Mr B

Model generation SF SG SH SJ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subaru_Forester

I'm 6'3 & find them ok, do think a slightly smaller steering wheel would of helped though as it hangs quite low even when tilt set as high as possible. SF is my personal favourite.

SF is more ruggid. bumpers, roof bars, rear boot handle & interior material is far more wear durable, earlier wishbone mountings are far better design too. Still all pretty good though but I really do dislike the bumper design on the SG as highly impractical design & increases vehicle overhang & length without real need & they easily scraped & knocked due to this plus being colour coded makes even smallest scrapes look tatty & colour painting is not cheap.

They not bad at all, amazingly versatile all rounder & quite cheap to run/maintain generally ...

My old man used SF model one for years on forestry tracks & for light landscaping work he done after early retirement, He worked it hard with chainsaws & wood loaded in back & it even dragged a trailer through rough muddy farm tracks & fields right through some bad winters. during his landscaping days it had ladders & 8ft fence posts strapped on roof rack & boot full of tools & would chug about all day & never gave a problem. even remember it helping to pull a tree stump out with some unpleasant clutch smell but clutch still same one today lol. only thing it had done recently was rear shocks/springs & drop links rebushed, new rear exhaust silencer & rear washer pump had failed so I replaced it, everything works perfect, no rust besides some scale on rear subframe & drives really nice even with heavy use & unsympathetic user :-)

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.

It will be perfect ;-) even an earlier SG AWP model 2003-2008 would be good & prices are not bad at this time of year so you should be able find a real good one if don't rush at it.

as above really, my sister uses one of my SG foresters for 2 labs & that works perfect . 4 would require seats down really unless small dogs. sunroof is dead handy for when got dogs too as that moon sunroof allows plenty air circulate car.

I would fit a new set of plugs & HT leads, odd flickering of CEL often turned out to be pour lead (CEL will flash/flicker as warning of intermittent sparking error) I do 1 or 2 with HT leads a month with similar symptoms .

Hard to say, if it mainly motorway miles then it should be fine & still super healthy, if it been towing & clocked that up on mainly B roads then it got more chance of showing wear/faults. 100K not a lot for a subaru 2.0L NA , I see a lot at almost double that & they amazingly good, sloppy/slightly-noisy transmission, poor clutch & saggy suspension is normally first things to show up. If they had sensible use & proper servicing with quality parts then 100K could have a good 60k+ left ...

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 ...

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

^ pretty much, the old 2.2 had some issues but most had done some serious miles before ran into trouble. 2.5 is the trouble one with a fair few HG failures at quite low mileage. Even my old legacy 2.0L which close to 200Kmiles still fine & engine untouched. I have 2 Foresters but only buy the 2.0L as it the best buy really, I done too many 2.5L HG repairs to want the hassle for no gain really .

2.0L NA of all era are almost bullet proof. as long as oil is changed regularly & correct spec coolant used they go on forever . 2.5L was main one for HG issues and reason the HG issue gets thrown up so much ...

I would get a custom one made up to your needs, something like a 70mm system with good sports cat & silencers with particular attention to rear box to keep noise level close to oem .

Can't see disco springs working well even if do fit, no way spring rates or heights front/rear going be right range. On the fozzy you best using 1" metal spacer blocks on top of the strut hat & then 1" springs, at 2" you may want make custom trailing arm brackets so wheels sit central to rear arch, over 2" it a must. you won't be able go very big on tyres as the strut spring seat sits close to top of tyre. Best option for lifting springs is king spring, iron man or springcoil.co.uk who will do them to spec. I've done a few at 2" & 205/75/15 or 215/75/15 tyre: general grabber AT or Toyo open country AT+ which gives close to 2.5" or 3" lift all combined. Other way is about 40mm on springs then rest via larger tyres. I prefer 25mm on spacers & 25mm on springs as lifting to much on spring means little droop left in the strut travel . 2" is all I recommend for mechanical lift as beyond that cause more issues with stress on UJ & shafts & also alignment issue of camber & wheelbase. 215/75/15 tyre gains a good 17mm in lift but remains sensible in terms of speedo reading difference & gearing and actual body clearance plus can carry a spare that size without much bother. Farmers like it as really improves front/rear/sill clearances. Not cheap when look at tyres & ideally wheel spacers or new wheels & springs & custom brackets/spacers & alignment & telling your insurers :-/ Total gain of 2" looks good, it not overly noticeable until parked next to standard yet it makes vehicle far better for bit of off road use.

^^ only 2 source of the SLS tokico struts and that from the main dealer (tokico only made/supplied to subaru) or used from breakers yard. best option for cost is new non sls struts & springs. Springcoil.co.uk can supply custom springs with progressive rates, heavier rates, lifted or combination which helps for those towing etc. All aftermarket struts are non sls ...

Due to way they constructed & fact no internal parts easily available they not viable for rebuilding.

^ does happen, I done a couple over the years, picked up used ones from breakers as they not a nice price from subaru stealers .

First thing I would do is fault code check & log data from sensors while on a quick test drive, second thing would be checking plugs & leads as they super common for issues, plugs don't get checked or changed as much as should as hard to get at, leads can fail due to long route & tough conditions. lots of other things could be to blame but worth ticking off very basics before spending out.

Best bet with exhaust is likes of powerflow or similar to make up a custom stainless. For scraping/scuffing it worth checking hub for play with dial gauge as bearing play will allow spindle tilt & disc is on the spindle so this tilts & scuffs on discs or shield.

Bit unsure how it exactly change but worth thinking about & researching when buying the 2.5 & 3.0 cars .

tax bands are being revised in next 2 years so keep an eye on it & buy wisely or you could end up with big bill & depreciated market value ...

A little mainly as specify rates little stiffer again over the kyb springs which nice on the XT. you should find the kyb springs & struts stiffer than standard ...