Practical, roomy and built for off-roading
Rear window into the passenger and cargo area In the rear, there’s more foot room, which makes getting in and out of the vehicle easier, while the rear seat pockets have been redesigned to better suit the needs of passengers in the year 2018. There are special cutouts in the pocket so that it’ll snugly hold a gadget and is easily within reach of the rear USB ports. I’m not as big on the rear seat side sills in the Forester as I was on the Ascent. In the latter vehicle there are two steps to help you reach your roof rack, while the Forester’s step is quite small in comparison. But the Forester gets a similar smart roof rack with helpful tie-down spots.
The cargo area is wide and extremely practical, allowing for a full golf bag to easily fit in it sideways. There’s an abundance of space, with 2,155 L of storage, and the hatch opens quicker than before thanks to a new strut design. On the road perfection The Forester being practical is nothing new, as is the fact it has fantastic visibility. But what about it being fun to drive? That’s the case here, as the new platform that underpins the Forester is more rigid, which allows for a more responsive drive. There’s a limited amount of body roll, especially in comparison to the outgoing model, and the automaker mounts the rear stabilizer bar right to the chassis, which helps with onroad feel. Subaru says the stiff new platform makes the suspension do the work in minimizing the feeling of imperfections on the road, but here in Japan, roads are meticulously maintained so I’ll have to test that in North America.
The steering is light but responsive. It doesn’t feel as heavy as the last model, but it’s definitely tighter feeling, as the car can change directions with ease. The two drive modes don’t change the handling feel of the Forester but will change the throttle response for a somewhat more engaging drive. There’s also a manual mode for the CVT, that allows you to swap between seven preset gear ratios. More than a mall crawler But this being a Subaru, people will want to take it off-roading, and we have a lot of evidence to prove that it can handle conditions10 times worse than it’ll be subjected to. Through an offroad course built for mountain bikes, the Forester impressed, and there’s a new X Mode system with two settings: snow/ gravel and deep snow/mud. The big difference between the two is that the latter setting also turns off traction control to let the vehicle power through trickier messes. The vehicle also packs downhill stability control as well, and one of the displays can show you the pitch and yaw of the vehicle when you’re off-roading.
My complaints are few, and honestly, I’m much more impressed by what it offers at what will sure to be a competitive price. Seeing how it’s been one of Subarus best selling vehicles of all time, I trust it’ll maintain its place in that $25,000 to $40,000 sweet spot. The verdict Without a doubt, the Forester is going to be a stand-out. It’s not only better than it’s ever been but better than anything else out there. It’s hard to fathom why someone shopping in this class wouldn’t buy it, but it’s likely factors like warranty length (where Subaru has just a three-year, 60,000-kilometre new car warranty) and availability are scaring off some potential customers. Trust in the Forester though, it’s more than worth the switch.