Congrats on the new vehicle! Your review is so thorough!! I truly appreciate! No need to be gentle for your first vid, you did an excellent job. I am planning on buying at end of December. I am trying to decide between 2017 Forester XT Touring and a Toyota 4Runner SR5 Premium.
Thank you for the kind words. I appreciate your viewership and time. Both SUV's are great choices. The 4Runner is definitely a larger vehicle and uses more fuel, so it all depends on what size you are looking for. The 4Runner is a class above the Forester in my opinion.
Just sold my 15 sti and picking up my 17 xt touring same color as yours, I like the XT a lot but loved the sti. Btw the invidia q300 (dual tips)for these cars sounds good and not too loud, looks great too. I had a perrin quad tip on my sti that I planned to keep and put on the xt but i dont like the quad tip on the these cars. congrats on the new car, I subscribed and look fwd to more vids
Was space the major reason for your change to the Forester? You are going to miss the power of the STI, but at least you have the WRX motor in your Forester. I like the Invidia and would love to hear your Perrin on the Forester.
Great video. Thanks for sharing your review. I just purchased a 2014 Forester XT Limited a week ago. Will definitely do some upgrades. The only change I've done till now is replace the yellowish Fog Light bulbs to an LED Putco brand. Huge lighting difference.
Awesome! Enjoy your Forester. we love ours so far. I went with yellow halogen bulbs in my other video. wasn't too sure about aftermarket LEDs yet. I guess they are much better than before though.
There's a company near my place who specializes and all sorts of lighting. I'm getting my DRL switch from the high beams to the fog lights. Because I'm changing my yellowish high beams to LED's. They sell a harnest for that switch over. Simple install : Plug and Play. I'm also changing all my signal lights to LEDS. You needs to change the original relay and they sell it as well. I also changed all the interior lighting to LEDS. Check out their website. You might find it interesting. www.prolightz.com They have great deals on now !! I live in the Capital region just across the Ontario border in Gatineau QC. 10 min from Parliament Hill. Prolightz have free shipping now.
Sweet car man, I'm also in Canada. I'm looking for a future car for a family and this car looks sweet! Look forward to more vids! I knew u were Asian from your voice before I saw the end of the vid lol. My Asian brotha!
Thank you very much! You can't go wrong with either. It depends on what size you are looking for and the look. My wife didn't want the length to be too much longer than our previous CX-5, so the Forester was perfect for her.
Looking at picking up a 2017 Forester by the end of this year. Looking to get the manual though, although it'd be amazing if the XT came in manual! Amazing review, and looking forward to owning a first Subaru!
Thanks for the compliments! I appreciate the support. Yeah, it's unfortunate that these don't come in manual. I believe the only manual small SUV is the 2.0L Mazda CX-5, but they will stop putting that engine starting in 2017.
I see. I've been calling around Subaru dealers here in Los Angeles and everytime I ask for a 2017 Forester in manual, they tell me "good luck," haha. Best advice they gave me was to order it directly from Subaru and wait 8-12 weeks for delivery. Might be better going that route since I guess I'd be able to get it in the exact layout/color preference.
Thanks for watching and commenting. I will try to get the video of the rear sway bar install. I didn't consider the front sway but I did the front STI strut bar. It's just too expensive! haha
Considering the 2017 forester XT premium, what does the XT touring have to offer for the extra money? Love the white color, think it's going to be my choice also, the premium doesn't offer the brown seats thou. Thank for the review, great job. 👍🏻
The Touring model in Canada may vary from the US. We get items like heated leather front and rear seats, heated steering wheel, rear parking sensors, memory seats, power tailgate, etc. Then we have a Tech package which includes EyeSight and all safety tech, and keyless access with push start. I'm sure I'm missing a few things but that is some of the major items. Thanks for watching!
I wonder how that anti-roll bar affects the performance off road... Have you tried? It certainly is appealing to improve the driving dynamics on the road... But worry it might hamper wheel articulation off road.
I've had thicker sway bars on a lot of my cars, so it's definitely a handling improvement on regular roads. I've never tried off road with sway bars though. Let me know if you try it out.
