Would like a practical review of this car in Kenya.

Reading online reviews from mostly US and Australia, this car seems to be king, and beats all comers in the small size SUV, wagon and cross over categories, both on onroad and offroad drives.

Its all wheel drive is second to Quatro (on Audi) and it has great interior space.

Looking to get me one, so would appreciate if you could tell me your Kenyan experience with the car and any options you would pick over it.

@Birdman,when you are referring to new, which years are you referring to, coz to me, the outback seems to be moving towards the Tribeca sizewise, check out the 2012 or 2013 versions they are very big and even high.

The legacy has remained relatively same size.

I have one, 2500cc,a very nice car only the fuel consumption is a bit high.Spares you get from Subatech and Lota Motors but they should not bother as you rarely need replacement.

The new models I find them ugly and prefer the older model.

Yeah, the 2013 model is really ugly...and I think the same designer was given the brief for the 2014 Forester

@Mawinder, you and vitz!! whats with all the talk about the VX been seeing here. Thanks for the feedback though.

I guess the new models must be ugly, very many thumbs down so far.

My own opinion on this is that Subaru have always done very superior vehicles and hence the worldwide appreciation. I agree that there is no uglier subaru than the Tribeca. Now the new models seem to be engaging the same designer - could it be their new owner trying to dilute the Subaru make to grow their other make further?

I find that for a subaru, good suspension is key to ensuring your areas of concern are sorted. buy original subaru or stick to Monroe who sell bilstein air suspension. They will check all the issues you raise. On maintenance, I'd be surprised if you cannot get any parts locally. Buy the original air filter which might be a bit costly (maybe 4.5K) as the locally assembled ones can cause the engine to run a bit too rich or a tard lean. When you hear too much fuel is being swallowed (like @mawinder), the culprit will mainly be the air filter or spark plugs.

I'd go with the 2012 forester but that's just me.