Subaru Forester Problems

Noises like this can be hard to trace, but you're obviously on the right track and will ultimately establish the cause. Taking the shaft out seems like a good course of action having worked out that it is possibly at the heart of the problem. Good luck.

Sadly, 2011 is not one of the better years for a Subaru. The new-generation model Forester arrived in 2013 and it gets The Tick. Ironically, a Forester from 2002-2009 is a good choice.

Definitely not a Chery but a Subaru Forester would be an excellent choice with five-star safety for you, good reliability and a wagon tail for travel.

With modern stability control systems and on-demand all-wheel-drive you are far less likely to get caught out with understeer (where the nose of the car pushes wide) than you once were. Having said that, the Kluger — and the LandCruiser for that matter — aren't city-friendly vehicles. If you no longer need to tow but still like the safety net of all-wheel-drive, why not look at a Subaru Outback or Forester?

A Mazda CX-5 would be the best bet, and gets The Tick, but also look at a Subaru Forester which is more car-like and will be better around town when you're not towing.

The Forester gets The Tick from me but only the latest model. It has improved quality and refinement, which came after Subaru — and a lot of Japanese brands — cut costs through the GFC.

A well-designed seat should not need extra lumbar adjustment. I've spent the past week in an Outback and found the seats excellent in their shape, support and padding.

For your needs, I would recommend the Subaru Forester. It is a great country drive, comfortable and safe, and gets The Tick. The Koleos is getting very dated.

The current car is less than halfway through its lifespan, so it's about three years until the next all-new model. But we're expecting a minor tweak later this year.

The salesman is right you really do need to run them over long distances to get the most out of them, and they can be noisy, although modern diesels are less so than old ones. You really need to do the maths on the running and servicing costs of the diesel versus the petrol to see which is best suited to your use. Diesels generally cost more to service, and they are prone to blocking of the diesel particulate filter if not used in a way that allows the automatic regeneration of the filter to happen. I would buy the petrol engine.