I got my 2023 Forester Sport three weeks ago and I absolutely love it. In the United States the Reverse Automatic Braking and Power Rear Gate are part of an optional package (OP24) that also includes the 8" screen, and a Harmon Kardon premium stereo. The rear seats actually recline a few inches with a strap tucked under the seat on the door side. The front headrest moves forward because it is an anti-whiplash device that locks forward keeping you from slamming your head back on it. My last vehicle had simulated leather and I haven't had cloth seats for quite a while. These are very nice seats and it is the most comfortable ride I have had in a long time. I drove three hours one way and back again a few hours later for Christmas and my wife and I were both comfortable throughout. The heated steering wheel is an additional option in the U.S. and not standard. I bought magnetite gray metallic, but that silver looks pretty good.
Congrats on the Forester, glad to hear that you're enjoying it! In Canada we don't get optional packages, the vehicles come one way and you can accessorize the vehicle, that's it - no additional choices from factory up here. You make a good point about the seats reclining a bit, I didn't point that out in my video, but I should do that. The headrests are to reduce the chances of whiplash, but from a day-to-day standpoint, they're adjustable for your comfort - the closer to your head it is, the better, but if it's too far forward it can cause you to have to lean/tilt your head forward at all times which isn't great for your neck or upper back. Glad it was a comfortable ride for you both on Christmas. Happy New Year!
I am also planning to go for forester sport. Little bit confused with OP24 package. Is it really worth for $1600+? I dont think RAB is that useful with Back camera, mainly concerned about the screen size. If Subaru offers some package only for 8 inch audio system, I will go with that. Is there any big difference between regular speakers and upgraded speakers (OP 24)?
@@N8RTH Thanks. Unfortunately, local dealer doesnt have any forester to check and compare the audio system. I am not concerned much about auto lift gate. Thinking mainly for 8 inch screen.
I usually don't ever comment on videos. But had to login and comment on this video. Tyson, you are awesome!!!! This is so extremely helpful. You may not realize it, but this is a fantastic breakdown. Thank you, and please know that you really helped us out.
Saw one in a local dealership website. It became mine that same day. The color is amazing. As is the overall vehicle. It goes back next week for some added goodies. Including a 2 inch lift kit and some off road tires. I’m excited.
@@TysonTheSubaruSpecialist The dealership where we got ours has an Outback and a Crosstrek with the same combination. They both look awesome. There’s a local high end off-road shop that does mods, so they’re taking care of it.
Thanks for the very informative video. I just picked up one in Magnetite Gray the other day and still figuring out some of the buttons. A little different than what my 2015 Crosstrek had.
@@TysonTheSubaruSpecialist that’s for sure! It had nearly 200k miles on it and the valve body needed to be replaced. In addition, the ac stopped working earlier this year and it’s been rough driving this summer here in the southeast. So….it was definitely time. I thought I liked my wife’s 2021 outback, but I love this forester sport. First say driving it to work and coworkers are now telling me it’s too sporty for me. lol
I wanted to get the Sport, but I chose the Touring instead. I’m glad I did. The heated steering wheel and rear seats are so nice during our cold winter months. My Forester is the first vehicle I’ve ever owned that I don’t have to fold down the rear seats to accommodate my wheelchair. This is huge for me. There’s so much interior room for the size of the car. My wife’s Outback is a bit too big for me, but my Forester is the right size. Next year we’ll be selling my wife’s Outback and she’ll start driving my Forester for her car as we will be buying a new Tacoma Limited 4WD hybrid for my vehicle. I don’t drive very much since I retired. My Forester is a 2019, but currently has only 11K miles. My wife’s Outback is also a 2019, but it has 28K miles. The Tacoma will be the last vehicle that I’ll ever have to buy.
