geo_forester

and I've already been involved in a minor accident.

A wheel came loose off of a Nissan and hit my rear bumper while I was stopped at a red light. My forester's bumper (lower black portion) was scuffed a bit but no one was injured and the paint was not damaged . Already filed a claim with the driver's insurance, hopefully everything goes smoothly.

Now that I've gotten that out of the way, on to the introduction. I purchased a 2009 Forester 2.5x premium with an automatic transmission, homelink rearview mirror,splash guards,puddle lights ,rear bumper cover and tail pipe tips. The vehicle had 74 miles on the odometer, it was delivered from a dealership ~60 miles away. So far I have seen 17.1-21.1 mpg all street driving under 45mph.

First Subaru, first new car, first vehicle with awd, first automatic in over 10 years. It is without a doubt the best vehicle I have ever owned.

Rx

Congrats on your purchase.

Sorry about the incident though

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audiolui

Any opinion about the vehicle in terms of driving dynamics, ergonomics, features, etc.?

geo_forester

The vehicle is very smooth on Los Angeles County streets, it will absorb most bumps and defects in the road. It corners and turns surprisingly well for a vehicle of its size and weight (previously drove a 2000 integra w/ 5 speed weighing under 2,700 lbs). The pickup is great (at least to 45 mph ) comparable to the acceleration of my integra with 142 hp engine.

The interior is spacious, legroom in the rear seats is outstanding. Head room is great even with the sunroof. The interior space gives the impression that you are in a vehicle much larger than the exterior would lead you to believe.

The controls for the radio on the steering wheel are perfectly placed. I do not have to take my eyes off the road.

The center console can be manipulated to adapt to multiple objects of varying size by moving around the armrest and various trays. Cubby holes and spaces throughout the car.

The sunroof is large and gets a lot of oohs and aahs.

Puddle lights give the vehicle an upscale touch.

The built in storage tray in the back may be handy to some. However I have have equipment strapped down in the rear which makes it useless to me. I would frankly prefer no tray and a full size spare.

The vehicle is well built over all and beautiful in Newport Blue.

Minor annoyances:

-position of the mirror adjustment switch, I would prefer it to be located next to the power window switches.
-mode switch on steering wheel switches from am to fm. You can not cycle through fm1-fm2-fm3 (or can you?).
-Proper temp gauge is missing; replaced by idiot light that changes color (I've only seen it blue; turns off when car is warm enough to drive)

audiolui

Glad you like it. One thing that struck me during test drive was its smoothness and agile handling. A lot of folks also say that "The interior space gives the impression that you are in a vehicle much larger than the exterior would lead you to believe" I totally agree with that. Enjoy.

jtom

The temp gauge is missing which is unusual in a car nowadays. However, most/all temp gauges are not going to give you anymore information then what your forester has.

Torque

Hello and welcome geo_forester it sounds like you are very pleased and so you should be

Sorry to hear about the incident.

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MY07 XTEn 4EAT SportShift

cfsubie

Welcome to the forum and congrats on your new car. Your going to love it. Sorry about your accident. Hopefully they can buff it out. Enjoy your new car.

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cfsubie
<o><
9 Subie's and counting
2009 LL Bean - red

Dan

Our Legacy has the same thing. I'm not a fan, either. Wouldn't be a big deal normally but my wife and I swap cars all the time.

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SHIFT_to_Subaru
'04 XT, 5spd

vintage42

A full size spare is even more important when you read the Owners Manual about the limitations on the compact spare - like where it cannot be used and how it cannot be driven. I changed to a full sized spare for a total of $210, including the rim, tire, mounting and the floor support storage bucket.

FirstSub

Congratulations on the new Forester and sorry to hear about the accident. I am also a former Integra owner with an '09 Forester.

geo_forester

update...

I took the forester into the authorized body shop the insurance adjuster recommended.

Long story short, paint was not affected however the bumper is one piece and must be replaced and repainted to match. I suggested the rear bumper underguard offered by subaru (it'll cover the scuff and looks great), the bodyshop agent liked the suggestion and will run it by the insurance company Monday. My forester may be rockin' an underguard by next friday .

jtom

^^ You will get the underguard since its alot cheaper for the insurance company. However, keep in mind if you dont end up liking the underguard you could be stuck with it.

geo_forester

I thought about that however, I am more concerned with issues regarding the paint that would be used to color match a replacement bumper. The paint my not wear or fade at the same rate making the bumper stand out or it may be off a shade and not look right.

I have yet to see an underguard on a Forester yet, but the pictures on the Subaru website are of a Forester of the same color and it looks fine to me.

Now to convince the wife on the purchase of a front underguard, to match the rear of course .

pgb0517

Can someone please explain the benefits of a bumper underguard? Worth the cost?