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Subaru Forester vs Mitsubishi Outlander

40 messages,  Last post on Jun 28, 2009 at 7:10 PM

You are in the Subaru Forester Forum.

What is this discussion about? Subaru Forester, Mitsubishi Outlander, Wagon, SUV

Messages Page 1 of 4

#2 of 40 Subaru Forester VS Mitsubishi Outlander - Help girl out buying her 1st CAR by silver909

Aug 16, 2005 (10:57 am)

Hi I've been looking into a lot of SUV type cars lately.. and have narrowed it down to two: the forester and outlander. Does anyone have advice for me, on which one is the better deal? Could I go wrong with either of them? I like that the forester comes with more features, but the outlander's exterior appeals to me more being more sporty and all. Can anyone help me out??
Thanks.
~siLver

#3 of 40 Re: Subaru Forester VS Mitsubishi Outlander - Help girl out buying her 1st CAR [silver909] by desk

Aug 16, 2005 (11:52 am)

Replying to: silver909 (Aug 16, 2005 10:57 am)
I've been driving my '98 Forester for years with no complaints, only compliments. I love the size of it. I can fit tons into it. It is easy to drive. Gas mileage is good. It's reliable and I've had no problems with maintenance. I drive it long distances and find it very very comfortable. I have 127,000 miles on it now and am trading it for a new Forester because I'm lazy and I want a new car, even though I am sure this one will last another 100-200,000 miles with no trouble. But when I started looking it became clear to me that I wanted a car the size of the Forester, one that handled like a Forester, one with good mileage, good reputation, comfort, one that inspired confidence in bad weather and one that I enjoyed driving and felt that it was built just for me - in other words, I just wanted another Forester.
 
At my place of work there are about 70 cars, and 11 of them are Subarus, 6 of those are Foresters. All the Forester owners I know just love their cars.
 
Good luck in your search and have fun.
Desk

#4 of 40 Re: Subaru Forester VS Mitsubishi Outlander - Help girl out buying her 1st CAR [silver909] by elgatoloco

Aug 16, 2005 (8:29 pm)

Replying to: silver909 (Aug 16, 2005 10:57 am)
I have never driven a Forester though I am sure they are good vehicles. My wife and I do have an 04 Mitsubishi Outlander, it is mostly driven by my wife, and we like it very much. Fuel mileage is quite good for an AWD plus I like the sportronic automatic transmission feature. My wife doesn't use it but I like it in town to downshift and save wear and tear on the brakes. A 5 speed stick is also available. Our vehicle has just under 20k and absolutely trouble free.
 
I would disagree about the Mitsu having a lower residual value as they have significantly reduced fleet sales in the last 2 years and thier worth is increasing. Also, they have a tremendous warranty. 10/100,000 engine-drivetrain, 5yr/60,000 bmpr-bmpr. They also have a 45,000 mile free maintainance program. All of that is transferable also.
 
If you like the looks of the Outlander better (ours is electric blue) and the driving experience is about the same I'd say, based on the warranty, the Outlander is the better value.

#5 of 40 Re: Subaru Forester VS Mitsubishi Outlander - Help girl out buying her 1st CAR [silver909] by 204meca

Aug 17, 2005 (10:30 pm)

Replying to: silver909 (Aug 16, 2005 10:57 am)
Be sure and look at Edmunds long term road tests. They have a long term test file on the Outlander and Forester with lots of good info on both: http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/DrivesIndex/LongTerm
 
I think either one could serve you well.
 
I owned the predecesor to the Outlander, a Mitsu Expo with the 2.4 L engine. It was a comfortable, economical little hauler that we drove for 80,000 miles. The only problem I had was the auto tranny died at about 72K. I did a fair amount of towing with a 2,000 lb boat which I strongly believe resulted in premature transmission death. I also owned to Mitsu Mirages. I believe that Mistu makes great cars, but they have not done very well against their competition in the the U.S. as they are not quite up the the standard (at least historically) of other Japanese cars
 
I recently bought a used 03 Forester. I looked at but did not drive the Outlander. I got the Forester because of superior performance and the fact that there are many more Subie dealers & cars on the road. Mitsu has been struggling for many years & I was concerned about the long term availablity of dealers & parts & the fact that that the Forester has a much stronger following.

#6 of 40 Re: Subaru Forester VS Mitsubishi Outlander - Help girl out buying her 1st CAR [silver909] by prosa

Sep 18, 2005 (10:05 pm)

Replying to: silver909 (Aug 16, 2005 10:57 am)
One thing to consider is that the Outlander is scheduled to be redesigned for the 2007 model year. You can read about it on the "future vehicles" section of this site. The redesign will mean that a 2006 Outlander will look sort of outdated after a year and may depreciate more quickly than would otherwise be the case. The Forester got a moderate redesign a year or two ago, and therefore should remain much the same for the next few years.

#7 of 40 Re: Subaru Forester VS Mitsubishi Outlander - Help girl out buying her 1st CAR [silver909] by passnthru

Oct 27, 2005 (4:07 pm)

Replying to: silver909 (Aug 16, 2005 10:57 am)
Another source to consider is Consumer reports. They recommend the Forester as a "good bet" based on overall reliability.