The dual Xmode is Awesome ! We get 5-7 feet of snow every winter. We live 5 miles from town and 25 miles from a city. We live on a private road that we have to plow and maintain ourselves. We bought our Forester used when it had only 4,700 miles and saved $6K over a new one. The previous owner put Michelin Cross Climate tires on it and they’re AWESOME tires for All weather conditions. Every other vehicle we’ve ever owned we always had to put studded tires on during the winter. After buying my wife’s Outback we drove on the factory tires for 2 winters and the traction was amazing, so when it was time to put new tires on her Outback we bought the Michelin Cross Climate tires for her Outback as well. My only complaint about Subaru’s is that the only way to get Tan or Brown interior is that (in the Forester) we had to buy the Touring trim. So when our Forester wears out, we’ll go back to Toyota so we can get Tan or Brown interior colors. A lot of people are sick and tired of gloomy, outdated, boring, drab, coffin Gray and Black interior colors that have been shoved down everyone’s throats for 34 years.
Hi Tyson, thanks for the great informative video. I’m in Ontario and am seriously considering getting a 23 forester sport. Does it come with all weather mats and trunk liner? What is the piece of plastic called on the back bumper and how much extra is that? Also, do you happen to know if the winter rims from my 2019 rav 4 would fit on it? Thanks.
Thanks for the comment, glad you enjoyed the video! They do not come with the rubber floor mats from factory, but it is shipped from factory with the cargo tray. The Bumper step pad is a great accessory option to add to the Forester, I scraped the bumper on my Crosstrek and then opted to get install one. They're in the $90 + install range. The bolt pattern on the Rav4 matches the bolt pattern of the Forester, but I would recommend test fitting the tires/wheels to confirm that there are no fitment issues with them on the Forester.
My car again! Thank you for this video. I actually didn’t know it had tilting headrests! Trying not to drive it till the spring! My 2010 can handle the flying debris of winter roads!
You know it, Anni! I'm glad that you learned something about your Forester from my video! Please don't hesitate to let me know if you have any further questions in the future. I know that I wouldn't be able to not drive my new vehicle right away - good thing you have a "winter beater" to take the brunt of the abuse that our vehicles experience up here!
I’m doing the same. I’ve got a 90 mile daily commute and am still driving my 240,000 mile Prius. I use my Forester on the weekends and I love it so much.
I like the feel of the cloth - I find the cloth more comfortable than leather, but not as comfortable as the StarTex material that Subaru has in some of their vehicles.
Hi, I'm in So Calif - deciding today if I should get 2023 Forester sport or Crosstrek limited - both loaded. My ? Is: the Sport doesn't have Nav built in, (Crosstrek does - with Tom Tom), does have wired android auto (I don't prefer b/c I dont want to have to plug in my phone each time in order to use android), but I have a 2021 Garmin on a bean bag. The dash doesn't look like you can even set it up there & it seems there isn't a space to use by the shifter, either. So where can my Garmin go? I've seen a few people make an apparatus of some sort. Please let me know - or anyone else who knows what to do. Thank you
Thanks for the comment, I'm not overly familiar with all of the available mounts for Garmins, but I seem to remember seeing a vent mount for one, not sure if it was a genuine Garmin accessory or not, though. There is always the option of getting a suction cup mount for the windshield. I guess part of the question would be, how often do you need to use Navigation? Plugging your phone in occasionally to access AndroidAuto doesn't seem like it would be a large inconvenience, but if it was all of the time, that may be different. Then you have to take into account your needs in the vehicle, do you need or like the size of the Forester significantly more than the Crosstrek? Or are you more at home in the Crosstrek?
We would love for the Forester to come with the turbo'd engine again! The XT was 15% of Canadian Forester sales, which is a significant amount, but only accounted for something like 2% of Forester sales in the USA. Subaru Corporate looks at Canada and the USA as a single market for purposes of model creation/availability, and the XT didn't make the cut :(
... depends - I'm very happy with the 2.5 in my '23 FW - plenty of power for highway/off road - test drove both and found no need to get to 80 a few seconds faster lol ...
