The Forrester is Car and Driver's 2005 small Truck of the Year five yrs running or something.

 

The element is neither here nor there. It cannot tow anything, can't carry much, can't go off-road, does not handle, accelerate or stop well and the fuel mileage is not all that impressive.

The Forrester on the other hand is a great wagon.

 

Element are nice! The rear setats are a little jacked up. You sit higher than the driver.

Subaru's are wonderful cars. IMHO the Forester is to LPGA for me.

Cheers!

 

get a used minivan. seriously. i am 27, single and own a house. i have a 2000 olds silhouette (yes, the cadillac of minivans). it is rediculously comfortable, nice powerful engine, ( i made an srt-4 blink... for a second) power everything, leather, dvd, great gas mileage (25-27 hwy) and range (near 600 miles per tank). i can haul 6-7 people easily, take the seats out and get 4x8 sheets of plywood, furniture, boxes, i put 60 bags of mulch in there, and i can haul 3500 lbs.

best part, i got it with a 48000 mile warranty all for only $16k.

plus its nice to be inconspicuous sometimes.

I love it

Dave

 

The new FJ looks awesome, but given your description of your needs, might be over kill.

 

I had a Vibe GT and loved it. It's a Matrix basically with different styling. You can get better deals on the Vibes.

Get the GT with the Elise/Celica GTS motor and six-speed tranny. Rear seats fold flat and you have a ton of space to load your band equipment. Gets GREAT gas mileage and you can get a killer deal on it. Would definitely drive better than an Element, etc.

Take one for a spin (literally as redline is 8,250rpm)

 

Try and pay attention would ya...
. he does not need to tow
. he is not looking for an off road vehicle in the Bay area
. he did not say he was looking for a hot rod

When you say it can't carry much you are wrong, 11.9 cubit feet is a lot more interior volume and with the rear seats down it is a clear winner over the Forester
FORESTER
- Internal dimensions: front headroom (inches): 39.8, rear headroom (inches): 39.8, front hip room (inches): 51.6, rear hip room (inches): 51.6, front leg room (inches): 43.6, rear leg room (inches): 33.7, front shoulder room (inches): 53.5, rear shoulder room (inches): 53.6 and interior volume (cu ft): 93.5
- Cargo capacity: rear seat down (cu ft): 56.4 and all seats in place (cu ft): 29.6
ELEMENT
- Internal dimensions: front headroom (inches): 43.3, rear headroom (inches): 39.4, front hip room (inches): 55, rear hip room (inches): 47.6, front leg room (inches): 41, rear leg room (inches): 39.1, front shoulder room (inches): 57.1, rear shoulder room (inches): 52.2 and interior volume (cu ft): 105.4
- Cargo capacity: rear seat down (cu ft): 77.1 and all seats in place (cu ft): 25.9

And the fuel economy is admitadly better in the Forester, but not by a huge amount.
FORESTER
- Fuel economy EPA highway (mpg): 28 and EPA city (mpg): 23
ELEMENT
- Fuel economy EPA highway (mpg): 24 and EPA city (mpg): 21

 

While yes, it's true I'm mostly looking for an Suburban Utility Vehicle, steve_c's comment at least got me thinking about towing. I don't think I'd ever have to tow, but knowing that it's there is worth something.

My test drive list:
Element, maybe a CR-V (if I can find a used bargain)
Vibe
A slew of Subaru's
Fit (if it's available)
Yaris (if it's avaiable)

Anything else? Anyone?

 

Well strangely enough that was my thought when I went shopping for a new vehicle, and I just loved the Element, but look what won out...


9,500 pounds towing capacity

 

Results of a quick towing capacity search in lbs.
CR-V