Subaru has been mixing genres for years and, despite a less-than-quality interior, the Forester diesel is a fabulous powerplant, writes Paddy Comyn
THE CROSSOVER scene has really taken off of late. There are numerous vehicles now that take a pinch of SUV, a dash of estate and a slice of saloon car handling – take a look at the BMW 5-Series GT that is coming our way and you will see what we mean. However this mix of genre is something Subaru has been doing for years with the Forester model. ~They’ve been crossing over before the industry even had a word for it.
Back when the Forester first appeared, in the late 1990s, people were slightly puzzled by just what it was trying to be. Powered by a potent 2.5-litre petrol engine, looking like an estate and blessed with Subaru’s clever all-wheel drive system it was confusing to say the least, but it very quickly gained a loyal following of fans who loved it for its versatility and superb handling.
So much so that if you see a Forester in your rear view window these days, you find yourself checking your speed, as they have become a firm favourite among traffic Gardaí across the country, apparently.
We are now into generation three of the Forester and if you have looked at a Subaru price list these days you will have noticed a few changes – mainly that there are no petrol engines left in the model range, aside from the 1.0-litre Justy. In the space of a few years diesel has overthrown petrol.
All the rest of the model range’s petrol engines have been replaced by the 2.0-litre Boxster diesel and that, for anyone who has been paying attention recently, is good news.
Aside from the fact that there has been a widespread migration to diesel across Europe and – more recently – in Ireland, Subaru’s boxer-diesel engine is so good that it isn’t just for environmental or financial reasons that you would be making the switch across; it’s just a very good powerplant.
For those of you unfamiliar with the lines of the latest Forester, it looks a lot more SUV than jacked-up estate. The latest Forester is 75mm longer, 45mm wider and 110mm higher than the old one too and that translates into much greater interior space.
Rear legroom is up by 95mm, the driver’s eyeline is 30mm higher and there is also 63 litres more load space than before. Also gone is the five-speed high/low ration gearbox, which has now been replaced with a six-speed manual gearbox.
Let’s deal with the engine first – a 145bhp 2.0-litre, four-cylinder horizontally opposed boxer diesel that Subaru built from scratch.
It sounds fantastic by any standard and it is really very impressive. This light and compact unit is incredibly quiet and free from vibration by the very nature of its layout – and it’s potent, too. Getting from 0-100km/h takes 10.4 seconds and all with minimum fuss. That makes it quicker than the petrol model it replaced.
This diesel engine is also incredibly efficient, with CO2 emissions of just 167g/km – for a vehicle of this size and performance, that is some achievement. This means it sits in Band D, with 24 per cent VRT and annual road tax of €447.
Few of its key rivals can match that, and the likes of the Kuga and Tiguan that can are arguably a little smaller than the Forester, which sees itself more as a rival to the Nissan X-Trail.
Safety features abound in the new car. Curtain and side airbags are now fitted along with driver and passenger airbags and the anti-lock brakes also come with Electronic Brakeforce Distribution.
A good feature of the Forester has always been its handling and the same is true of this latest version. Despite gaining a more SUV-like look, it hasn’t become clumsier and, armed with all-wheel drive and Subaru Vehicle Dynamics Control, it’s a very agile vehicle. You can have quite a bit of fun on a twisty road, with the steering set-up really tuned for entertainment.
It’s a shame the same couldn’t be said for the six-speed manual gearbox. Whether it was just our test car or not, we found it annoyingly notchy – especially around town and, while it was quite a quick transmission when you pushed it on, it let down what was an otherwise superb combination of great engine, steering and body control.
The ride quality is very good and it can cope with bumps and poor surfaces brilliantly. Subaru altered the front suspension to cope with the slight 30kg weight increase over the petrol version and the result is that it doesnt feel too nose heavy while cornering.
A word on the interior – the Forester is very well-equipped with items like cruise control, climate control and all-round electrics and sunroof as standard, but the quality of the plastics is still way behind some of the model’s key rivals.
The stereo unit looks like it came from the 1980s. This wouldn’t be so annoying if the rest of the car was built badly, which it isn’t; the Forester feels seriously well put together and certainly built to last, it’s just such a shame that, when it comes to the interior, Subaru hasn’t dragged itself into the 21st century just yet.
Where the Forester really comes into its own for us is as an everyday family car.
Over the course of a week in the car it performed multiple trips, carried various loads and spent a huge amount of time on the motorway and we found it a really good all-rounder – it doesn’t feel like you’re driving an awkward SUV, but at the same time it doesn’t feel half-hearted in any way either, like some of its rivals can.
The pricing is pretty good too, in part thanks to its low emissions. For €37,495 – and there’s nothing that confirms this as anything more than a starting point for negotiations – you are getting quite a lot of car.
The rivals we have mentioned here, such as the Ford Kuga and Volkswagen Tiguan, feel much more modern inside and the Kuga probably has the edge in terms of handling by way of its incredible chassis, but the Forester feels more substantial than either of these and will probably age that bit better, due to its ageless styling.
However, while they may not strictly speaking be rivals, it’s hard to ignore the fact that you can have a Nissan Qashqai 1.5d for thousands less. It might not have the power or the size of the Forester, but that hasn’t prevented Irish punters buying them in droves.
Overall, the Forester is a very likeable vehicle and the addition of such a good diesel engine has made it a good contender for anybody buying in this segment this year.
Factfile Subaru Forester 2.0 Diesel
Engine:1,998cc four-cylinder common rail diesel engine putting out 145bhp @ 3,600rpm and 350Nm of torque @ 1,800 – 2,400rpm; six-speed manual transmission, all-wheel drive
Specification:Standard features include front fog lights, 17" alloy wheels, roof rails, roof spoiler, HID head lamps, seat heater, wiper de-icer, heated mirrors, cruise control, side and curtain airbags, six-CD, seven-speaker audio, steering wheel audio controls, full auto A/C, leather steering wheel, leather gear knob, leather hand brake, VDC and sunroof; options available include leather upholstery for €2,000, metallic paint for €314
L/100KM (mpg):urban – 7.4 (38.1); extra-urban – 5.9 (47.8); combined – 6.4 (44.1)
CO2 emissions:167g/km (Band D – 24 per cent VRT) and €447 annual road tax
Price:€37,495