That's so funny, my friend just bought a new 4Runner and ever since he told me I've been noticing so many on the road. Great SUV's! You will like the Subaru. Good luck with your decision.
Have you figured out if you can program for all doors to unlock at the same time when you unlock the driver's door? Nice car color. Did you have to pay extra for the yellow plates?
Thanks for checking the unlock modes. It's nice that they give you the options. On my old Infiniti, you click once to open the driver's door only, and twice quickly to open all doors. There was no way to change the default. I like the Subaru way better. Yes the yellow plates look great. There was another video where you changed to blue plates, and I was so disappointed. Here in the US (Texas) we have plain black lettering on white background. Nice in a functional way, but not as colorful as yours.
I'm ordering an XT soon and I'm stuck between white and black. I was dead set on the white until I saw it in person and it looked almost dirty... like an off-white. It was overcast that day. Does yours ever look like that? Every time I see a white one online or in pics it looks bright white which is what I want.
Congratulations with your ordering/purchase! This pearl white is very nice but white will always yellow over time under the sun. If you are worried about your car looking dirty, don't get black. Black is actually harder to maintain than white. I've had many white cars and one black car. I will never buy black again, especially on a leased car.
One more question: If you turn on Sport mode, how long does it stay in that mode? For a set amount of time, or until you turn the car off (when it resets to Intelligent mode)? Thanks.
You can switch it on and off at anytime you want by going through the 3 modes just by simply pressing the buttons. it also resets back to intelligent mode when you restart the car.
Glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for watching and commenting. Keep me posted on what you decide. Make sure you test drive the Forester and the brand new CR-V to compare.
Two Canada-type of questions: - I think you mentioned you got the Technology package. In the US they don't group features that way. Do you have USB ports in that storage area below the air conditioning knobs, @11:07? My car has only a 12V outlet there. There are 2 USB ports in the center console, but nothing in the front. How is it in Canada? - About the steering wheel heater, when I turn it on, the indicator light is bright orange when I pull and hold the lever, but when I release, the light becomes dim, almost impossible to notice during the day. The heater is on, but the light is faint. Is it the same way in your car?
I only have the 12V in the front cubby area. The USB ports are under my armrest console. In terms of the heated steering wheel light. I never really noticed it going bright. it always seems dim to me so that it's not a distraction for when I'm driving.
Thanks. I was at a dealership today, and noticed that the 2017 Outback has 2 USB ports in the front cubby area, but only a 12V port in the arm rest console. That is opposite of how it is in the Forester, and there is no USB port in the back seat area. I looked again at the steering wheel heater indicator today, and it is fairly dim but visible. I must have looked at it previously under bright sun light.
OK, thanks, I was in a 2017 Honda CR-V today, and it has 2 USB ports behind the center console. First time I have seen that. Rear heated seats must be a Canadian thing. We are lucky that some cars have a heated driver's seat. No way would they heat the rear seats also.
Wanted to let you know that I pulled the trigger on a 2017 Forester XT Touring today. It came down to between the Forester and the CR-V, and I went with the Subaru because of handling and the more open look. Your videos helped a bit with the decision, so thanks. I got a dark gray with brown interior.
Suspension is great for an SUV. Nothing like a car but handles well for what it is. check my other video for my WRX STI rear sway bar upgrade. In terms of ride comfort, it is better than my previous CX-5.
My wife does mostly city driving and not much highway mileage on the weekends either. We usually get around 11L-12L/100kms during this winter. Probably around 10L-11L/100kms in the spring/summer. Worse than the CX-5 but the XT has more power.
The Forester handles well. The CX-5 is probably a sportier feel, as the Forester is more comfortable. The Forester feels like is has a better build quality and that it's more solid for a Japanese counterpart.
The Forester is still doing great. Love the performance and the features. No real issues at all other than the fact that the navigation is flakey from time to time. That is just a Subaru thing though. Thanks for watching!
Xt with brown leather. Looks great. Best SUV in the class by a long way.
I totally agree! Thanks for watching!
Congrats on the new vehicle! Your review is so thorough!! I truly appreciate! No need to be gentle for your first vid, you did an excellent job. I am planning on buying at end of December. I am trying to decide between 2017 Forester XT Touring and a Toyota 4Runner SR5 Premium.
