Here is my design evaluation of the 2009 Subaru Forester:
The 2009 Forester is overall a great design and I am in general very happy with it.
It is a huge improvement over the previous model. But there are some design flaws,
some of which are dangerous and others merely annoying:
1. There is no on-off light switch for the interior lights! (Map lights)
I never heard of a car designed without a switch allowing the driver to decide
whether to have the interior lights come on automatically when the doors open.
I installed a switch to let me do this.
2. The storage in the dashboard and center console is poorly designed. The glove box is a strange
shape which holds very little, especially considering its outside dimensions, and the
open sides cause loose items to fall out. The glove box in my 1996 Impreza Outback
was much better -- it held more, was easier to access, things did not fall out, and
its outside dimensions were much smaller.
The 1996 Impreza also had a small recessed tray to the left of the driver, which was
called a coin tray but which was a perfect place to put my garage door opener. I have
not yet found a satisfactory place in the Forester to keep the opener. This problem
would have been alleviated if I could have kept the HomeLink feature the car came
with, but Subaru insisted on mounting the HomeLink on the obnoxious automatic rear-view
mirror that I had to replace with a manual mirror (this was much harder than it needed
to be because the two mirrors use different mounts, which is just ridiculous).
The HomeLink on our Honda Pilot is mounted on the roof panel, which is infinitely superior.
Another superior feature of the 1996 Impreza was that it had pull-out cup holders
in the dashboard. Although these were rather flimsy, they held drinks without
interfering with shifting gears; drinks in the holders in the center console get
in the way of the gearshift, as well as being harder for the driver to pick up to
drink than ones in dashboard-mounted holders. In addition, when the drink holders in the
1996 Impreza were pulled out, they obscured view of things in the open storage tray below,
so I could leave things like my cell phone there without them being visible from outside
the vehicle. There is no such view block in the Forester.
The center console in the 2009 Forester is a big improvement over the one in the 2008
Forester, which I discovered in a test drive seriously interfered with the gearshift.
But the 2009 design is still not entirely satisfactory. It is especially a problem
to have the AUX connection inside the storage area: use of this connection is almost
incompatible with using the area for storage. I see no reason why the AUX connection
needs to be hidden like this.
3. The Vehicle Stability Control is a great feature, and it is good to have a button
allowing it to be temporarily disconnected under certain conditions. There needs to be
a similar button (or possibly on the same button) allowing the ABS brakes to be disabled
temporarily too. I almost came to grief a few times on gravel roads in my 1996 Impreza
when the ABS brakes interfered with stopping properly (on a gravel road, you do indeed
want to lock the wheels to stop suddenly). This is a safety concern which needs to
be addressed.
4. I was very disappointed that the cruise control was relocated to the steering wheel.
Having cruise control buttons on the steering wheel is dangerous. They cannot just be
operated by touch, at least not without a lot of familiarity with them, and require the
driver to take his/her eyes off the road to look at the buttons. More importantly,
they can be accidentally pressed. In our Honda Pilot, we have steering wheel button
controls too, and a few times I have accidentally pushed the "accelerate" button while
shifting my hands on the steering wheel during a long drive. The buttons on the Forester
seem to be somewhat better located, and I have not had this problem with them so far,
but it is something I have to worry about as I drive. The stalk control I had on my 1996
Impreza, which was used until this year, was the best cruise control arrangement I have
ever used; it was very easy and comfortable to use, could be used without the driver
taking eyes off the road, and there was no danger of accidental misuse. Subaru should
immediately go back to this arrangement, and should even consider recalling the cars
with the steering wheel buttons to retrofit the stalk.
5. I am very unhappy not to have an on-off switch for the Daytime Running Lamps. Subaru
touts these as a safety feature, and they may be under some circumstances, but in other
situations they are dangerous. For example, I am very uncomfortable driving on rural
two-lane roads with the reduced-intensity DRL's on; an oncoming driver wishing to pass
may see the DRL's, assume I have my headlights on, and think I am farther away than I am.
I also just object in principle to having lights on my vehicle that I cannot control.
