Forester off "paved road" performance?

[ZZ]

Thinking about an 05. Plan is to use it on dirt, gravel, and/or sand
roads. Nothing totally off road.
I live in the Las Vegas area and do a lot of hiking and need a high
clearance for the "poorly" graded back roads leading to the various
trailheads.
Comments?
Thanks in advance.

 

[Kzinns2]

Should be perfect for dirt and gravel roads. I've driven my '99 Forester on
plenty of them in California and the Southwest, including some fairly rough
ones, and the Forester has been great. As long as the clearance is sufficient
to get over rocks and negotiate ruts, and the grade isn't so severe that you
really need low-range gearing you should be fine.

I'd be cautious in any sand though - although I've gone along some sandy
stretches of road in the desert, I usually avoid any really sandy areas if I
can. Maybe others here have more experience driving in sand than I do and can
add their comments.

 

[Dan Duncan]

Thinking about an 05. Plan is to use it on dirt, gravel, and/or sand
roads. Nothing totally off road.

My 2003 Forester offered an optional limited slip rear diff.
If it's still optional on 2005 models, you might want to consider
getting that and maybe the rear diff protector.

-DanD

 

[Wayne Farmer]

My 2003 Forester offered an optional limited slip rear diff.
If it's still optional on 2005 models, you might want to consider
getting that and maybe the rear diff protector.

-DanD

I recently bought my first Subaru, a 2001 Forester S, which includes the
limited slip rear differential, and I had the dealer install a rear
differential protector. So far I've driven it up into the Blue Ridge Mtns
several times, and its performance on uphill or flat asphalt, gravel, and
rocky dirt roads has been excellent.

Check out this link for photos and story of a group outing of Outbacks and
Foresters along a muddy gravel road near North Carolina's Mt. Pisgah:
http://www.subaruforester.com/viewtopic.php?t=3519

Wayne

 

[Steve Bukosky]

Thinking about an 05. Plan is to use it on dirt, gravel, and/or sand
roads. Nothing totally off road.

I've taken my 2002 through mud and snow my Taurus would never have
made it though.

 

[Ken Lyons]

Thinking about an 05. Plan is to use it on dirt, gravel, and/or sand
roads. Nothing totally off road.

I use my '99 to drive a road near Shenandoah National Park in Virginia that
hasn't been maintained since the CCC stopped working on it in the early
40's. Some bits are hairy, but it does fine.

You may want to consider an Outback. The '05 Forester has a ground clearance
of 7.5 inches. The OBW has 8.4.

 

[BoB]

I use my '99 to drive a road near Shenandoah National Park in Virginia that
hasn't been maintained since the CCC stopped working on it in the early
40's. Some bits are hairy, but it does fine.

I owned a '90 Legacy sedan and a '95 Legacy wagon when I lived in
the mtns. We searched the logging roads for interesting rocks to
extend a retaining for a flower bed. I occasionally had to move a
boulder or small tree, and drove around or over the small stuff.
Our driveway, 800' with a 200' rise in elevation [25% grade?], was
solidly packed rock. Our trunk carried 200+ pounds of rocks sometimes.
Occasionally, when not loaded, we had to stop for a grouse or fawn that
was reluctant to move. We could start up again without a spin of the
wheels. To further describe the drive, if you braked to a stop going
down and applied the emergency brake, when you took your foot off the
brake, the car would slowly begin to slide, dragging the rear tires.

We presently have an '02 ForesterS which is our favorite Subaru
so far.

Your planned use should be no problem at all for ANY Subaru. Choose
the model you like best and prepare to enjoy.

BoB

 

[Lord Drool Rockworm]

I've had my '04 Forrester XT for 6 months now, and I can say that it's
a real blast on such roads. No worries.