So far I've narrowed down 2 C-Seg SUV - family. Subaru Forester & Mazda CX5

The purpose is for long term use (if can tahan till 9 years) and safety features.

Upon specifications, both cars had to be consider in high specs 2.0i-S EyeSight and 2WD High to have the most complete safety features.

Pricing wise about RM150k max but Forester is a 2020 car (5Y warranty only) where CX5 is 2021 (5Y warranty with free service & parts & labor)

Tested Forester indeed drivability is like conti feel due to AWD and it's very solid. But CX5 haven't tested out yet.

Understand that in terms of maintenance/repairability, plan to go for under tree garage for maintenance/repair once out of warranty, will Forester not easy to repair or costly?

What's the advise and what you guys will be choosing between these 2 or any recommendation else than these 2?

My family got the previous gen Xv & Forester. Now no more warranty and both also service by my hometown (Nibong Tebal) mechanic.
If the mechanic knew how to do continental rides like BMW/Merc, this is easy job. Spare part is a lot nowadays, normal wear items like oil/air filter, lower arm bush, bearings, spark plugs are available easily. If in city like KL, got few specialize Subaru shop for those who want more. Normal service like oil change is nothing nowadays, even road side mechanic also can do. Japanese car 1 thing good in no need scare of spare parts, you can still get half-cut from Japan if anything. If you cheapskate they are a lot of cheap Thailand, China, Taiwan parts around, but what i can say you pay what you get..

BTW, to boost up your confidence about Subaru brand it is under Toyota group.

This post has been edited by littlefire: Dec 6 2021, 12:22 PM

The Forester's main selling point is the AWD system. Subaru's Boxter engine is tried and tested, as is the Lineartronic CVT. Go for the Forester if you like to do some light off-roading.

The CX-5 however, feels more premium, and looks better (looks are subjective though), and handles decent too, for a SUV.

Forester
1) Visibility
2) Ground clearance for off-road
3) Cornering
4) Spaciousness

Should consider the CRV if you are looking for long term durability.

This post has been edited by IamAHuman: Dec 8 2021, 07:12 PM

Forester if priority is handling.

Interior CX5 better.

Both plenty on the road, no trouble in parts sourcing and/or repair.

Confirm forester win. It is a no brainer

Especially when it is CBU also

CX5 down vote a lot of things especially when the paint job still have defects now. They only apply additional layer to " rectify " the huge complaints from before

CX5 good for city driving in out...interior also upmarket.

Forrester for some off road capability and legendary AWD system. Scubie spacious and can carry some cargo compared with CX5.

I'll go for Forrester anytime...and find some good mechs to handle the Forrester, no problem, can find.

This post has been edited by metalfire: Dec 8 2021, 08:55 PM

got kids? then forestor..
no then cx-5

cx-5 safety aint anywhere close to eyesight..
cx-5 does not have mrcc..

Cx5

Because forester fugly

can i confirm with anyone in the know, eye-sight model is now RM150k (only)?

i saw cx5 2.0 high spec sheet doesn't have mrcc...i guess only 2.5 spec only has it?

interior is very subjective, so far i like forester interior, conti feel but the a/c vent position is really awkward which is the most annoying part

yes, 149,788 to be exact quoted by SA. which ori price is 30k more.
downside is it's a 2020 car, but no free service/parts/labor, but with 5 yrs warranty..

you interested as well?

None of the latest cx5 has MRCC

Well, the other cars you list don't have free service/parts/labour too i suppose and it may be worth say RM10k over 5 years? 2020 car should be no big deal la.

I couldn't convince my wife to take any non Toyota and Honda car. (I know Subaru is affiliated with Toyota). and 150k is still personally 20k too much for me.

I'm going to swallow the smaller size and either go with Corolla cross, Civic or Corolla.

Its a damn shame that Mazda choose to attach their full ADAS not on CX5. Its like Vincent Tan slapping every customer that goes out the door and giving them a shorter life expectancy, and THEN pocketing the extra change.