DRL's are not required anywhere in this country, and Subaru should accept that they are
controversial and give your customers the option of whether to use them, as Toyota does.
My understanding is that police equipped vehicles have a switch allowing the DRL's to
be turned off, and this switch should be offered to the public too. If I can't figure
out how to install a switch giving me control over the DRL's, I will have to disconnect
them entirely, which I would prefer not to do; and I resent the fact that Subaru has
deliberately made it so difficult to disconnect or switch the DRL's.
6. Subaru should consider adding a small convex mirror to the driver's side mirror to
eliminate the blind spot. The first week I had my 1996 Impreza I almost had two
accidents because I was not used to the blind spot; I then added a stick-on convex mirror
and never had any more problem. The blind spot on the Forester seems to be smaller, but
I added a stick-on convex mirror anyway to eliminate the issue, although the funny
shape of the Forester mirror made this somewhat awkward to do.
7. I don't like the arrangement with the remote entry buttons that only the driver's
door opens the first time the button is pushed, and that I have to push the button a
second time to unlock the rest of the doors. I can accept that there may be people
who like this arrangement, although I can't understand why; but there should be a
programming option to just have all the doors unlock at once so I don't routinely
have to push the button twice every time I unlock the car remotely. I also dislike
that the lights flash when I unlock the car remotely; I was able to reprogram the
remote locks so the obnoxious horn beep disappeared, but not the light flash. This
should be a programming option too, and I'm amazed it isn't.
Thank God at least Subaru has not installed automatic door locks that activate when the
vehicle is driven. These are not only extremely annoying, but also dangerous in my
opinion since a person can potentially be trapped inside the vehicle. If this car
had had such automatic locks, and they could not have been disabled, I absolutely would
not have bought it.
8. I was dismayed to find that the engine runs with reduced smoothness and power when the
air conditioning is on. I had the same problem with the 1996 Impreza. I would not describe
either car's problem as severe, but they are noticeable. I am beginning to wonder if this
is an endemic problem with Subarus. Years ago most cars with air conditioning had this
difficulty, but in recent years I have not encountered it in any vehicles except the two
Subarus.
The 2009 Forester is overall a great design and I am in general very happy with it.
It is a huge improvement over the previous model. But there are some design flaws,
some of which are dangerous and others merely annoying:
1. There is no on-off light switch for the interior lights! (Map lights)
I never heard of a car designed without a switch allowing the driver to decide
whether to have the interior lights come on automatically when the doors open.
I installed a switch to let me do this.
2. The storage in the dashboard and center console is poorly designed. The glove box is a strange
shape which holds very little, especially considering its outside dimensions, and the
open sides cause loose items to fall out. The glove box in my 1996 Impreza Outback
was much better -- it held more, was easier to access, things did not fall out, and
its outside dimensions were much smaller.
The 1996 Impreza also had a small recessed tray to the left of the driver, which was
called a coin tray but which was a perfect place to put my garage door opener. I have
not yet found a satisfactory place in the Forester to keep the opener. This problem
would have been alleviated if I could have kept the HomeLink feature the car came
with, but Subaru insisted on mounting the HomeLink on the obnoxious automatic rear-view
mirror that I had to replace with a manual mirror (this was much harder than it needed
to be because the two mirrors use different mounts, which is just ridiculous).
The HomeLink on our Honda Pilot is mounted on the roof panel, which is infinitely superior.
Another superior feature of the 1996 Impreza was that it had pull-out cup holders
in the dashboard. Although these were rather flimsy, they held drinks without
interfering with shifting gears; drinks in the holders in the center console get
in the way of the gearshift, as well as being harder for the driver to pick up to
drink than ones in dashboard-mounted holders. In addition, when the drink holders in the
1996 Impreza were pulled out, they obscured view of things in the open storage tray below,
so I could leave things like my cell phone there without them being visible from outside
the vehicle. There is no such view block in the Forester.
The center console in the 2009 Forester is a big improvement over the one in the 2008
Forester, which I discovered in a test drive seriously interfered with the gearshift.
