2017 Forester 2.5 Premium with EyeSight or 2.0 XT Premium

[HelloFL]

Trying to stay under $30K budget and I am trying to decide what is better - to buy a 2.5 Premium with 170 hp but with EyeSight and all other safety features or for approximately the same price just to get a much more powerful 2.0 XT Premium Forester but without EyeSight. I live in Florida - so going to the mountains or snow will not happen often if ever. On a highway I drive for long periods of time but always at 80 miles per hour. Will have my wife and 2 teenage kids in the car. What would you recommend to choose? Thanks.

[bratman2]

If passing or merging at speed is need when loaded the XT is hard to beat. My wife bought her 2011 XT Touring new in 2011. I really wanted her to get a n/a version due to simplicity and better mpg. She has no regrets what so ever. The XT has better tire wheel packages so handling may be a step above other Foresters. The newer 2.0l turbo engines with the cvt seem to get pretty good mpg with the turbo. I do think the XT is still premium fuel required if that matters to you. We are a tad pass 103k and have had no issues or repairs beyond typical maintenance. Was looking at new 2016 XT a couple of months ago but wife passed due to stick shock for the touring version. Decided she will just drive it a couple of more years and maybe opt for a XT premium.

[carfreak85]

I would get the model with eyesight, especially if your teenage kids will be driving the car.

[HelloFL]

Thank you for replies. Yes, the teenagers will drive the car and passing on a highway is not important to me. I just put my cruise control at 80 and stay in one lane. There is one more option though - to buy a more expensive 2.0 XT Touring trim that has the EyeSight and other safety things from 2.5 plus leather seats plus Active Torque Vectoring. The question is - are all those nice extras worth additional $6,000? $36,000 price tag opens up a lot of alternative possibilities - 4Runner (also made in Japan) and many more.

[bratman2]

A good 2-3 thousand dollar car for the teens would be the smarter choice.

[HelloFL]

2-3 thousand dollar car for the teens financially is a smart choice but those cars are usually not safe

[Olnick]

"Usually not safe?"  That's a broad statement.  If chosen carefully, inspected throroughly, then driven and maintained responsibly they are no more unsafe than any other car on the road.

[HelloFL]

You are probably right about getting a lot of value out of used cars purchases, especially when it come to buying luxury cars, but except for my very first car (Toyota Corolla) which I don't have anymore, I only buy new cars and intend to keep them for a long time. With Subaru Forester my expectations are at least 200,000 miles of service. If you spread it through the years you use it, extra 6K for XT/Turbo may appear not a lot but only if you really need those additional 80 hp. With my sedan (Hyundai Sonata) I feel frustration with the 4 cylinders (as opposed to 6 that I could have) only when I am merging in the highway traffic. Passing other cars on a highway or going steady at 80 mph is never a problem. Of course, we are not comparing apples to apples because one is CVT  and the other is AUTO.

[HelloFL]

After all info I gather so far it seems that Premium XT with additional 80 hp is a better choice than a 2.5 with the EyeSight because:

 

- the EyeSight, Blind Spot Monitoring etc have quite a few limitations

- those safety gadgets are plain dangerous for people who rely too much on them and do not pay enough attention to the traffic situation for that reason

- the turbo engine can potentially help you to get out of a dangerous situation faster

- XT has better wheels, suspension and ride which makes it more fun to drive

 

If Subaru did offer EyeSight package with XT Premium for and extra $1,600 or so, I would still go for it. I am just not sure I wouldn't turn it off most of the time though. As of now they don't offer it on XT Premium 2017.