2020 Forester with rebates, did they put it in shade whole year or under sun? Better buy a brand new car, so in this case CX5.

2nd, prefer car without CVT gb for reliability concern and last long. Normal gear much reliable than cvt in general

Well, if taken care CVT also can last long.
We got members going strong with the original CVT gearbox over 200k without issues and Subaru CVT use chain driven compare to others mostly just steel belt.
Mazda gearbox is also not god made, a lot of case now after warranty also gg as Mazda SC did not allow gearbox oil change within 5 years or 100k. If you always abuse it and drive hard be prepare to change the body valve after warranty ends or pandai pandai go outside and get other mechanic to help change the AT oil in between.

This post has been edited by littlefire: Dec 10 2021, 10:51 AM

Well, personally seen new car got put cover over it during storage at motor image center, not sure if other center got follow.
Since manufacturer got 5 years warranty, any issue just claim with SC.

it did not said allow but more to they put it as seal for life atf. but most user change it outside or at SC for ATF and it work great, based on CX5 fb car club member.
The CVT in general is not reliable vs Normal Gear, in the case of Subaru CVT, not sure how it is since u said using a chain plus lesser owner compare to other car brand. But in case of Proton CVT, Honda City, HRV, many had claim a new cvt gb under warranty, which was famous on the fb car club group. Under warranty mean they follow the manufacturer recomended service by SC. Remember last time Audi base spec give CVT also k.o and cost too much to replace it. Now no more CVT in Audi car.

it would be bad if they put under sun and make all the rubber harden, the door inner parts, the tyre, and rubber between door hinge, rear boot and engine bonnet.

.

This post has been edited by ayamxxx: Dec 10 2021, 11:23 AM

Just because of few bad apples did not mean all CVT gearbox is not reliable. Same as 6AT gearbox, those early days use by BMW like E60/E90 also sucks and fail alot because of the so call lifetime gearbox oil, many owner also did not change the ATF oil within the warranty limit and after that gg a lot of gearbox body valves also.. Does that mean all 6AT gearbox must be bad..

This post has been edited by littlefire: Dec 10 2021, 11:28 AM

Dont worry so much, i drove Xv for over 6 years and another Forester 5 years in my household with no rubber harden, door inner parts fail, or any rear boot or engine bonnet failure also.. The tire manufacturer can provide certain warranty if any crack or material issue found within warranty limit, besides that more & more tire manufacturer also recommend to pick up tires over 1 year of manufacturing date due to better curing. You can ask those professional tire shop which is better, fresh new tires or new tires which is 1~2 years mature.

This post has been edited by littlefire: Dec 10 2021, 11:36 AM

cross is also one of my shortlist, yet to test drive yet.
but cross is in between B n C seg...but seems cross hybrid which is around 140k with all safety features in it. Doubt if it's on par with forester.
gonna try out the cross then only know

If safety, corolla cross cant came close to Forester if you pick up with the eyesight system.
Forester is one of the best safety rated suv in Japan & also US if you look into their safety test report.
The only advantage of corolla cross is fuel efficient should be better due to hybrid.

speaking of hybrid, battery replacement/parts can be an issue after certain of years, >8 years maybe, although toyota has 8 yrs warranty but issues will come after 8 i guess and it's not cheap (assume few k) to upkeep.
for me, more tech stuffs, more things to upkeep, more $ spend.

still haven't a firm decision yet. gonna test cross, cx5 and forester (again) to make conclusion.

Edit: with the MY road condition, alot of pot holes, etc. forester should be no issue handling it, where cx5 will has issue due to resistance not so strong as forester?

This post has been edited by lansi_raju: Dec 10 2021, 11:57 AM

majority of comments here choose forrester, but majority of the car on the road is cx5

haha! CX5 really flooded...

I've been saying it for a few times in other threads. The Hybrid does not make economical sense.
Its the same system from Prius performance wise, 122ps/hp and 140Nm torque. Compare that to the 1.8V regular petrol 139PS 170Nm torque.