My 2023 Forester Sport has the same as the ones in this video. The Premium, Wilderness, Limited, and Touring have the round ones. It's one of the many details I love on the Sport that separates it from the other models. The salesperson who sold me mine back in September (who owns an older Forester) didn't seem to see this small detail so it's easy to overlook.
I got my 2023 Forester Sport three weeks ago and I absolutely love it. In the United States the Reverse Automatic Braking and Power Rear Gate are part of an optional package (OP24) that also includes the 8" screen, and a Harmon Kardon premium stereo. The rear seats actually recline a few inches with a strap tucked under the seat on the door side. The front headrest moves forward because it is an anti-whiplash device that locks forward keeping you from slamming your head back on it. My last vehicle had simulated leather and I haven't had cloth seats for quite a while. These are very nice seats and it is the most comfortable ride I have had in a long time. I drove three hours one way and back again a few hours later for Christmas and my wife and I were both comfortable throughout. The heated steering wheel is an additional option in the U.S. and not standard. I bought magnetite gray metallic, but that silver looks pretty good.
Congrats on the Forester, glad to hear that you're enjoying it! In Canada we don't get optional packages, the vehicles come one way and you can accessorize the vehicle, that's it - no additional choices from factory up here.
You make a good point about the seats reclining a bit, I didn't point that out in my video, but I should do that.
The headrests are to reduce the chances of whiplash, but from a day-to-day standpoint, they're adjustable for your comfort - the closer to your head it is, the better, but if it's too far forward it can cause you to have to lean/tilt your head forward at all times which isn't great for your neck or upper back.
Glad it was a comfortable ride for you both on Christmas. Happy New Year!
Heated Wheel isn’t an option on the Sport, in the US. I loved my 2020 Sport.
I am also planning to go for forester sport. Little bit confused with OP24 package. Is it really worth for $1600+? I dont think RAB is that useful with Back camera, mainly concerned about the screen size. If Subaru offers some package only for 8 inch audio system, I will go with that. Is there any big difference between regular speakers and upgraded speakers (OP 24)?
@@rajeshnamakkal758 Harmon/Kardon audio is WAY better than the base system. You also get a power lift gate (US spec).
@@N8RTH Thanks. Unfortunately, local dealer doesnt have any forester to check and compare the audio system. I am not concerned much about auto lift gate. Thinking mainly for 8 inch screen.
I usually don't ever comment on videos. But had to login and comment on this video. Tyson, you are awesome!!!! This is so extremely helpful. You may not realize it, but this is a fantastic breakdown. Thank you, and please know that you really helped us out.
Thanks for watching! Glad that it was helpful enough to warrant a comment from you!
The color looks on point with the snow.
Agreed! The Ice Silver Metallic is actually my favorite color in our lineup!
Tyson, keep up the good work. You really showcase Subarus very well and with integrity. Happy New Year 👍
Thank you! I really appreciate the compliment! Happy New Year to you as well!
Saw one in a local dealership website. It became mine that same day. The color is amazing. As is the overall vehicle. It goes back next week for some added goodies. Including a 2 inch lift kit and some off road tires. I’m excited.
Congrats! What lift are you getting?
@@TysonTheSubaruSpecialist
The dealership where we got ours has an Outback and a Crosstrek with the same combination. They both look awesome. There’s a local high end off-road shop that does mods, so they’re taking care of it.
This got me even more excited. I have this exact trim level and color showing up in about 3 weeks.
Awesome! Congrats in advance on the Forster!
In this lighting it almost looks like the trendy flat gray color which they should introduce. It would look great on the Forester.
Yeah, I'd love for Subaru to bring out some more "flat" colors and everyone else is selling in droves.
Thanks for the very informative video. I just picked up one in Magnetite Gray the other day and still figuring out some of the buttons. A little different than what my 2015 Crosstrek had.
Congrats on the Forester! Definitely different than what your previous Crosstrek was equipped with!
