My 2004 Subaru Forester SX has been a great workhorse of a car since the day I got it. It has a comfortable ride and wonderful handling. I really like the all-wheel drive capability of all Subarus. I never feel I have to worry about weather conditions from snow to rain. That safe handling is one of the top priorities for me. It has consistently gotten fairly good mileage on both city and highway drives for me. I'd say I still get well over 20 miles per gallon, even 13 years later. This is the first car I've owned for so many years. This car has only 147,000 miles on it, so I think I may have it for several years to come! I love that the Forester handles like a passenger car but has plenty of room for cargo. With rear fold-down seats and a rear cargo section, I've been able to haul larger loads when needed but also carry passengers comfortably too. The year 2004 was the last year the Forester was categorized as a small SUV. After that, it was a station wagon until around 2011 or 2012 when it came out as a full blown SUV. It's going to be hard for me to change over when the time comes to get a new car. Design features I've loved have been the oversized, retracting sunroof, the compass, and heated front seats. Loads of light all year round! Warm tush and back! I do have a few minor complaints. Little plastic bits tend to break. The fuel tank release tab has been broken for about five years. The motor on the retracting sunroof has had issues for a long time. Once I started having trouble getting it too close, I was advised by mechanics to just stop using it - the cost to repair was several hundreds of dollars and not covered by warranty. So, she shows a bit of wear and tear after 13 years - who wouldn't? Still I love her, and I'll likely replace her with another Subaru...eventually!

I bought this car 3 years ago with 130,000 miles and I have only had one repair that was related to wear and tear (wheel bearing). It is al oat as good as a sedan for mileage. The turbo boost is super smooth and fast... I love driving on the freeway with it!