A Used Subaru Forester can be a good consideration for a general day to day vehicle and part time off roader. Would you like to find out what those-in-the-know have to say about a used Subaru forester. The information in this article comes straight from well-informed experts each with some special knowledge about buying a used Subaru forester.

Which could give you an advantage in getting a better deal when you find a good used Subaru forester for sale.

The Subaru Forester was first launched in the UK back in 1997, about a month before one of its major competitors the Land Rover Freelander.

As with all Subaru's, the Forester showed the way forward when it came to combining on and off road capabilities. Even though In looks the Subaru Forester is lot more conventionally car styled, it has nearly as much ground clearance as the Freelander and a proper low-range off road gearbox (only on the non-turbo models).

The engine found in a used Subaru Forester is the tried and tested flat four that is used in the Subaru Impreza range, but has been slightly re-tuned to cope with the more extreme off road use expected. This makes it better at pulling from low speeds, without a great loss in acceleration, taking just over 11 seconds to reach 60 mph, and a top speed of just over 100 mph which is not too bad for an off roader. The S-turbo version is altogether a different beast and offers levels of performance very close to its legendary Impreza Turbo cousin.

A used subaru forester may be an on/off road compromise, but the way it drives is very impresive. On the road it handles very well and can take bends and roundabouts with ease, this is due to it having a lower centre of gravity than a lot of 4x4s. With a permanent four wheel drive system and high/low ratio gearbox, Independent front suspension and a rear self-levelling system off roading is no problem. The choice of transmission is a 5-speed dual-ratio manual or 4-speed automatic which comes with a ‘Winter’ mode (a manual over-ride that lets the driver pull away in 2nd gear under icy conditions, or to hold in a lower gear for better control).

You will find that a Subaru forester used car, is nice and roomy with a good load carrying capacity. It is fairly well trimmed for its age, with supportive adjustable seats. Overall its a good drive, although it can be a bit noisy at speed.

My best buy used Subaru forester would be, (If you can afford one) the face-lifted subaru forester models from about April 2000 onwards, the reason being that both the ride and interior were improved. Even though the Forester has been on sale for few years now, the previous range of cars never had much choice. So there was no chance of finding a used subaru forester diesel. .

Here in the uk just two choices of the1994cc petrol engines were offered, and only three levels of trim.Thankfully both these engines are used in the Subaru Forester to great effect, either the 1994cc flat-four units, with either 123bhp or, the slightly detuned turbocharged 170bhp one. The turbocharged forester unit has more than enough performance to deal with a lot of hot hatches, but unless you really need the performance, I would go for the less powerful - but a lot better on fuel - 123bhp engine.

The original Subaru foresters only came in GLS trim, with the optional extra of an all weather pack, which added the luxuries of air-con, a sunroof and side airbags. This option would have added nearly some £2000 to the basic price when the car was new, but today in the used market the difference would be just a few hundred pounds , and I'd say that it is worth the extra. Prices in the UK for a good used Subaru forester can range from around £1250 for a 1997 model to around £5000 for a 2003 used subaru forester xt.

Subaru has always had a reputation for making solid, reliable cars, and even a used Subaru Forester does nothing to deter from that. In fact the forester has finished in the top two in its class in all the major reliability surveys over several years.

There have not been any factory recalls on the forester and most owner reviews on used Subaru foresters have always been very positive. The only criticism of a used Subaru forester uk has been that the bonnet can suffer from stone chips very easily, and the clutch/transmission can have a judder at times, usually when starting off from cold.