@@TysonTheSubaruSpecialist that’s for sure! It had nearly 200k miles on it and the valve body needed to be replaced. In addition, the ac stopped working earlier this year and it’s been rough driving this summer here in the southeast. So….it was definitely time. I thought I liked my wife’s 2021 outback, but I love this forester sport. First say driving it to work and coworkers are now telling me it’s too sporty for me. lol
Great video
Thank you!
I wanted to get the Sport, but I chose the Touring instead.
I’m glad I did.
The heated steering wheel and rear seats are so nice during our cold winter months.
My Forester is the first vehicle I’ve ever owned that I don’t have to fold down the rear seats to accommodate my wheelchair. This is huge for me.
There’s so much interior room for the size of the car.
My wife’s Outback is a bit too big for me, but my Forester is the right size.
Next year we’ll be selling my wife’s Outback and she’ll start driving my Forester for her car as we will be buying a new Tacoma Limited 4WD hybrid for my vehicle.
I don’t drive very much since I retired.
My Forester is a 2019, but currently has only 11K miles.
My wife’s Outback is also a 2019, but it has 28K miles.
The Tacoma will be the last vehicle that I’ll ever have to buy.
Thank you for sharing. Looks just like my 2022 White Sport.
Thanks for the comment! Practically identical!
The dual Xmode is Awesome !
We get 5-7 feet of snow every winter.
We live 5 miles from town and 25 miles from a city.
We live on a private road that we have to plow and maintain ourselves.
We bought our Forester used when it had only 4,700 miles and saved $6K over a new one.
The previous owner put Michelin Cross Climate tires on it and they’re AWESOME tires for All weather conditions.
Every other vehicle we’ve ever owned we always had to put studded tires on during the winter. After buying my wife’s Outback we drove on the factory tires for 2 winters and the traction was amazing, so when it was time to put new tires on her Outback we bought the Michelin Cross Climate tires for her Outback as well.
My only complaint about Subaru’s is that the only way to get Tan or Brown interior is that (in the Forester) we had to buy the Touring trim.
So when our Forester wears out, we’ll go back to Toyota so we can get Tan or Brown interior colors.
A lot of people are sick and tired of gloomy, outdated, boring, drab, coffin Gray and Black interior colors that have been shoved down everyone’s throats for 34 years.
3rd Forester review by this great channel with no back seat fold 😁
Check out tomorrows video.
@@TysonTheSubaruSpecialist Awesome!
Hi Tyson, thanks for the great informative video. I’m in Ontario and am seriously considering getting a 23 forester sport. Does it come with all weather mats and trunk liner? What is the piece of plastic called on the back bumper and how much extra is that? Also, do you happen to know if the winter rims from my 2019 rav 4 would fit on it? Thanks.
Thanks for the comment, glad you enjoyed the video!
They do not come with the rubber floor mats from factory, but it is shipped from factory with the cargo tray. The Bumper step pad is a great accessory option to add to the Forester, I scraped the bumper on my Crosstrek and then opted to get install one. They're in the $90 + install range.
The bolt pattern on the Rav4 matches the bolt pattern of the Forester, but I would recommend test fitting the tires/wheels to confirm that there are no fitment issues with them on the Forester.
Hi Tyson, really clear video. This model and trim is the top of my list. Do you sell to out of province customers?
sent you an email, Lee
Hopefully you get the touring edition soon
We can hope!
My car again! Thank you for this video. I actually didn’t know it had tilting headrests! Trying not to drive it till the spring! My 2010 can handle the flying debris of winter roads!
You know it, Anni! I'm glad that you learned something about your Forester from my video! Please don't hesitate to let me know if you have any further questions in the future. I know that I wouldn't be able to not drive my new vehicle right away - good thing you have a "winter beater" to take the brunt of the abuse that our vehicles experience up here!