Thank you for the kind words. I appreciate your viewership and time. Both SUV's are great choices. The 4Runner is definitely a larger vehicle and uses more fuel, so it all depends on what size you are looking for. The 4Runner is a class above the Forester in my opinion.
Thanks for sharing. I just bought a 2017 Limited, your youtube has a lot of helpful information.
Awesome! I'm glad you found the video helpful. Hope you are enjoying your Forester!
Just sold my 15 sti and picking up my 17 xt touring same color as yours, I like the XT a lot but loved the sti. Btw the invidia q300 (dual tips)for these cars sounds good and not too loud, looks great too. I had a perrin quad tip on my sti that I planned to keep and put on the xt but i dont like the quad tip on the these cars. congrats on the new car, I subscribed and look fwd to more vids
Was space the major reason for your change to the Forester? You are going to miss the power of the STI, but at least you have the WRX motor in your Forester. I like the Invidia and would love to hear your Perrin on the Forester.
Great video. Thanks for sharing your review. I just purchased a 2014 Forester XT Limited a week ago. Will definitely do some upgrades. The only change I've done till now is replace the yellowish Fog Light bulbs to an LED Putco brand. Huge lighting difference.
Awesome! Enjoy your Forester. we love ours so far. I went with yellow halogen bulbs in my other video. wasn't too sure about aftermarket LEDs yet. I guess they are much better than before though.
There's a company near my place who specializes and all sorts of lighting. I'm getting my DRL switch from the high beams to the fog lights. Because I'm changing my yellowish high beams to LED's. They sell a harnest for that switch over. Simple install : Plug and Play. I'm also changing all my signal lights to LEDS. You needs to change the original relay and they sell it as well. I also changed all the interior lighting to LEDS. Check out their website. You might find it interesting. www.prolightz.com They have great deals on now !! I live in the Capital region just across the Ontario border in Gatineau QC. 10 min from Parliament Hill. Prolightz have free shipping now.
Sweet, I'll definitely check out the site. Thank you so much! Let me know how your new LEDs work out for you.
Such a helpful video, your detailed review is much appreciated!! I too am interested in the white/brown combo, hard to find!
Thank you for the wonderful feedback! Good luck in your search. Thanks for watching!
Great video and intro to the XT, thank you!
Thank you for watching and commenting and the support!
Great job! Thanks so much for this super review! Keep up the great work! Very helpful!
Thank you very much. I really appreciate that.
Sweet car man, I'm also in Canada. I'm looking for a future car for a family and this car looks sweet! Look forward to more vids! I knew u were Asian from your voice before I saw the end of the vid lol. My Asian brotha!
Thanks for watching and commenting. Hope you find the perfect car for your family needs. You can check out my other videos on my channel. Take care!
Great video! Very informative! I'm between the XT and the 3.6R Decisions Decisions
Thank you very much! You can't go wrong with either. It depends on what size you are looking for and the look. My wife didn't want the length to be too much longer than our previous CX-5, so the Forester was perfect for her.
Thanks for this video, very insightful as I am also looking to get a 2017 Forester!
Excellent! Keep me posted on what you model you decide on. you can't go wrong with any Forester. Thanks for taking the time to watch and comment.
Touring w/ Tech Package just signed the lease! (also in Canada)
Awesome! Congratulations!
Looking at picking up a 2017 Forester by the end of this year. Looking to get the manual though, although it'd be amazing if the XT came in manual!
Amazing review, and looking forward to owning a first Subaru!
Thanks for the compliments! I appreciate the support. Yeah, it's unfortunate that these don't come in manual. I believe the only manual small SUV is the 2.0L Mazda CX-5, but they will stop putting that engine starting in 2017.
I see. I've been calling around Subaru dealers here in Los Angeles and everytime I ask for a 2017 Forester in manual, they tell me "good luck," haha. Best advice they gave me was to order it directly from Subaru and wait 8-12 weeks for delivery. Might be better going that route since I guess I'd be able to get it in the exact layout/color preference.
Wow, manual IS available! COOL. Too bad about the long wait though.
