first post from Australia: Forester towing

[damian]

Hi all,

 

I see this board is largely USA. I'm in Australia and considering buying a new forester. Never had a subaru before but actually learned to drive in one many decades ago.

 

I am sorry if this is a faq. I did search but I've never been good at it. If this has been covered a pointer to the threads would be most appreciated.

 

The main concern I have about the forester is towing ability. Possibly to a lesser extent reliability and servicing costs.

 

Traditionally subaru's have had a good reputation but as you all know things can change. I would very much appreciate your sharing any experiences with the current series forester X manual. I'm looking at keeping it up to 10 years.

 

I don't tow often but when I do it's either my big flat bed trailer or my sail boat. The forester has a 1400 kg ( 3000 lb? ) rating. My trailers are a ton to a ton and a quarter maximum but the car didn't feel like it had buckets of torque.

 

I know people say buy a giant truck, but I'm on a budget. I looked at the competition but frankly apart from the nissan the cars were either too small hard riding or just plain ordinary. I'm not buying the nissan as there are big question marks over reliability. Please don't start a religious war, just please accept I'm entitled to my prejudices

 

Anyway any thoughts appreciated. I'm going to try and test drive the tiguan this week, but they are waay dearer than the forester, and apart from the above concerns the subaru ticks all the boxes.

 

Thank you for reading.

[SueBee2]

I had a 2006 Forester and now have a new 2010 Forester. I had trailer hitches on both to tow a small camp trailer--but, it only weighed a little over 1,000 lbs. fully loaded.... You hardly knew it was back there.

As I understand it though, the Forester is only rated to pull 2,400 lbs. (2,000 lbs. for the automatic). So you're pretty much maxing out your limits with what you want to tow. It might be doable if you drive mostly in the flatlands. It wouldn't work for me living in a mountainous area at high elevation.

Before I got the Forester, I looked at other models, but no other 4-cylinder I found had as high a towing capacity.

[Mugs]

I personally would not recomend towing anything more then 1500 pounds with a subaru. Maybe with an H6 but the forester does not come in one yet. Perhaps the diesel will have more towing capacity. Also keep in mind that towing also includes supension, and suby supension is more car like then truck like so softer everything and car rates instead of work rated.

Cheers

[damian]

Thank you for the reply.

 

I take it you've had no trouble (breakdowns, fixes) with yours ?

 

The 2.5 is rated at 1400 kg and the turbo at 1600 here. I assume a kilo is 2.2 lbs ? Anyway the tare weight of the forester is about 1500 kg so the rated limit here is just a little under that.

 

I'm not worried about the flat, more keeping up with traffic from stoplights and on hills and so forth.

 

Again thank you for the comments.

[idosubaru]

Reliability isn't likely to be an issue. The EJ25 has been around for almost 15 years now with it's kinks worked out and Subaru hasn't changed much with transmissions hardly at all in decades. Very reliable and robust.

 

Maintenance. Consistent tire rotations and transmission oil and diff oil changes every 30,000 miles if you're towing.

 

At 100,000 you'll have typical timing belt job which depending on age and condition would include water pump, oil pump reseal, cam seals, and timing pulleys.

 

Based on the questions you're asking I would think you might find some value in looking up reviews and getting feedback on local dealers and who will be doing the service/warranty for you.

 

I guess the H6 isn't an option since Subaru still refuses to put a manual trans behind it those goobers?!

 

Forester, or Subaru's in general, are a poor choice for any long term, consistent, or heavy towing.

[ShawnW]

Have they offered a Diesel in your liberty over there yet? That with a 6MT trans would probably handle the weight as long as the brakes were up to the task.

[damian]

My understanding is the diesel is coming next year.

 

I assume the EJ25 reference is the engine series ? So the cam belts don't need replacement until 100 000 miles ? That's a long interval.

 

I am on a bit of a budget. You can get the rav, vitara, forester, honda crv etc all for around $32kAU here on road. If I go up to mid/high 30's a whole lot of stuff opens up, but I only tow maybe 4 times a year and most of those trips are short. Trouble is some occur without notice or involve a road trip so hiring a tow vehicle isn't always a good solution. Right now I've got an australian ford fairlane, 95 model. 17' long and 6' limousine/sedan, 4 liter straight six. It's nearly dead with over 200 000 miles on it and the new fords aren't very good. Utes (pickups) ride too hard so the small 4X4's were my next option.

 

The nissan and the forester are by far and away the nicest, but as I said I have concerns about the nissan. I've always liked station wagons (my lady friend stirs me that I'm boring). In the old days I'd be able to buy a basic robust rwd wagon with enough torque to pull a load, but that car seems allusive now. The VW 2.0 diesel has buckets of torque and the tiguan should manage my trailers easily, but they are $41k rrp and I've heard the vw dealers won't negotiate. Maybe the forester was too good to be true with regards a solution.

