Dear op there are many factors which contribute to stopping distance , weather, temp, tire, suspension setup ..... This will be a very subjective answer no matter what others say

 

The brake sensitivity depends on how quickly you hit the brakes.

They feel different than my last vehicle, but you get used to it. Much more control for smooth stopping in my opinion.

If you worry they won't function well in an emergency, go to an abandoned parking lot or something where you can get up to a decent speed and then make a panic stop. You will find that if you stab the brake pedal hard and fast, it will stop quickly.

 

Just don't forget to wear your seatbelt...:wink2:

 

Yes, mine are exactly the same and the dealer told me the same thing. I guess they're just not as good as we're used to, but are still adequate. They seem soft and mushy, and I get what I consider too much pedal travel. I've had my car almost 2 years and I've sorta gotten used to the poor brakes.

In fairness, I'm used to driving a Corvette (superb brakes) and a Caddy ATS (outstanding Brembo brakes).

 

Are stock brakes are mushy by trade

 

I've had mine stop amazingly fast when someone cut me off. I was going about 45 MPH & stopped in what felt like 2-3 feet.

 

To the OP: what were you driving before the Forester? I had a small car prior to picking mine up, and found it took a tiny bit of adjustment to allow for the extra weight of the vehicle in terms of stopping. I used to drive small-medium sized box/flatbed trucks in a past job, so knew what to expect - I think of the Forester as having the cornering of a car, but acceleration/braking more like a pickup ?

 

The question mark in the last line was supposed to be a smiley face.... not sure why it got replaced?!

 

As Symmetrical suggests but if you were driving a French car before this, in my experience, they have very heavy servo assistance which makes the brakes feel very sharp. Many manufacturers do this as well but not so with Subaru it seems although ultimately, in an emergency as Alex.F said, you will stop in time if all other factors are correct.

There was an issue with the older Foresters though in that the firewall was quite flexible which absorbed some of the energy from your right foot. Many of us have fitted a thing called a brake stopper which attaches to the strut tower and the master cylinder is fixed to the stopper bracket, which is also adjustable. Not too difficult to fit and around $40-60 for the older models at least, not sure about the new ones.

Stainless Steel brake lines will also firm the pedal up but don't give that 'feel' you are wondering about. While that sensation is not present in the Forester what you do get is feedback through the pedal which is often lost when heavy servo assistance is used. Having said all that, many here feel the factory brakes are not up to spec and a lot of us fitted the 4 pot 294mm disc and caliper set from the WRX which was a direct replacement on the front, the rear 2 pot setup requires a lot more work. I don't know if this setup works on the newer models though, have a look in the "Brakes" section on the front page.

The blue bracket behind the master cylinder