im having a hard time making a decision between buying a 1st gen 5 speed Forester or a 1st gen 5 speed CRV. i currently have a 99 CRV 5 speed but being that its spent its entire life in buffalo it is rotted. i love the thing to death but working on it ends up costing me 2x as much because other things break in the process.

the foresters go for a little less than crvs which is nice and most i have seen online have sunroofs and/or heated seats etc.

another thing having me lean towards another crv is id like to lift it with an Emu kit. foresters dont look proper with a lift.

so have any of you driven/owned both. what are your thoughts. i havent driven a forester yet so that will probably be the ultimate decider, but until i get a chance to take a trip and look at one free of salty covered roads thats not possible.

 

my good friend owns subarus. has had 3 impreza's and a forester. they last a long time but they are expensive to fix if anything breaks on them. i think the gas mileage is similar but the parts prices are what would steer me away from them, especially if it's an engine part that breaks

 

how is the ride quality of the forester? i love the crv because it feels like an EK instead of your normal small SUV like an escape which is harsh.

 

well if you've ridden in any late 90s to early 2000s subaru of any kind...they pretty much all ride the same. bone stock the ride is nice. the subaru awd system is a million times more effective than the crv "awd" system too

 

If you don't like a harsh ride, don't even think about EMU kit. You Will hate it.

 

im fine with a harsh ride if i change something like suspension. on my hatch i have tokico illuminas and have them set at 5. but if its stock then its should drive soft and comfortable (in most cases)

i posted this on a forester site as well and it seems like the biggest thing on those engines are the headgaskets. its almost something you have to plan for, just like you would for brakes or swaybar end links.

 

i currently own a 2000 cr-v and owned a legacy GT for 7 years. I loved my Subie, but like noname87 said, parts in the Subie are much more expensive. Having said that, the Subaru will definitely feel more substantial and solid. Drive one, then make your decision. Both have decent aftermarket support, but not too many lifted Foresters if that's the route you want to go.

 

just as an update. i purchased an 01 forester S. extremely happy with it. comfortable, heated leather seats, mirrors and windshield. havent had the chance to drive in the snow seen as its the beginning of spring now but subaru AWD is far superior to hondas rt4wd.

the forester does lack the "fun", hard to explain, that the crv had. but overall im happy. both vehicles are great. same amount of space inside. one is lower to the ground is all.

 

I almost bought a forester. crv's are pretty common here, but not so many for sale. subarus are freakin everywhere. glad I dumped more money and got a crv in the end. I have had to work on subies, Hondas are just all around better cars in that ragard. not going to say rt4wd is better, but it works great for everything I have done and I like the fact its a simple mechanical system.

but foresters look awesome, I like them a lot. i would take one over an sti or anything. just as far as something I maintain myself I have to go Honda.

 

Good thread. Most comments are spot on when distinguishing pros and cons. I got a 99 5 speed AWD,my favorite ride so far. I always wondered about the forrester.