 

Anyway, again thank you for your responses. If there are any relevant threads I should be reading a reference would be appreciated.

[Mugs]

the vw 2.0 diesel has buckets of torque and the tiguan should manage my trailers easily, but they are $41k rrp and i've heard the vw dealers won't negotiate.

 

stay away from anything VW/AUDI/BMW it will bring nothing but nightmares after about three years of driving

[idosubaru]

can you buy the car you want and a used dedicated (cheap) towing vehicle? i absolutely hate driving my truck, but it sure is nice to have. i drive it a few times a year.

 

if you're only towing that few times a year then maybe a forester is okay. keep in mind it is far less safe than a truck when towing heavy loads and you'll be okay. trailer brakes would be nice, hopefully you're driving flat lands, etc.

 

the dangers of towing become apparent the first time you have a trailer start oscillating or someone/something/some animal "appear" in front of you. i'm fortunate that i was in a truck each time those things happened. if a full size truck gets pushed around in those situations i wouldn't want to see what happens to a car and the brakes.

[damian]

Again thank you for your helpful comments.

 

Trailers over 750 kg (about 1700 lbs) have to have brakes mandatory I think everywhere in Australia.

 

I've done plenty of towing and know all about what your saying. Even in my fairlane a tail heavy trailer can sway your rig all over the road without crosswinds or emergency maneuvers. 24' of catamaran hasn't much weight but the silhouette is enormous and even small crosswinds can drag you all over the place.

 

I don't think I'm too concerned about the chassis though, I think that's ok, it's more the lack of torque that concerned me.

 

I had considered the 2 car solution and it has a lot to recommend it. I could buy something small and sporty for everyday (and my ladyfriend could laugh at me as I try to interest women half my age ) and a big car for touring and towing. The big thing would still have to ride soft though and that seems to be tricky to find. Also the economics don't work well.

 

I hear what you say about VW/AUDI/BMW. I really hate the bi-wire looms the Europeans have gone to lately. Makes a towbar a $1500 proposition and I just think they are going to be buckets of trouble when they get old. Still they aren't BAD cars in the way some cars really are.

 

The forester seems really nice, just wish it had a bit more grunt. Pity the diesel is some time off yet. I can't wait till next year as my ford is dying.

 

Again, appreciate the thoughts.

[damian]

I just thought I'd give you all an update.

 

I've bitten the bullet and bought the forester. 2010 (current) model, 06/09 build, X australian spec, manual, black/black with a towbar.

 

Should be picking it up wednesday.

 

I'm pretty confident it'll do what I want. Tremendous pity the diesel isn't out yet, but I'm sure the petrol 2.5 will be fine.

 

Again thank you all for your comments.

[Olnick]

Congrats, sounds good. Send us some pix when you get a chance.

 

Don't beat yourself up about the diesel--maybe you guys will get lucky but I don't expect to see it over here for a long time!

[damian]

It's been a long time comming but I finally posted some pics. I took these several weeks ago but have just been really busy. Also a few on that page of my old ford (which I'm trying to sell).

 

http://home.exetel.com.au/guzzi/forester.html

 

I'm not a very good photographer. Anyway, the car looks a lot like a new forester...

 

You will note the lack of underfloor tray in back. They aren't available in Australia and I'd be keen to acquire one if anyone knows how I'd do that.

 

The car has already acquired some scars. Some kind person banged their door into the back door and left a chip and small dent, and it's got a scratch on one of the taillight lenses. Sigh.

 

Really enjoying driving it.

[Olnick]

Looks good, Damian. Thanks for sharing with us.

 

(You do realize the steering wheel is on the wrong side don't you? )

[Scoobywagon]

For the usage you're talking about, the Forester may not be a bad choice. You're quite right, though. It's going to be a tad light in the torque dept. As has been said, Subaru's are a poor choice for towing duties. However, your towing appears to be intermittent, though borderline insofar as weight goes. If I was sort of pinned down to one vehicle, I'd probably go ahead and get the Forester. I would then save up to purchase a more appropriate tow rig. Given the loads specified, it wouldn't even have to be much of a tow rig and therefore should be doable on the cheap. In the mean time, just take it easy and don't plan on being in a hurry. The Forester is going to be slow off the line. Just accept that and be courteous about it. If you're on a 2-lane road and 3-4 cars are backed up behind you because you're slow at the lights, then pull over and let them by. A little common sense goes a long way and everyone is happy.