#8 of 40 Re: Subaru Forester VS Mitsubishi Outlander - Help girl out buying her 1st CAR [silver909] by ronald711

Feb 01, 2006 (9:56 pm)

Replying to: silver909 (Aug 16, 2005 10:57 am)
Hi Silver,
 
I own a 2002 Subaru Forester, I love the AWD system, and the car was flawless for the first 78,000 then it aquired a head gasket leak, known problem. May you have a same situation in yours? maybe.. service guy says its common the way the engine is designed for this to happen... but there are people that go 150K to 200K and I don't think have the issue, its hit or miss, but the car has been wonderful, fun to drive! I dont know if a Mitsubishi will be as good, subaru has proven there AWD system to be ultra reliable. would I buy a forester again? probably cause its great in the winter, or on even any condition. I like the outlander exterior, but I dont know if other companies can make a AWD that will not have problems, I think AWD is something new to Mitsubishi, Subaru has been doing it for many many years.. just my input. Ron

#9 of 40 Re: Subaru Forester VS Mitsubishi Outlander - Help girl out buying her 1st CAR [ronald711] by oldsklgto

Feb 07, 2006 (6:14 am)

Replying to: ronald711 (Feb 01, 2006 9:56 pm)
First of all AWD is defiantly not something new to Mitsubishi since they have been building them since 1934 compared to 1972 when the first AWD subaru was built. Mitsubishi has had AWD in many vehicles including the most obvious the EVO which being based on the Lancer platform shares a similar (if not the same) AWD system as the outlander (also based on the lancer platform)
 
I would go as far to say that Mitsubishi probably has the most reliable and technically advanced AWD system for passenger vehicles. Towards Mitsubishi's reliability is the fact that they have just won for the 11th time the Paris-Dakar rally which is recognized to be one of the toughest if not the toughest tests on the competing vehicles. Mitsubishi have also won the Safari Rally (known as the car breaker) at least 5 times. My Dad also owned an RVR Turbo (previous generation Airtrek which is what the outlander is called where i'm from)which he had no problems with reliability wise (as petrol increased though he had to get rid of it as it cost too much to run) and dealt with our icy conditions with ease.
 
The Subaru AWD system I have much less faith in as I have heard from some friends in Australia that they seem to go through clutches pretty quickly and the gearbox isn't the strongest. The AWD system isn't the problem if you were to go for a subaru though (not just the forester but any with the EJ- series engine)it is the engine which is very complex (quad cam and it needs two heads) meaning maintenance and repairs can be costly as it can easily take over an hour to do something as simple as replacing the spark plugs (my friend who was having trouble with his legacy wagon where he had to do this often got it down to 40mins).
 
 The reliability of the engine I don't have much faith in either because when my friend who was working as a mechanic at the subaru dealership got told by his boss that if he was to buy a subaru that he can pretty much chuck it out as it gets to 100,000km (60,000 miles) because at that stage they will most likely need a rebuild. Also from some people I know that had Subarus they didn't last very long including my Mothers boss who had an almost new Legacy RSK B4 which in the space of a year had the gearbox break, then the turbos broke and after that it blew a head gasket, over heated and did internal damage to his engine.
 
Personally I would go for an outlander but wait for the 2007 version, 2.4l 4 cylinder or 3.0L V6 depending on your needs but even though what I've heard of the V6 is tempting for a first car I could only recommend the 2.4 as it still has plenty of power (multiple times more than my 1st car)
 
I have to say though that I have limited 1st hand knowledge of subarus (driven a WRX, Justy and a Legacy) and maybe they have sorted their reliability (which may be environment related as I live in a reasonably cold part of NZ and our roads aren't the greatest) and the subaru may be what you want which is what it all comes down to. You should test drive both and see which you prefer.

#10 of 40 Well, it depends on several things... by 1racefan

Aug 16, 2005 (11:39 am)

You may want to look at the availability of dealers in your area that can service these. In my town, we have an ample number of Mitsubishi and Subaru dealers around. I have heard that in other towns (smaller), it can be difficult to find a Mitsu or a Subaru dealer within several miles.
The Forester is a better performer than the Outlander, and also holds its value better. Personally, I own an Outlander. We needed an inexpensive AWD vehicle for my wife to drive to work in bad weather (she is in the medical field and has to go to work regardless of weather), and for us to haul the canoe and dogs to the lake in. I bought it as a 1 year old vehicle with 10K miles on it, and paid right around $13,000 for it. I plan on keeping it until the wheels fall off of it, so in my opinion, it was the better deal for me.
My Outlander now has 30K miles on it, and has been trouble free. We also get 24-25mpg around town, and have gotten close to 30mpg on the highway - not bad for a full time AWD vehicle. I have also established a pretty good relationship with the service advisor at one of our local Mitsu dealers, so I am also pleased in that regard.
My advice to you would be to shop both. See which one you fit most comfortably in, and see which one fits your budget the best. If you plan on trading the car in a couple of years, I would definitely reccomend the Subaru as it will hold its value better. As I said before, the Subaru is also the better performer, so if that is your main priority, the Subaru would again be the way to go. You said you prefer the exterior of the Outlander. Remember, you have to live on the inside of the vehicle, so make sure which ever one you get you will be happy with the feel of the seats, ergonomics, etc...

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