Subaru Forester
The streets are awash with cars that portray us, their owners, as being the ‘lifestyle-ey’ types. Once we’ve dropped the kids off at school we’re all off to climb a hill, a hill with parking facilities that are only accessible via a dirt-trail with a pretty considerable incline, apparently.
The truth is that most of our ‘lifestyle’ vehicles are only well enough equipped to tackle a nasty kerb, and the ones that do have the necessary running gear are hamstrung by a set of 22″ rims, shod with low-profile tyres as their owners are more Alderley Edge than cliff-edge.
But what if you really do need or want to get off the beaten track in something with enough room inside for 2.4 children and a dog, and then you want to simply wipe the mud away in time for the school run?
Car or SUV?
Once the manufacturer who proudly boasted that they only produced AWD cars, Subaru knows a thing or two about getting cars to deliver off-road. And we do mean cars. Subaru isn’t in the habit of churning out SUV-lites. Even this; the Forester is officially a crossover and is currently Subaru’s largest offering – its silhouette is jacked-up estate car, not Chelsea tractor. Plus, it may well be Subaru‘s biggest model but at 1830mm wide it’s relatively narrow which makes manoeuvring and parking less of a headache than in something with oodles of batteries secreted under the floor.
Great drivetrain let down by CVT ‘box
This is the sixth generation of Forester and its squared lines mean the bloodline is easy to spot. It carries over its petrol-only power unit from the outgoing model as well as the platform it sits on. Being a Subaru, not only does this mean AWD, it also carries on their proud tradition of flat-four ‘boxer’ engines which are obviously now hybrids. Subaru’s love affair with the CVT ‘box also marches on; not our thing but there you go.
Inside the Forester continues Subaru’s well earned reputation for sensible function over form but they have added a few different shapes and textures to spice things up a little. They’ve stuck with actual speedometer and rev-counter dials, not virtual ones and the seats have a bit more give than the outgoing model, plus the front seats get heating as standard; all very welcome.
Two very welcome little icons
What’s very, very welcome is two little icons in the bottom right corner of the ubiquitous central touchscreen. They’re shortcuts to silence the infernal bonging that frankly are a distraction; they need resetting every trip but there’s no digging through menus, they’re just there. Subaru has jazzed the Forester’s dashboard up with some interesting designs and the large central screen is unavoidable now but they’ve also kept some sensible physical buttons, especially on the steering wheel.
The rear seats are not only a generous size, they’ve got an equally generous aperture which makes putting a child seat in and getting it back out a doddle. You can even have them heated on high specs and that very regular silhouette means loads of head room and a decent view of the world passing by which many crossovers lack.
Is the Forester quick, though?
As well as AWD, one characteristic Subaru’s previously gained a reputation for was performance, thanks in no small part to a certain blue rally car and the addition of a whopping-great turbo to some of their road cars.
Unfortunately the Forester doesn’t quite live up to this reputation. To keep in line with increasingly stringent emission laws, this latest Forester’s actually had its power output turned down a tad to 134bhp & 182Nm torque. This is all channeled through that uninspiring CVT ‘box and leaves you with 0-62mph in 12.2s & 116mph top speed.
Should I buy a Subaru Forester?
So, the Forester clearly isn’t about point-to-point speed, but then it is called a Forester at the end of the day so let’s maybe cut it some slack. Combine its increased ride-height, hill-descent, X-mode and that permanent AWD and you’ve got something that’s going to go further from the beaten track than most SUVs on sale today. Throw in that it’s currently available for under £40k and it’s a hell of a lot of car for the money.
By Ben Harrington
2026 Subaru Forester Touring Specifications:
Engine – 2.0l 4-cylinder petrol, Transmission – CVT auto, Layout – Front engine, AWD, Power – 134bhp,Torque -182Nm, Emissions – 183g/km CO2, Economy – 34.9mpg combined, Maximum Speed – 116mph, Acceleration – 12.2s – 0-62mph, Price – £44,100 OTR
The Subaru Forester is available now, priced from £39,995. For full details go to:www.subaru.co.uk
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