Thinking of buying 2-3 year old Forester 2.0 e-Boxer XE

[Jeronimo]

I have been running a 2.5 Legacy SE for the past 10+ years and along with a 330d BMW it is time for a change to update to a single more up-to-date car.

As the title, I reckon a Forester will be great and save on running costs.  I have an MX-5 to play with also, a keeper.

Are there any things/problems I should look out for?  Most likely I will buy from a dealer.

Advice appreciated, thanks.  Jerry

[Justin Time]

21 hours ago, Jeronimo said:

I have been running a 2.5 Legacy SE for the past 10+ years and along with a 330d BMW it is time for a change to update to a single more up-to-date car.

As the title, I reckon a Forester will be great and save on running costs.  I have an MX-5 to play with also, a keeper.

Are there any things/problems I should look out for?  Most likely I will buy from a dealer.

Advice appreciated, thanks.  Jerry

My only experience of driving an e-boxer forester was two years ago as a courtesy car while my OB was being serviced.  The Forester had less than 200 miles on the clock and it was the black 'sports' (?) version.

First impressions (sitting in it) was that it seemed very comfortable and light.  However, driving it was not pleasant.  It was really slow, tank like, when accelerating from junctions and when pulling away at roundabouts when you wanted to join the flow of traffic. Noticeable slower than the OB.  The member of staff I spoke to afterwards also agreed that they found the OB a much more pleasant drive.  

The stats state:

 Forester 0 - 62 11.8 secs

Outback 0 - 62 10.8 secs.

Neither are speedy cars of course, but the Forester was a sloth - that 1 sec difference was marked.  Having said that, you do see them out and about so perhaps their owners are very content.

Another negative, for me, is that the mpg for the OB is 32.8 while for the Forester it's still just 34.7 mpg.  Hardly a great saving.  Must be those heavy batteries. Plus you have a smaller fuel tank (48 litres vs 63 litres) in the Forester due to the batteries, so you get hardly much better mpg and you have a much reduced range. So if you're prepared to go slower and have to fill up more often on longer journeys...!

Another big negative for me, is that you can't fit a spare wheel in the Forester (again because of the batteries).  No car can pretend to offer aspirations of off-road capabilities if a spare isn't available.

Overall I think the Forester looks the biz, but unless they offer a none hybrid and also either at least a 2.5 litre engine, or a turbo option, it's not for me.  

It'll be interesting to see how you find the Forester after the legacy for driving experience. 

 

[Jeronimo]

Thanks for your observations, Justin, interesting.  I have only driven one for a test drive and did not think it too slow though clearly not as quick as my '09 Legacy with the 2.5l motor or BM 330d!

I was wondering whether the engine management can be chipped for more power - surely possible these days to get 200 from a 2litre motor - though that may be going to extremes for upgrading.

[Justin Time]

6 hours ago, Jeronimo said:

Thanks for your observations, Justin, interesting.  I have only driven one for a test drive and did not think it too slow though clearly not as quick as my '09 Legacy with the 2.5l motor or BM 330d!

I was wondering whether the engine management can be chipped for more power - surely possible these days to get 200 from a 2litre motor - though that may be going to extremes for upgrading.

Yes, that's a good idea re mapping that I hadn't thought of.  Also, perhaps if I'd used the 'sport' mode at busy junctions, then that might have solved the issue for me.

Thinking of a couple of more positives about the Forester.  I liked the higher boot space compared to the OB.  Also, the Forester has a better ground clearance (220mm compared to 213 mm (OB Gen6).