Curious to know...

[andryea]

I've been a loyal Subaru owner for over thirty years. Recently we purchased a gently used 2020 Forester Premium and senior retired our 2013 model which I loved. I do not love this 2020 version for many reasons and for the first time, sorry I bought it.

As I consider whether or not to sell it or to buy another or to just get used to it I wonder. Is there a particular model year that you'd recommend looking for or staying away from? Are there some model years that are more problematic or troublefree? Which model year/s did Subaru just get it wrong between 2013 and 2025?

 

[bmart]

I would suggest hunting down a low mile version of the generation you like. I have owned Subarus since 2000...and still have my first one. The older ones are far superior, in my opinion. Once they started to hunt Honda/Toyota for market share, everything went to crap.

Set up notifications on cars.com and hunt down small dealers. That is how I found all of mine, all very low mileage and in great shape.

 

[andryea]

When you say older ones and generations what do you mean exactly. How old? What are the generations?

 

[bmart]

You need Google...not me. lol Do a search. Subaru changes "generations" on their models on 5 year intervals. For U.S. Legacies, Gen 3 is 2000-2004, Gen 4 2005-2009, and so on. While changes are made inside of generations, they're basically the same vehicle. I have 3 Gen 3s and 1 Gen 4. They are lovely cars to drive and easy to work on. Nearly zero electronics/driver aids...which is perfect for me. 2010 on things started to go sideways with much bigger vehicles, more electronics, and that dreaded CVT transmission.