though. I was referring specifically to reliability of the CVT and the head gasket issue with the 2.5L engine. These are known to be a problem and are very expensive to fix (both tend to be in the thousands of dollars). Whereas a total list of all complaints and issues might include something like a $15 hatch strut going bad. Secondly, if we’re talking about data going back as long as 15 years, then really we could be comparing 2004 RAV4’s to 2004 Foresters, both are very different animals from 2019’s. If I were choosing between 04’s (and a few years beyond that) I’d actually choose the Subaru (they weren’t doing the CVT in Foresters yet), as long as the head gasket job was already done. Thirdly, isn’t the number of complaints dependent also on the number of cars sold? I’m too lazy to look up sales figures since 2004, but for the last few years the RAV4 has definitely outsold the Forester. More cars sold, means more opportunities for complaints, no?