You are paying more for less performance. All you gain is better fuel economy. In the highway its going to be similar while it will be great for urban. You need to do your own ROI. For me it doesnt even pay back, not to mention potentially battery replacement.

But, the NEW 1.8V (Petrol) CKD has all the full Toyota Sense bells and whistles. And 130k only. All that driving assist, perhaps only lacking in full time 4WD and really road handling.

I'm willing to bet Forester will surely win in handling, and perhaps in active safety such strength and crash impact maybe. I drove the Cross petrol and handling is not shabby at all if you don't go drifting or high speed cornering those kind of things. Day to day, bumps and humps all performed well.

Its ONLY ONLY lacking in space. As you noted between B and C, to me at the back is really that. Between B and C......it is really a shame to ask 3 adults to sit there for 2 hours and above. Relatively, I will not hesitate to ask the same 3 adults to sit in the CRV for 3hours.

My wife and I are kinda considering...we just really have 2 kids and perhaps it will be fine.....

Another thing, that Forester ID (industrial design) man, really hard to stomach. And I am mechanical engineer who in theory doesn't even mind the ATIVA ID.

Where did they hire this particular designer....did he fall off the truck on the way to ISUZU or lorry design team?

Hybrid, better buy it from used with a warranty still intact, buy from owner who still service it at sc. The price drop too much to take for hybrid model, but good for used car market grabber.

Yup. Most people pick looks more towards overall package.
I got few friends which buy CX5 due to looks and go for the cheapest 2.0 variant.

If the previous SJ forester still quite a number on the road but the current SK Forester is way lesser due higher price point imported from Thailand compare to CX5 local CKD. If look into mechanical technology & safety features at the discounted price point now it is more value.

There are few videos from carlist & YS Khong in youtube explaining about Subaru safety, AWD & SUV car battle.
If you haven driven a real AWD ride & tested the best safety features like eyesight from Subaru, it is worth a life experience.

Well, Subaru main core is safety first. If your in industrial design i believe you might encounter that certain design might impact safety & also related space. It is quite similar to Volvo in the past when they are still prefer safety features first and their design also meh before Geely tookover. Most Subaru or JDM rides prefer boxy style to max the internal space as in Japan their cars does got certain dimension or criteria to meet, but this might be changing as more & more models will start to share with Toyota starting from GT86/BRZ and the next EV SUV Solterra/Bz4X.. Many Subaru hardcore fans also saying that Subaru is losing their design trend after Toyota took over them..

This post has been edited by littlefire: Dec 10 2021, 12:42 PM

I don’t completely buy that ID has to be bad to make a safe car…..every single Volvo nowadays look very nice, so does every Subaru except the forester.

Again as an engineer I can absolutely not see why certain design elements cannot be made in a more aesthetic way in the forester. It’s better to just chalk it up to “certain taste” or “heavy taste” haha.

Bro, is this the GT Edition?

not GT edition.
its eyesight...fyi, GT edition also 30k off..if u wan the SA, i can share u his ctc..PM me if you want

Not everybody has same taste like you. Being Forester big market is in the US, you can see the similarity in the US car design that most American prefer.

Well it depends on how.long you want to keep the car.

The boxer 4 tend to be more expensive to maintain in the long term, as well as more parts for the AWD drivetrain.


For me, the only reason to get the Forrester is the XT turbo, which we don't get here. Otherwise I would lean on the CX5 if you don't need AWD.

one i found suprise was the boxer engine FC is not that great vs inline 4 normal engine.

More due to the full time AWD than the engine itself.

I read that XV is actually having very good FC despite having full time AWD. But not forester.

in terms of maintenance yes in long term which is a big unknown and depending on luck as well, unless being well prepared with deep pockets shouldn't be an issue.
But with my current situation, having cx5 is a safer bet with some control while trade off some of the safety features which forester doesn't have. Some of the feature is a good to have but it's not mandatory, as I believe cars will have more tech stuff in coming years and more features becoming as standards.

in summary I've gone for cx5, park this thread as a reference if any individuals who will face this delima in future.

