Subaru has been in the ‘compact SUV’ market since before that term even existed.
The engineering-oriented Japanese marque pioneered all-wheel-drive passenger cars and station wagons more than 40 years ago and remains a major player today. This early work by Subaru is paying big dividends today, because compact SUVs compete in one of the fastest growing of all market segments.
Interestingly, this doesn’t just apply to Australia; buyers in many other countries are discovering how much sense it makes to own affordable, driver-friendly compact SUVs.
Which brings us to Subaru’s Forester, the mid-size model in the extensive Subaru all-wheel-drive wagon range.
So important is the Forester that Subaru Australia imported several pre-production generation-four Foresters to Australia to permit a select group of journalists to drive them on and off road. The new model won’t reach us Down Under until February.
To say we are impressed by the latest Forester is an understatement. While competing vehicles in this class are becoming softer by the day, Subaru has stuck to its guns and produced a genuine off-road wagon.
Even better, Forester’s on-road behaviour has been further refined despite the upgrading of its all-road abilities.
Its ground clearance of 220mm is greater than that of all its competitors, even of some dedicated 4WDs, so deep ruts and large rocks will seldom cause hassles.
The electronic traction controls, tagged X-Mode by Subaru, are arguably the best we have yet experienced; sophisticated, non-intrusive and simple to use.
Downhill and uphill assist are controlled by the throttle and brake pedals, making them significantly more intuitive than the hand controls generally fitted.
Even first-time off-road users of a gen-four Forester will feel they are experts in the way the wagon responds.
The fourth-generation Subaru Forester is marginally smaller on the outside but clever design means the interior is slightly larger in most dimensions.
Rear seat passengers are the biggest beneficiaries.
As is the way with most latest generation cars, the Subaru Forester is quieter and smoother than ever before, with cabin noise levels diminished to the sort of levels that used to require an expensive sedan to achieve.
New Forester can be specified with a 2.0 or 2.5-litre flat-four petrol engine, and a 2.0-litre turbo-diesel.
Only the 2.5 petrol can be specified with an automatic transmission, the others have a six-speed manual gearbox.