But the 2009 design is still not entirely satisfactory. It is especially a problem
to have the AUX connection inside the storage area: use of this connection is almost
incompatible with using the area for storage. I see no reason why the AUX connection
needs to be hidden like this.
3. The Vehicle Stability Control is a great feature, and it is good to have a button
allowing it to be temporarily disconnected under certain conditions. There needs to be
a similar button (or possibly on the same button) allowing the ABS brakes to be disabled
temporarily too. I almost came to grief a few times on gravel roads in my 1996 Impreza
when the ABS brakes interfered with stopping properly (on a gravel road, you do indeed
want to lock the wheels to stop suddenly). This is a safety concern which needs to
be addressed.
4. I was very disappointed that the cruise control was relocated to the steering wheel.
Having cruise control buttons on the steering wheel is dangerous. They cannot just be
operated by touch, at least not without a lot of familiarity with them, and require the
driver to take his/her eyes off the road to look at the buttons. More importantly,
they can be accidentally pressed. In our Honda Pilot, we have steering wheel button
controls too, and a few times I have accidentally pushed the "accelerate" button while
shifting my hands on the steering wheel during a long drive. The buttons on the Forester
seem to be somewhat better located, and I have not had this problem with them so far,
but it is something I have to worry about as I drive. The stalk control I had on my 1996
Impreza, which was used until this year, was the best cruise control arrangement I have
ever used; it was very easy and comfortable to use, could be used without the driver
taking eyes off the road, and there was no danger of accidental misuse. Subaru should
immediately go back to this arrangement, and should even consider recalling the cars
with the steering wheel buttons to retrofit the stalk.
5. I am very unhappy not to have an on-off switch for the Daytime Running Lamps. Subaru
touts these as a safety feature, and they may be under some circumstances, but in other
situations they are dangerous. For example, I am very uncomfortable driving on rural
two-lane roads with the reduced-intensity DRL's on; an oncoming driver wishing to pass
may see the DRL's, assume I have my headlights on, and think I am farther away than I am.
I also just object in principle to having lights on my vehicle that I cannot control.
DRL's are not required anywhere in this country, and Subaru should accept that they are
controversial and give your customers the option of whether to use them, as Toyota does.
My understanding is that police equipped vehicles have a switch allowing the DRL's to
be turned off, and this switch should be offered to the public too. If I can't figure
out how to install a switch giving me control over the DRL's, I will have to disconnect
them entirely, which I would prefer not to do; and I resent the fact that Subaru has
deliberately made it so difficult to disconnect or switch the DRL's.
6. Subaru should consider adding a small convex mirror to the driver's side mirror to
eliminate the blind spot. The first week I had my 1996 Impreza I almost had two
accidents because I was not used to the blind spot; I then added a stick-on convex mirror
and never had any more problem. The blind spot on the Forester seems to be smaller, but
I added a stick-on convex mirror anyway to eliminate the issue, although the funny
shape of the Forester mirror made this somewhat awkward to do.
7. I don't like the arrangement with the remote entry buttons that only the driver's
door opens the first time the button is pushed, and that I have to push the button a
second time to unlock the rest of the doors. I can accept that there may be people
who like this arrangement, although I can't understand why; but there should be a
programming option to just have all the doors unlock at once so I don't routinely
have to push the button twice every time I unlock the car remotely. I also dislike
that the lights flash when I unlock the car remotely; I was able to reprogram the
remote locks so the obnoxious horn beep disappeared, but not the light flash. This
should be a programming option too, and I'm amazed it isn't.
Thank God at least Subaru has not installed automatic door locks that activate when the
vehicle is driven. These are not only extremely annoying, but also dangerous in my
opinion since a person can potentially be trapped inside the vehicle. If this car
had had such automatic locks, and they could not have been disabled, I absolutely would
not have bought it.
8. I was dismayed to find that the engine runs with reduced smoothness and power when the
air conditioning is on. I had the same problem with the 1996 Impreza. I would not describe
either car's problem as severe, but they are noticeable. I am beginning to wonder if this
is an endemic problem with Subarus. Years ago most cars with air conditioning had this
difficulty, but in recent years I have not encountered it in any vehicles except the two
Subarus.