scooby-forester19 Posted August 2, 2015 Share Posted August 2, 2015 Many of you have probably seen the fifth gear episode wear tom ford compared the freelander 2 with the forester (a completely biased video btw) he slates the subaru off so much. Has anyone had any experience with the forester off road? Can they handle off road situations with out breaking left right and centre. Any replys are much appreciated Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stants Posted August 2, 2015 Share Posted August 2, 2015 Tom for in my opinion is a bell end, I seem to recall him gushing about an impreza once, i'm off to look for vid on YouTube 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scooby-forester19 Posted August 2, 2015 Author Share Posted August 2, 2015 Tell me about it. Let me know when you seen video Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr B Posted August 2, 2015 Share Posted August 2, 2015 They not bad, early SF was the best as less over hang front & rear & less plastic under front of car. A 2 inch lift makes all the difference for rougher ground, they good on the slippery stuff as the 4wd is proper awd with viscous centrer diff while likes of the freelander has a awful cheapy viscous coupling in the rear prop & rear diff is geared higher than front so it 2wd most of time well most are 2wd all the time as the transmission design is so bad it rips itself to bits quite easily :-) I've done a few fozzy lifts & 2 sump to bumper skid pans for the SG for some farmers & the likes, they seem rate them well for general rough lanes/tracks, crossing fords/streams & field work. They no landrover 90 but with slight lift & good tyre choice they will take you from city centre to a remote moorland farm in the worst weather imaginable & do so in comfort & complete warmth if you got the AWP model :-D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scooby-forester19 Posted August 2, 2015 Author Share Posted August 2, 2015 Thanks for the amazing reply.wear can I get lift kits and underbody protection for forester? :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FoggyJim Posted August 2, 2015 Share Posted August 2, 2015 I've had experience with the older Subaru off road and apart from ground clearence they epic, drove up a hill with a extreme grass slope (the only thing you could see was sky) in a 1800 gl, got almost to the top (about 50-60ft) but cut out as carb was on a extreme angle. If your wondering, I had a mispent youth Sent from my iphone using Tapatalk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FoggyJim Posted August 2, 2015 Share Posted August 2, 2015 Also older models had adjustable ride height Sent from my iphone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scooby-forester19 Posted August 2, 2015 Author Share Posted August 2, 2015 Overall then do you think the foresters (including the newer ones) are tougher, more reliable and better than lets say the LR FL? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FoggyJim Posted August 2, 2015 Share Posted August 2, 2015 At the end of it all its a bit pointless discussing as all they are is a soft roader, although I love my foggy and wouldn't hesitate in throwing it over a field with confidence, they damn rugged, hunting lads have used scoobys for years with great success. Sent from my iphone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FoggyJim Posted August 2, 2015 Share Posted August 2, 2015 Also one thing I do know is freelanders are crap. Sent from my iphone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FoggyJim Posted August 2, 2015 Share Posted August 2, 2015 They seem to like them off road in australia Sent from my iphone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr B Posted August 2, 2015 Share Posted August 2, 2015 They super reliable & can be abused . They quite good for very basic off road stuff & surprising what will do if you got no vehicle sympathy. Fozzy is a truly amazing versatile vehicle & beats a lot of other suv purely as well built & 4wd system is proper effort. Lift set are done via blocks on top of strut mount & springs, blocks can be bought or custom made, springs can be had from king spring or uk company springcoil.co.uk, when lifting rear over 2" you also need reposition trailing arm link so wheel stays central to arch . Most stuff for them comes from usa or australia, you will find some stuff in poland too ... 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martyc Posted August 3, 2015 Share Posted August 3, 2015 The freelander1 is a terrible vehicle, weak transmission and self destructive engines on all but the td4. Also electronic faults galore. The fl2 is better designed and uses a haldex diff but is still a soft reader but a better all round product than the fl1. Can't really comment on the forester as not done a huge amount of research into them. Was tempted by the 2.5xt but engine failure stories put me off. So bought an older Impreza instead. Sent from my iphone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FoggyJim Posted August 3, 2015 Share Posted August 3, 2015 My forester s turbos done 170.000miles and still going strong [emoji16] Sent from my iphone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr B Posted August 3, 2015 Share Posted August 3, 2015 FL2 is slightly better but it built by ford :-/ & the haldex clutch for rear drive is still !Removed! compared to subaru awd ... I get to fix a few freellanders as a fair few farmers have td4 ones. Quite nice looking but they fall to bits so easily, have chaffing wring & window motors on all windows including rear door break the cables frequently . Even the TD4 is not great, expensive common faults & mpg is shockingly low. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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