Necessary Car Shopping: Please Be Cheaper, Forester

"Under_Score" (tomtheatum)
05/21/2019 at 17:28 • Filed to: None

Last week, my sister totaled her 2008 Nissan Rogue SL. It was a great car, and it’s the reason I like Nissan. Purchased new in 2008, the Rogue was the oldest car my parents had ever owned. We’ll miss it; the Rogue was good for at least another five years.

This new car will be paid for, maintained, and insured by my sister, who is about to make a ton of money. Because of bad experiences, my parents want her to go new (I tried convincing CPO, but oh well). She wants heated cloth seats and a sunroof; the budget is $30,000, and a leftover balance in her college fund means that the vehicle will be easily paid for. The cargo capacity of a crossover is highly appreciated. Being the good little brother I am, I took her to look at some cars.

The Equinox LT and the Escape SEL (no SE’s on the lot, but the SE is equipped well) were alright and are good values, but they paled in comparison to the three Japanese cars we looked at: the Forester, the RAV4, and the Rogue . All five vehicles had MSRP’s of around $31,000, and the Forester was the only AWD one.

My sister loved the Forester Premium, and so did I. The seats were comfy and it had a good layout. However, Subaru isn’t willing to give good discounts. What a shame. RAV4s and Rogues are everywhere; Foresters are not. The RAV4 XLE with the Convenience Package was a sweet vehicle, too, but the road sign reader made my sister feel weird. I’ve been happy with my RAV4. Finally, the Rogue SV with all of these packages we looked at was super nice. Except for leather, AWD, and fog lights, it seemed loaded to the brim. It was a pretty blue, too.

Consensus: Forester is nice, but the Rogue is the value winner. There’s a huge discount on the Rogue. I don’t care what y’all think: it was nice. Yeah, there’s the CX-5 and the CR-V and other crossovers, but these seem like good choices to her. Plus, she loved her Rogue.

DISCUSSION (20)

boxrocket > Under_Score
05/21/2019 at 17:59

I work in the service department of a large dealership that sells all brands (used).

Get the CX-5. Or a RAV4.

Rogues do NOT hold up well. The newer ones have stupid issues that shouldn’t be an issue in 2019. Transmission issues abound. Just pass.

Equinoxes are probably worse, but at least have slightly nicer interiors at first glance.

Escapes are OK but getting a bit dated.

CR-Vs have a questionable infotainment system, and are a bit overpriced compared to the Mazda.

Forester will drive similar to Rogue (CVT, ugh) but interior quality, fit, finish, and overall quality isn’t really there. They feel cheaper than they are.

Seriously , just have her try the CX-5. It’s one of the few cars I can wholeheartedly recommend for pretty much anyone.

HondoyotaE38: A Japanese and German Collab...wait a minute > Under_Score
05/21/2019 at 17:59

we have a loaner 2019 CR-V EX and this thing is actually very very good...just an fyi

Under_Score > boxrocket
05/21/2019 at 18:09

She likes the CVT. Her Rogue had it, and she liked it. The Rogues seem to have proven themselves. Our 2008 was a late build (April 2008. They started building them August 2007 or so), so it barely had problems.

Under_Score > HondoyotaE38: A Japanese and German Collab...wait a minute
05/21/2019 at 18:11

My mom loves her 2016, but I don’t know if the 2019 has all the goodies the Rogue and the Forester have (keep in mind, these two have all the safety tech, too.) Plus, isn’t the turbo a little suspicious? I would’ve guided her to a Honda dealer, but there weren’t any in Kennesaw (gotta go to Hennessy alone in Woodstock for that).

Highlander-Datsuns are Forever > Under_Score
05/21/2019 at 18:21

Lada Niva 4 dr.

Kinja'd!!!

mincz > Under_Score
05/21/2019 at 18:25

You can turn off the r oad s ign assist in the RAV4

HondoyotaE38: A Japanese and German Collab...wait a minute > Under_Score
05/21/2019 at 19:20

there are no turbo problems i know of and it has honda sensing standard and a bunch of other things, coming from a 2013 EX-L i can assure you it’s more than enough

Under_Score > HondoyotaE38: A Japanese and German Collab...wait a minute
05/21/2019 at 19:21

Yeah, it’s a HUGE jump.

Under_Score > mincz
05/21/2019 at 19:22

It was nice, but I think it’s Rogue and Forester right now. She could get used to it, too.

412GTI > Under_Score
05/21/2019 at 19:42

Like others are saying, don’t get another Rouge, especially not brand new. They’re cheap for a reason, old outdated infotainment, shady CVT reliability, terrible resale value..the list goes on. I just had a 19 SL as a rental and it didn’t impress besides being spacious.

Frankly I would believe your prior Rouge was in the minority for not having its CVT fail. I’d go with the Forester out of those you drove, it seems like a good redesign. True car is showing a 19 Premium with All-weather & Popular package 1 is going around $28k. You might have to shop around, but I’d bet you can score a deal under $30,000.

Under_Score > 412GTI
05/21/2019 at 20:08

The Forester has “ Package 15”, which gives a power liftgate. I don’t know of anyone with a new Rogue that has problems. They’re popular cars. The screen still has Android Auto and navigation in the Rogue, my sister actually likes the CVT, and she’s hoping to keep it for at least five years. Resale isn’t a problem.

SilentButNotReallyDeadly...killed by G/O Media > Under_Score
05/21/2019 at 20:21

Id be looking at the CX-5 or the Forester. However, the class of cars you are looking at strikes me as ‘quite expensive’ since both the CX-5 and the Forester start here at around AU $35k driveaway...that's US$24,000.

412GTI > Under_Score
05/21/2019 at 20:23

So that’s the top package for the Forester Premium. You can equip one with heated seats for $500 over the base price or with heated seats, blind spot, & push to start for $1,295. So should be able to get it under 30 if you look around.

boxrocket > Under_Score
05/21/2019 at 21:04

That’s good. The early ones seemed relatively overbuilt. The later ones seemed to have more problems, maybe as they cheaped out on parts? I see an alarming number of failures, especially juuuuuust past the powertrain coverage levels.

Highlander-Datsuns are Forever > Under_Score
05/21/2019 at 21:31

If she like a cvt and the car holding a fixed rpm while accelerating then she would love the eclipse cross.

Under_Score > SilentButNotReallyDeadly...killed by G/O Media
05/21/2019 at 22:30

The budget is US $30,000 after discounts. So yes, you could say it’s more expensive.

Under_Score > 412GTI
05/21/2019 at 22:31

This one had all of those nice features, but it was still cloth (yay). The only issue is getting the price even lower.

Under_Score > Highlander-Datsuns are Forever
05/21/2019 at 22:35

I don’t think she cares about that.

For financial reasons, I was thinking about an Outlander Sport, but my parents always like to bring up Mitsubishi’s instability. A neighbor got fired from Suzuki when they went bankrupt; he was high up and got nothing, so my mom always likes to mention him when companies have an uncertain future.

Highlander-Datsuns are Forever > Under_Score
05/21/2019 at 22:47

The outlander is a much better can than the eclipse cross. The eclipse has a gutless engine and poverty spec interior.

Under_Score > Highlander-Datsuns are Forever
05/22/2019 at 00:04

The Outlander is a very underrated car to be honest.