Owner Review: A highly value-for-money purchase - My 2016 Subaru Forester 2.0IP in Malaysia

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Basic information

2016 Subaru Forester 2.0ip

Reason why I bought this car

We bought this car second hand from a personal seller due to my family needed more space for our main car. Our previous proton iriz was fine when it was just my wife and I, but it was apparent that we needed a bigger car when we had our first daughter especially during our holiday where we almost had no boot space left after packing our laugage and stroller.

Car selection process

• I had a budget of RM 75K
• Models that I have considered include: New: honda city, toyota vios Used: subaru xv, honda civic fb, honda crv, mazda 6

Reason why I Chose this car

After we sold our iriz, we had the option either to choose a new b segment japanese car or go to an used higher segment cars. After consideration, we decided to go with the latter with few condition:

1) must not be too old (MUST HAVE valid warranty from car manufacturer)
2) not too high milage
2) big boot space (learned our lesson)
3) comfortable and reliable 

After months of searching, we came across this 2016 forester (SJ model) ad from a personal seller. It was registered in 2017 so it was less than 3 years of usage with less than 60k km on it. We only negotiated on whatsapp and agreed without me even viewing the car (which was kinda reckless, i know) but thankfully the process was smooth and car is fine.

I've also test driven a good looking mazda 6,however the seller stick on his price above rm80k and cabin space was kinda tight. My wife is not a fan of the honda civic fb and cr- 4th gen so that were out as well. We rule out xv as we had experience owning the xv (previous facelifted gen) for a while and we found it quite unrefined (especially loud wind and road noise) while cx- 1st gen is not so attractive to me. 

User experience

• I have done about 25,000 KM.
• My average fuel consumption is 12L/100km.

As we previously have owned the xv for a while (around 8 month) we already know what to expect as it basically have the same drivetrain (engine and gearbox). However, what makes it better than the xv was it is noticeably more refined thanks to its thicker window so less wind noise coming through the cabin. And also the bigger space too.

This car is comfortable on the highway however expect some tyre noise above 110km/h. The huge side mirror plus high seating position means that it was not so hard to navigate through tight spaces too.

As for the drivetrain, this car has a 2 litre boxer engine with a cvt and x mode(offroad mode). If driven on highway route, it easily can reach around 7L/100km but since my route was in KL with stop go traffic, im averaging 12L/100km. Well what to expect from a heavy, big suv right.

Cabin space wise, we now occupy the car with two child seat at the front seat and right side of back passenger seat, but we still can occupy two adults on the back seat. Bootspace is no longer an issue and i love that i can easily place my laundry basket on weekly laundry run upright on the boot.

Moving to some cons of the car, other than so so fuel consumption and tyre noise during high speed driving, some of the parts quality is questionable. For example, this SJ model has some common annoying issue of spoilt arm bush and rear wheel bearing. This can be replaced with original or local parts but isn't it weird this can be common issue while being marketed as a "tough and offroad capable SUV". 

Pros & Cons

Pros

• Huge space for my family of 4. No worries of bootspace during holiday anymore
• Acceptable refinement
• High ground clearance (can go through water puddle with confidence)
• Can go offroad with x mode (i never tried this though) 

Cons

• So so fuel consumption 
• High maintenance. Major service every 40k km (around rm1400 for major service) i still went to subaru service centre to maintain the car warranty
• Questionable parts quality (common issue with this model include peeling steering, arm bush easily kong and bearing issue) 

Ratings

Total Score: 4
Performance: 3
Quality & Features: 3
Space: 5
Ride Comfort: 4
Fuel Economy: 3
Price & Cost: 4

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