FLA-C3

My daughter left for grad school in Denver back in June and needs a new vehicle. She's telling me that Subaru's are the car of choice out there because of the AWD. She's wanting a Forester. I'm gonna help her out with the purchase, but I know nothing about them other than reading reviews on the net. Never needed AWD or 4WD here in Tampa. Any feedback is appreciated...thanks.

petsur

Everyone in Denver thinks they need a Humvee because it snows a little here. A rear wheel drive car or truck will do just fine here, but obviously will take somewhat greater skill.

My wife insisted my truck be a 4x4 or I'd have a RWD. I like the idea of better gas mileage and fewer things to go wrong. My wife drives a FWD Golf and it goes anywhere.

Last time I checked, all cars have 4 wheel brakes!!

Godholio

People don't careen off the road any less if they're driving 4WD or AWD. I can count on one hand how often I've put my Jeep into 4wd because of road conditions.

4WD/AWD only helps you START rolling from a stop. It doesn't help steering or braking, and that is where you get into trouble.

Weston

If you're just driving around town, you can definitely make do with FWD or even a good RWD vehicle. The biggest problem I've seen is that a lot of people run bald tires. Even cheapie Mud & Snow rated all-seasons on a FWD car can get you around really well in the winter, just as long as you actually have decent tread left on them. I used to have a cheap Ford Contour beater with new Walmart tires and it was pretty awesome in the snow.

But honestly, AWD/4x4 makes life a lot easier and makes winter weather almost enjoyable, and even more so if you want to go up into the mountains at all. You do have to watch out for "SUV Overconfidence" though, and I've seen a lot of Ford Explorers exploring various ditches. It lightly rains here and everyone is doing 20 mph under the limit, but cover the roads in snow and ice, and now it's a damn race... right into the ditch. Anyway, Subarus are definitely a very popular option and their owners usually seem to really love them. They tend to make more sense than an SUV when looking for a good year-round commuter car.

tommypenguin

Subarus are good cars and will hold up well with good maintenance. Whatever car you get your daughter I highly recommend her getting some mild non studded snow tires.

When I had my Subaru legacy on snows it performed unbelievable in the snow. The biggest difference snows make are getting off the line, braking and on turns. Also had my same Subaru with all seasons and it was quite scary contrarily.

I currently drive a newer honda accord FWD and run Dunlop winter sport tires and they have performed great on this car but are also decent in the dry.

RockyMtC5

You can probably find an older Forester cheap. Most important thing is good tires. If she ski's in the winter, snow tires are mandatory driving in the mountain roads. Just staying in the front range (Denver/Boulder/Colorado Springs/Ft Collins), then a good set if all seasons and AWD is not necessary.

Rickster1

Foresters are good cars and very popular here. I agree that FWD is not necessary, but since your daughter is from Florida it makes sense to have the extra safety an FWD or AWD car offers.

Subaru has been making FWD and AWD cars for a long time and are one of the vehicles of choice among those that dwell in the mountains, as opposed to those of us along the front range. As noted, tires and common sense are what will make the difference.

Omaha02Z06

If you are looking at older Foresters you could get a 2004/2005 XT with a turbo for around 7-8k. A few simple mods like a down pipe and Cobb Access Port (as much as I despise Cobb off the shelf maps it's easy to use) she could have a pretty quick wagon.

My 02 WRX got around great in the snow. Even being lowered 2'' with Dunlop Winter Sport M3's I was driving through 2' snow drifts. Never got it stuck.

FLA-C3

She's now driving a 2015 Forester base model with automatic and alloy wheel package. Sure looks like a nice little SUV for the money. Since she's already found employment while attending school and she has no plans to move back to Florida, seemed like the best option for her. Thanks for all the advice...

ATLS2

My Wife drives around North Dakota in a PT Cruiser all season. She has terrible tires, and only drove for a year in real snow. Oh, and she is new at driving. Long story short, front wheel is all you need.

bluemagoo

Perfect! Subies are reliable, economical and the Forester is pretty much of a "does-everything" kind of vehicle. You/she made the right choice for her particular circumstances. Good luck to her in her new career.

As others have stated, if she plans to do much winter mountain driving having an extra set of wheels with dedicated winter (snow) tires is a good idea. Otherwise the as-equipped all-season tires should be fine.

Omaha02Z06

Good choice!

These are really good cheaper snow tires but won't do well in the summer since they are so soft. http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....el=Winterforce

To those who say you don't need AWD. You don't NEED it but it sure makes life a hell of a lot easier especially with good tires. All those times spinning tires in the rain or snow will pretty much be a thing of the past and when they do spin the car will be moving not just sitting there spinning till you let off and the tires regain traction. When my WRX was modded too much for sensible DD'ing and I went back to a truck I can remember thinking many times "this really sucks not being able to pull out like I used to when the pavement is wet".

C5 Pewter Coupe

or driving in this crap..

the winch was nice, since it was getting to deep to go forward any more, and used the winch to turn around and head back down the mountain.



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