Well, is all about your feet control & also the place/traffic your drive.
We got member manage to get around 6~7L/100km for latest SK Forester, most of them get it if you can control your rpm around 2k range and on highway speed around 80~110km/h. The previous SJ Forester gen my best record is around 8L/100km, not to bad for such a big SUV with permanent AWD.

which CX-5 did you buy in the end?

Good luck with the new purchase.
Anyway for long term maintenance Mazda is also a mix bag.
If your ride got problem especially after warranty, their parts is not cheap to replace also.
Within 5 years should be worry free much.

This post has been edited by littlefire: Dec 13 2021, 05:56 PM

2.0 high spec

Thanks! If the forester offers 5 yrs free maintenance/parts/labour, i would 100% go for it.
Cant brain why forester doesn’t get the same treatment as xv

Same with my family car, 2.0 high line

any reason why not the 2.0L CRV? Its the design right? I mean its ok, I also love the shape...Or is it at least due to handling ?

I have tested the CRV but not the CX-5. If I were to based on the comparisons online, I read that CX-5 has even better handling.

Crv 2.0 doesn’t have the safety specs with we want, which is no honda sensing. Where the 1.5 turbo has, BUT its out of budget

It just a typical Japanese car. Parts are average price or similar to any other Japanese car parts price. Brakepad, absorber, spark plug, driveshaft. For brakepad, the most expensive at sc is for honda car, rm700/pair. But low quality when it will get brake juddering issue.

Neither do you get it with cx-5 2.0 high spec right?

Well, not accounted with the gearbox & also oil pump low pressure issue if unlucky (VVT issue usually follow with this), engine mounting also usually need to change after 100k. All these are not cheap tho to replace or fix after warranty ends, price is not average bro if went with original Mazda parts. Nowadays Mazda already consider as premium and near to continental part price already as they already push up their standards unless you go for China or other OEM parts.

If not mistaken you can ask for it, but the car price might be higher as is just add in the maintenance cost over the 5 years into the car price.
Previously when i purchase my Subaru, the sales person give me 2 options 1 is with all the maintenance cost included, while another is just free labor cost. i choose the later as i don't want to loan more money to add up the interest.

engine mounting for Honda also not cheap. Rm2.4k+ for engine mounting parts before installation. GB issues with Mazda cz they declare it as seal for life. can resolve it via send it outside to change ATF, so can make it last long. most owner don't change the atf due to above and had issue for mileage >100k km

This post has been edited by ayamxxx: Dec 14 2021, 09:38 AM

Yeah, funny thing this ATF change need to be done outside and not official SC. If found tempered, warranty can also void..

Invest a battery charger, just a Foxur will do. CX5 is famous on eating battery.

My subordinate changed 2 batteries in 3.5 years of ownership.

I've heard this before the root cause of it is due to the istop?
Foxur = Foxsur?

Not sure, it could also be due to other factors not just i-stop. My subordinate drives about 50km each day to/fro work, 70% highway. I don't think the i-stop was being triggered many times unless it is driven at stop and go traffic. As it's happening so frequent to CX5, just get a charger, charge it once a month, peace of mind.

Ya ya, Foxsur.

Mazda nowadays using a lot of electrical control items even off the istop also similar outcome, the battery you need to purchase is Q-85 spec. battery which is not cheap. It is an open secret that Mazda battery wont last long, the most around 2 years already consider very lucky.

BTW battery & tires is not included in your free maintenance package, so you need to pay for it if warranty limit off. If not mistaken the warranty for the battery is around 1 to 1.5 year or around 20~30k range. After that is yours problem already.

This post has been edited by littlefire: Dec 14 2021, 12:18 PM

Varta rm475. Never saw any manufacturer give a free maintenance package including tire.

If not mistaken there is a car brand which people can claim or help kautim new tyres within 2 years using so call wheel & tyre protection plan.
I dont want to name it, but many owners manage to get free tire set if they knew the person in charge.

That one is bmw cz many issues with RFT Goodyear. But also got owner unable to claim it under warranty. Tyre crack within 3-6 month. Rest manufacturers claimed it as wear and tear.