Looking to buy a Forester or 4Runner

4

4RunnerMo

New member
Great forum. I've been lurking and find this place invaluable.

I've narrowed my choices to a 2005 Forester XT PP AT and 2005 4Runner Sport V8 4WD. I know each car has their pluses and minuses. I was wondering about the following:

1. Who has better service Subaru or Toyota? I've never owned a Subaru.

2. Which do you think wil be more reliable? Forester -or- 4Runner? 2.5L turbocharged 4-cylinder boxer engine -or- 4.7L V8 with VVTI?


Thanks-
mo
 
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Depends on what you want to do with the rig. For me I choose the runner for its overall reliability. Not sayting that its 100% perfect but its close, closer than most inclubing Suburu. Ofcourse you are going to hear more people say 4runner than Suburu here. If I were you I would go to a Suburu forum and get there biased view and combine it with this forums biased view and make up your own mine.

My vote go for an 05 V8 4x4 Sports Edition
 
Toyota service is very good. Subaru service from what I have heard is just 'ok'. I guess it depends on the dealership though. In general I'd say toyota service is known for being better though.

In terms of reliability, both are very good. I would say it's too close to call. I've heard alot of good things from WRX owners about the reliability of their cars.

The new v8 with VVTI should be a great motor, but it's unproven. I'd probably wait a year before jumping on that one, but it is a toyota so it's not like it's going to be dying on you or anything...
 
It all depends on how you intend to use the vehicle. The Subaru is going to be next to worthless for towing anything.
 
two different cars

Forrester and 4Runner are very different...

Forrester will ride like a car and can handle light duty 4wheeling (i.e. snow, gravel roads, light trails with no major rocks, etc)

4Runner will ride more like a truck and can handle medium duty 4wheeling (stock). This would include beach sand, heavy snow, mild trails, major potholes, and the occasional jaunt down your favorite hunting trails.

Engines:
V8 will consume more gas, but give you the power to go anywhere, do anything, but the VVTI is new to this engine, and thus could be susceptible to first year corrections (I doubt it, but it is possible)

Boxer engine from Subaru will be faster (pulling less weight) and is a proven design (porsche), but will not be able to tow much weight, and may be a little more bogged down with a full passenger load.

As far as service... This is a dealer issue. If you have a great dealer, they will give you great service. If you have a bad dealer, well, let's just say it will sour the whole experience. The real issue would be how often for service complaints... In this regard, I would say they are about equal.
 
SteveM said:
It all depends on how you intend to use the vehicle. The Subaru is going to be next to worthless for towing anything.
Click to expand...

I think he just asked about service and reliability :confused:
 
apples and oranges

A lot of folks here may not know what a Forester XT is -- it is the sport wagon version of the Forester, with a 2.5 liter turbocharged boxer engine pushing out 210 hp and 235 fp of torque. Pretty speedy (7ish seconds 0-60), crappy gas mileage (19ish in town).

Both are extremely well made and reliable cars. The Subaru has a timing belt instead of a chain, which might add a little expense to maintanence over time. However, the 4wd system of the 4Runner is likely more expensive to service, so it may even out. Turbo systems can be expensive to maintain once the car reaches high mileage (80k +)

I'm a little puzzled why you are considering these two vehicles. Forester XT is a sport wagon with all wheel drive, great handling, and great for driving bad weather. The 4Runner is a mid-sized SUV better suited for off-road use, towing, and larger cargo needs.

I love Toyota's, but honestly, rather than trying to decide between these two vehicles based on reliability, you'd be better off taking an honest look at your driving needs and making your choice based on them. Both the Forester and the 4Runner are extremely reliable, very well made vehicles, but each is intended for a radically different purpose.
 
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Re: apples and oranges

they are both very different.

subarus are pretty reliable cars.

i have owned both subaru and toyota, 2002 wrx and a 2000 4runner

i would definatly say that toyota has better service over subaru. plus the 4runner is a much nicer vehicle than the forester
 
A better comparison would be the Subaru with the Rav4 or Highlander. The 4Runner is really in a differnet league.

I've always liked the fact that Subaru uses the same two engines throughout it's line of cars though. They seem very reliable, but I don't have any personal experience.
 
My dad has a 2004 forester XT premium (auto) and I would say it's "ok". It's definitely a lot quicker and handles better than my V8 4runner. He gets about 23 mpg driving mostly freeway miles. The seats aren't very comfortable and it's kind of small inside, especially the back seat. The interior seems a little "cheaper" looking than my 4runner.

