2001 Subaru Forester User Reviews

Great Utility — Use this Subaru to get off the beaten trail every once and a while. With excellent all-weather performance and all-wheel drive this wagon can take you to the hills or rivers and bring you back in comfort. Great for camping and driving on winding roads through rain or snow.

Primary Use: Commuting to work

Versatility At Its Best — The first-generation Forester had a very particular feel to it. Being lame, borderline ugly, in its design, its performance, amazing versatility, sold build, safety and comfort made it a very succesful car. A few twitches on the fascia and tail in 2001 made it a little better looking, especially for the large stoplights. Additionally, power was boosted 10 HPs, and the dual-range lever became operable in motion, making this crossover, and its base car the Impreza, the first effective 10-gear manual transmission equipped car I am aware of. Thios has always been my favorite feature. Need a boost to pass a slower car on the road? Just pull the lever. Climbing a winding street with a full load? Just pull the lever. Need to cross a small pond? You got it. The very crossover concept, even thoug not invented by Subaru, became a great trend thanks to this particular model. And it worked marvelously. Cosy, stable, fun to drive and quite economic as a car, tall enough, versatile, roomy and quite off-road competent as an SUV, just like the add said. The Subaru Forester delivered what it promissed, big time. Now, maybe it will not win a quarter-mile head to head with many cars, althoug thanks to its dual-range I've left many a driver eating dust at the red light. Certainly it will not attact chicks, although maybe if you bring your kids and/or dog they will pay attention to you, and I can assure you it will not win the Concours d'Élégance even in fifty years when it is considered a classic, although its looks did grow on me very quickly. But its extreme versatility maks up for any of these faults: It's a commuter, a family car, a long trip car, a night-out car, relaxing when stuck in the traffic, extremely capable on the highway, at home on countryside dirt roads.

Primary Use: Family transportation

Great For Teenager — I bought the Subie in 2006 for my teenage daughter to drive. She just got her license. Easy to handle, side airbags, AWD (we live in NH), easy to see out of (she's 5'2"). Fun to drive. Gotta love the huge sunroof and the frameless doors...

Owner for 1 years, 2 months

Miles Driven per Year:15,000

Almost Perfect.. — its low, its fast.. not exatly a big saver on gas.. but its a great ride for the expense, cruises nicely on the road and corners real nice, doest give much slip or skid given it some hard runs and holds up great.

Primary Use: Sport/fun (spirited driving, track racing, off-roading, etc.)

2001 Forester S — Extremely reliable car with enough power to get around. Excellent Build Quality and extremely reliable. Low Cost of ownership relative to other vehicles. Interior colors of Gray and wood tones is not really the best for me. The exterior two-tone is a bit lame but for me, the yakima roof racks add a little more aggressive look. For a car with it's capacity and all-wheel drive. I get around 23 city and 25/26 Highway. The only thing stopping this car to be fun to drive is the fact that the gas pedal is too sensitive and the steering isn't quite sharp enough. It can take turns fine...but it just could use a more solid, directed feel.

Primary Use: Commuting to work