Subaru Forester

Station wagon or SUV? Subaru’s latest Forester is both. And more besides, says Ross Mackay.

Kiwis love Subarus. We always have. However the rise and rise of the Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV) has left importer Subaru New Zealand with something of a quandary. For years the most popular models have been the brand’s robust All-wheel-drive station wagons. Never mind that models like the top-selling Outback have been just as capable as most ‘Johnny-come-lately’ SUVS, the market – and to be fair, most of the country’s motor-noters – have considered them more as ‘crossovers.’ In theory they’ve been right, too, because strictly defined an ‘SUV’ has a separate body and chassis (think Toyota Prado) while a ‘crossover’ has a unibody (car) base. What has happened, of course, is that every man and has dog has been building and marketing ‘AWD SUVS’ which the buying public has been lapping up – effectively boxing Subaru out of a sector it effectively created but also, for a long time, virtually had to itself. Fortunately, the arrival of the all-new fifthgeneration Forester provided local execs with a golden opportunity to (re) claim the higher (read SUV) ground. “The new generation 2019 Forester is the ideal SUV to provide Kiwis and particularly families, with a chance to upgrade their fun,” Subaru of New Zealand’s Managing Director Wallis Dumper said at the official local launch at the Highlands Motorsport Park in Cromwell in early August.

Model line-up and pricing

There are three models in the new Gen-5 lineup, the 2.5 Sport with an RRP (the same as the previous 2.5i) of $39,990. The 2.5 Sport Plus (RRP $44,990) and the 2.5 Premium (RRP $47,490). All three are powered by a newly-enhanced, naturally-aspirated, directinjection 136kw/239nm 2.5-litre horizontally-opposed, four-cylinder engine mated to a seven-speed manual mode-equipped Subaru Lineartronic Continuously Variable Transmission (SLT) and Subaru’s signature symmetrical All-wheel-drive with X-mode. While retaining a strong familial resemblance to the Gen 4 version, the new Gen 5 model is 19mm longer, 21mm wider and rolls on a wheelbase 28mm longer. Small numbers, true, but you really do notice the extra room, front as well as in the back, and in the large luggage space. Practical, real-world innovation has always been a Subaru specialty, no more so than with the new Forester, which debuts with Eyesight® driver assist – now standard across the entire Forester range – and Subaru’s first-ever Driver Monitoring System (DMS) available on the Sport Plus and Forester Premium models. Subaru’s DMS sets driver preferences for seat position, door mirrors, air-conditioning and some instrument displays using facial recognition technology. Within seconds of stepping in the Forester, the system recognises the driver and automatically adjusts the SUV to their preferences. Up to five drivers can be registered in the system, which greets each driver when they get behind the wheel of the Forester. Another feature of the DMS is a Wandering Gaze Warning – if the driver continues to look away from the road ahead, the system warns both passengers and the driver through a visual and audio alert. DMS can also detect if the driver is dozing or getting drowsy. This warning system once again uses facial recognition technology to determine if the driver is dozing off – this is presumed if they continue to close their eyes while driving. Drowsiness is recognised by calculating the time ratio the driver’s eyes are closed.

Proof of concept

As if to underline the fact that the Forester is way more than a station wagon sitting a little higher than its peers, the launch drive was half on road and half off it. And when I say ‘off it’ I mean completely off – high in the hills east of the Cromwell Basin on celebrated local rural entrepreneur John Perriam’s Bendigo Station. Wherever John – complete with a tray load of working and house dogs along for the ride – went in his well-used Ford Ranger Wildtrack ute shod with grippy off-road tyres, we followed in our Foresters, an impressive feat considering some of the ascents, descents, slippery grass sidlings, and skill (or the lack thereof) and experience in such marginal conditions, of the assembled media ‘rat pack.’ The new Forester took it all in its stride with a beguiling mix of comfort, competence, style and convenience. If only all SUVS – or station wagons for that matter – were so good and/or so well suited to the New Zealand lifestyle!