I’m doing the same. I’ve got a 90 mile daily commute and am still driving my 240,000 mile Prius. I use my Forester on the weekends and I love it so much.
@LouXMedina as efficient as the Forester is, the Prius is definitely the better vehicle to commute in.
What exactly do you like about the cloth seats? I usually think of cloth as just average comfort, not as good as leather
I like the feel of the cloth - I find the cloth more comfortable than leather, but not as comfortable as the StarTex material that Subaru has in some of their vehicles.
In the winter it’s a lot warmer to sit on. Leather is awful at -30 Celsius! 😳
@@anniwinter8366 yeah but you just use heated seats right
@@anniwinter8366 Thank goodness for the heated seats (And heather steering wheel) in it!
@@natef1212 I also have a 2010 Forester with leather seats and they take a while to warm up. And they don’t seem to preheat with remote start.
Nice review!
Thank you!
Hi,
I'm in So Calif - deciding today if I should get 2023 Forester sport or Crosstrek limited - both loaded. My ? Is: the Sport doesn't have Nav built in, (Crosstrek does - with Tom Tom), does have wired android auto (I don't prefer b/c I dont want to have to plug in my phone each time in order to use android), but I have a 2021 Garmin on a bean bag. The dash doesn't look like you can even set it up there & it seems there isn't a space to use by the shifter, either. So where can my Garmin go? I've seen a few people make an apparatus of some sort. Please let me know - or anyone else who knows what to do. Thank you
Thanks for the comment, I'm not overly familiar with all of the available mounts for Garmins, but I seem to remember seeing a vent mount for one, not sure if it was a genuine Garmin accessory or not, though.
There is always the option of getting a suction cup mount for the windshield.
I guess part of the question would be, how often do you need to use Navigation? Plugging your phone in occasionally to access AndroidAuto doesn't seem like it would be a large inconvenience, but if it was all of the time, that may be different.
Then you have to take into account your needs in the vehicle, do you need or like the size of the Forester significantly more than the Crosstrek? Or are you more at home in the Crosstrek?
I have a 2017 xt forester subie bring back that option and engine back
We would love to get the 2.4L in the Forester! That trim level was 15% of Canadian Forster Sales before it got axed.
@@TysonTheSubaruSpecialist it’s only con is premium gas is recommended
@johnfrank tullo in the 2.0XT it is, but if they put the 2.4L in it, they would be running it on regular.
It needs the 2.4 turbo engine.
We would love for the Forester to come with the turbo'd engine again! The XT was 15% of Canadian Forester sales, which is a significant amount, but only accounted for something like 2% of Forester sales in the USA. Subaru Corporate looks at Canada and the USA as a single market for purposes of model creation/availability, and the XT didn't make the cut :(
... depends - I'm very happy with the 2.5 in my '23 FW - plenty of power for highway/off road - test drove both and found no need to get to 80 a few seconds faster lol ...
Can I watch videos on my 23 Forester sport??
Do you mean on the radio/infortainment display?
Are 20" wheels available?
Not from factory. But I'm sure that you could probably find an aftermarket set that would work.
@TysonTheSubaruSpecialist ok so those can fit then, thanks
Can you fit in an adult bicycle with the 2nd row folded?
If you took the front tire off, you probably could. I've never tried myself.
@@TysonTheSubaruSpecialist couldn't fit it in KIA Sorento😄
😍😍😍🥰
The american version of this car has round fog lights for some reason.
My 2023 Forester Sport has the same as the ones in this video. The Premium, Wilderness, Limited, and Touring have the round ones. It's one of the many details I love on the Sport that separates it from the other models. The salesperson who sold me mine back in September (who owns an older Forester) didn't seem to see this small detail so it's easy to overlook.
The Sport and our top end Premier have the vertical LED Fog lights, not sure if it's any different in the USA with their vehicles.
really don't like the tail lights
The best part about you only not liking the tail lights is that you'll rarely see them when you're driving the vehicle.