The Subaru Forester: Built For Affluent Boomers?

When you look at the Subaru Forester, you see a compact crossover that’s resolutely utilitarian. And that’s exactly what we liked about it when we recently test drove it.

But when you look at the vehicle’s sales figures, you notice a very interesting trend.

Even though the Forester is aimed at parents aged 30 to 49 with a combined family income over $110,000 per year, most Forester buyers are actually older than that—and more affluent.

In fact, 15% of Forester customers are between 60 and 64 years old. Another 14% are between 55 and 59. Even more surprising is the fact that 52% of buyers are between 50 and 59, while the target age group represents just under 27% of sales.

If you look at customer revenue, you get similar results, in the sense that the target market is less well-heeled than the vehicle’s actual buyers. The difference, however, is less pronounced, as 37% of people who buy the Forester (which sells for $25,000 to $38,000) have a family income between $100,000 and $250,000.

And so it would seem that the Subaru Forester appeals more to well-to-do boomers than young families.

There are lots of reasons why this may be. An obvious one is that you need to have a certain amount of money to buy a car for $35,000 without going broke. But when you consider the average age of Forester buyers, you start to wonder whether Subaru should try to cultivate a younger image—and this also comes as a surprise, considering that the automaker also builds sports cars like the WRX, WRX STI and BRZ.

Or is it that younger buyers are just too loyal to these sportier models? Good question.