As far as reliability goes, he hasn't had any problems, but he's only had it for a year. The dealer he goes to is fairly small and always busy so it's hard to get any kind of service appointment. He's only had to bring it in for oil changes though. It's a family run dealership so they're helpful and friendly.

Overall, if I had the choice between my 4runner and a forester, I would take the 4runner any day.
 
Cost of ownership

One thing I do sometimes is get the cost of ownership over 5 years, including gas, depreciation, insurance, etc. Sometimes it is fun to see what the cost is for competely different vehicles. (note: this is for 2004, not 2005.)

Total cost after 5 years is:

Subaru Forester XT PP AT
$40,745
.54 cents per mile


Toyota 4Runner Sport V8
$44,000
.59 cents per mile


Now the question is "Is it worth a nickel a mile to drive the 4Runner?" :confused:
 
riverwolf said:
Coho, and others that don't know...

the V-8s have a timing belt.
Click to expand...
That is correct and it is also an interference engine, meaning if the belt breaks, you just trashed your engine. That might make it more than 5 cents mile if you do that.:arrow:
 
Thanks for all the replies so far.

When I was doing my research, I looked at all the compact and midsize SUV's for Toyota, Honda and Subaru, and liked only the 4Runner and the Forester. I understand that the two are different, but these were the two that I liked. My driving requirements are rather minimal - snow, rain, some unpaved roads, and minimal towing, if any at all.

Here's what I like about each one:
4Runner Sport-
V8 engine is smooth as silk and lots of torque, nice rear seats, refined interior, lots of cargo room

Forester XT PP-
nimble and quick, excellent safety ratings with side airbags included, slightly better gas mileage



My concerns:
4Runner Sport-
New V8 engine with VVTI, sulfur smell problem (hopefully fixed in '05), getting a Sport with the side airbags is a pain

Forester XT PP-
Turbocharged engine reliability

I enjoyed test driving both of these cars, but I want to get one that will last me a long time. I get the sense from you guys and the folks on the Forester forum that both are pretty reliable. Too bad I can't get both.
 
4RunnerMo said:
Thanks for all the replies so far.

I enjoyed test driving both of these cars, but I want to get one that will last me a long time. I get the sense from you guys and the folks on the Forester forum that both are pretty reliable. Too bad I can't get both.
Click to expand...

If you want to get one to last a looooong time, I would recommend the 4Runner. The drivetrain, engine, frame is build to be abused and if looking back at previous generations on the 4Runner it will defintely outlast the Subaru. The Subi's are great cars, but they are not build like a Texas Jail Brick Sh!thouse which is the case for the 4Runner.

Besides the v8 in the 4R will put around the whole day at 2000rpm and you rarely need to go over 4000rpm to go pretty fast. The Subi you more than likely drive like an escaped convict once you get into the zone :) which means nono for getting 200-300k miles out of it without some serious repair bills.

If you dont want to keep it for 10 years and 300k miles, decide which one you personally like best. But the reliability ratings on JD Powers Consumer report, etc will tell you the 4R will outlast the Subi.
 
Loki said:
I think he just asked about service and reliability :confused:
Click to expand...

Well, they are two significantly different vehicles in function and execution. I was only trying to point that out. It's still germane to his decision.
 
4RunnerMo said:
I've narrowed my choices to a 2005 Forester XT PP AT and 2005 4Runner Sport V8 4WD. I know each car has their pluses and minuses. I was wondering about the following:
Click to expand...

to me that seems like a wierd pair of cars to narrow it down to. the forester is much more car like, and the 4runner is much more truck like. they just seem like they're at two ends of the spectrum of 4wd vehicles.

4RunnerMo said:

1. Who has better service Subaru or Toyota? I've never owned a Subaru.
Click to expand...
i have a '99 legacy and two old 4runners. i have been much much happeir with toyota's service and overall quality. i haven't had any major problems with my subaru, but i can tell it's made by GM. i'll proabably never buy another subaru. it's just little things like rattles and stuff that shouldn't show up in a 5 year old car. my '89 4runner with 235k miles feels more solid than the legacy.

4RunnerMo said:

2. Which do you think wil be more reliable? Forester -or- 4Runner? 2.5L turbocharged 4-cylinder boxer engine -or- 4.7L V8 with VVTI?
Click to expand...

i have the n/a 2.5 in my legacy and it's given me no problems. over on the subaru message boards they always talk about piston slap in the 2.5, but i've never noticed it. maybe i just got lucky.

again, i'd vote toyota. remember that subaru is now a GM product. who would you rather have design and build your car? (the 4runners are still built over in japan).
 
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