Definitely interested in seeing your rear sway bar installation. Any thoughts about a front sway bar? The flexible STI sway bar looks interesting.
Thanks for watching and commenting. I will try to get the video of the rear sway bar install. I didn't consider the front sway but I did the front STI strut bar. It's just too expensive! haha
CTEC Productions strut tower bar! That's what I meant...
Great Review! Just ordered the Dark GRAY 2.0XT Premium which come with black cloth seat
Great choice! You will love the XT. Congratulations! Thanks for watching and commenting.
You have to go to Japanparts,com there are plenty of upgrades. Cusco makes sway bars and chassis bracing. Happy Shopping!
For sure but still very expensive. LoL. I watched some of your videos too and love your XT man. Subscribed
thanks for this video! considering this too
Aside from the CVT transmission, this is a good car. Just be careful of the CVT
great first video! would love to see a review for the GTI and the CBR
Thank you very much. Will do
Considering the 2017 forester XT premium, what does the XT touring have to offer for the extra money? Love the white color, think it's going to be my choice also, the premium doesn't offer the brown seats thou. Thank for the review, great job. 👍🏻
The Touring model in Canada may vary from the US. We get items like heated leather front and rear seats, heated steering wheel, rear parking sensors, memory seats, power tailgate, etc. Then we have a Tech package which includes EyeSight and all safety tech, and keyless access with push start. I'm sure I'm missing a few things but that is some of the major items. Thanks for watching!
I wonder how that anti-roll bar affects the performance off road... Have you tried? It certainly is appealing to improve the driving dynamics on the road... But worry it might hamper wheel articulation off road.
I've had thicker sway bars on a lot of my cars, so it's definitely a handling improvement on regular roads. I've never tried off road with sway bars though. Let me know if you try it out.
Great video! I'm thinking of selling my 4runner and moving over to Subaru. 5 Toyotas in a row but time for a change :).
That's so funny, my friend just bought a new 4Runner and ever since he told me I've been noticing so many on the road. Great SUV's! You will like the Subaru. Good luck with your decision.
Have you figured out if you can program for all doors to unlock at the same time when you unlock the driver's door?
Nice car color. Did you have to pay extra for the yellow plates?
Yes, you can set the unlock modes through the center console screen up top. Haha! You know you love the yellow towels! LOL
Thanks for checking the unlock modes. It's nice that they give you the options. On my old Infiniti, you click once to open the driver's door only, and twice quickly to open all doors. There was no way to change the default. I like the Subaru way better.
Yes the yellow plates look great. There was another video where you changed to blue plates, and I was so disappointed. Here in the US (Texas) we have plain black lettering on white background. Nice in a functional way, but not as colorful as yours.
I'm ordering an XT soon and I'm stuck between white and black. I was dead set on the white until I saw it in person and it looked almost dirty... like an off-white. It was overcast that day. Does yours ever look like that? Every time I see a white one online or in pics it looks bright white which is what I want.
Congratulations with your ordering/purchase! This pearl white is very nice but white will always yellow over time under the sun. If you are worried about your car looking dirty, don't get black. Black is actually harder to maintain than white. I've had many white cars and one black car. I will never buy black again, especially on a leased car.
One more question: If you turn on Sport mode, how long does it stay in that mode? For a set amount of time, or until you turn the car off (when it resets to Intelligent mode)? Thanks.
You can switch it on and off at anytime you want by going through the 3 modes just by simply pressing the buttons. it also resets back to intelligent mode when you restart the car.
Great owner review, very detailed. I own a 2012 Honda CR-V, looking to trade it in soon, Subaru Forster on my list to checkout. Thanks for your input.
Glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for watching and commenting. Keep me posted on what you decide. Make sure you test drive the Forester and the brand new CR-V to compare.
Beautiful car man
Thank you very much! Thanks for watching!
Two Canada-type of questions:
- I think you mentioned you got the Technology package. In the US they don't group features that way. Do you have USB ports in that storage area below the air conditioning knobs, @11:07? My car has only a 12V outlet there. There are 2 USB ports in the center console, but nothing in the front. How is it in Canada?
- About the steering wheel heater, when I turn it on, the indicator light is bright orange when I pull and hold the lever, but when I release, the light becomes dim, almost impossible to notice during the day. The heater is on, but the light is faint. Is it the same way in your car?
I only have the 12V in the front cubby area. The USB ports are under my armrest console. In terms of the heated steering wheel light. I never really noticed it going bright. it always seems dim to me so that it's not a distraction for when I'm driving.
Thanks. I was at a dealership today, and noticed that the 2017 Outback has 2 USB ports in the front cubby area, but only a 12V port in the arm rest console. That is opposite of how it is in the Forester, and there is no USB port in the back seat area. I looked again at the steering wheel heater indicator today, and it is fairly dim but visible. I must have looked at it previously under bright sun light.
QQ: Did the Canadian spec vehicles come with TPMS? thanks
No, there is no TPMS in Canadian spec Foresters. My winter wheels didn't require them either.
@5:42: Does the back of the center console (the angled part accessible to rear passengers) have USB ports, or are those things air vents?
Unfortunately this car has no rear air vents or rear USB ports. What you see there are the rear heated seats buttons because this is a Limited model.
OK, thanks, I was in a 2017 Honda CR-V today, and it has 2 USB ports behind the center console. First time I have seen that. Rear heated seats must be a Canadian thing. We are lucky that some cars have a heated driver's seat. No way would they heat the rear seats also.
My co-worker has the new 2017 CR-V Touring. It's a nice ride. He also has rear heated seats.
Wanted to let you know that I pulled the trigger on a 2017 Forester XT Touring today. It came down to between the Forester and the CR-V, and I went with the Subaru because of handling and the more open look. Your videos helped a bit with the decision, so thanks. I got a dark gray with brown interior.
Awesome! Congratulations on the purchase! Good choice! CR-V is nice and spacious but I still feel that the Subaru is a more premium product.
do you have the model number serial code for the OEM rear sway bar? trying to find it, thanks!
Unfortunately, I do not have the part number. Just ask your local Subaru parts dept to look up the STI stock sway bar part #.
@@ctecproductions thanks!
Love the brown interior 😝 , just needed heating steering wheel and I purchase.
Once you get the Touring (Limited in Canada) model with leather seats, you get the heated steering wheel.
nice ride. just wanted to ask how's the suspension of the forester 2017? Coz i'm planning to get a xt as well. thanks
Suspension is great for an SUV. Nothing like a car but handles well for what it is. check my other video for my WRX STI rear sway bar upgrade. In terms of ride comfort, it is better than my previous CX-5.
CTEC Productions thanks for the quick response.
No problem at all. Good luck with your purchase and enjoy the XT if you decide on it.
CTEC Productions one more question. how's the gas consumption?
My wife does mostly city driving and not much highway mileage on the weekends either. We usually get around 11L-12L/100kms during this winter. Probably around 10L-11L/100kms in the spring/summer. Worse than the CX-5 but the XT has more power.
is premium gas recommended? i remember reading it was required? can any other XT owners confirm that?
Fuel door cover says "Premium Fuel Recommend" It does not say Required.
How does the Forester handle compared with the Mazda CX-5?
The Forester handles well. The CX-5 is probably a sportier feel, as the Forester is more comfortable. The Forester feels like is has a better build quality and that it's more solid for a Japanese counterpart.
DID YOU LEASE OR BUY? WHAT ARE YOU PAYMENTS LIKE?
how is the forester doing after 10 months..good video btw.
The Forester is still doing great. Love the performance and the features. No real issues at all other than the fact that the navigation is flakey from time to time. That is just a Subaru thing though. Thanks for watching!
@@ctecproductions do you still have this car? if so,How many kms/miles on it now?
@@Kyumilli the car is long gone since 2019 I believe.
@@ctecproductions ahh I just watched your lemon video about it lmao. Thanks.
Hope your current car is treating you well!!
@@Kyumilli it is. Thank you! Hope yours is as well. Enjoy!
Wait, how did you get those roof rails painted in silver?
They come black in the US and silver in Canada. If you notice at the bottom side sills, we don't get the added chrome strip.
谢谢你的分享.