Subaru’s popular Forester SUV range has been upgraded in all departments. For starters, it gets a new front grille with sharper lines and sleeker headlights, which give it a more robust look.
The rear tail clusters have been reworked and boast clear, trendy lens covers, while the tailgate has a smart garnishing strip. The side mirrors have grown somewhat and house the indicators for better visibility. Front fog lamps have also been added to the fitment list.
The interior of the Forester is spacious and will easily accommodate five occupants and luggage. There’s a large, double-volume sunroof, which lends a feeling of extra spaciousness. There are numerous consoles to store cellphones and other valuables, while the luggage area has a retractable cover to keep prying eyes off its contents.
The height of the driver’s seat can be adjusted as can the lumbar support. The fold-down armrest acts as a drinks holder for rear occupants, and there are dual sunglasses holders near the rearview mirror as well as climate control to keep things comfortable.
The instrument cluster is well laid out, although the indicator lights tend to be obscured as they are mounted quite high up. The steering wheel is height adjustable and has the standard speed control mounted to it.
For safety, the Subaru has two front airbags and front side airbags, while the front seatbelts are pretensioned as well. Add to that list side protection bars, active head restraints and anti-lock braking (ABS) and electronic brakeforce distribution (EBD) and you’re well-covered should things go awry.
The Forester is powered by Subaru’s flat-four Boxer motor, which has been upgraded and now makes 121kW at 5 600rpm, an improvement of 9kW over the previous model. Torque is up by 3Nm to 225Nm, which comes in at 4 400rpm.
Where the Subaru comes into its own is the handling. The all-wheel-drive system apportions power to the front and rear axles on a 50:50 ratio and, with 200mm of ground clearance, the Forester can go almost anywhere off the beaten track.
Okay, it’s not going to keep up with a true 4×4 in the tough stuff, but some spirited driving on a rather tatty dust road raised my passengers’ eyebrows — the Forester tackled the poor roads in Broederstroom with aplomb. The comfort levels at 20kph or 80kph differed little.
For steep inclines, you can engage ‘low” ratio on the fly. Although it reduces the drive ratio by about 20% and isn’t as effective as a true low ratio found on 4x4s, at least you don’t have to resort to lots of revving. A little more torque for the steeper inclines would have been an advantage. The limited slip differential, coupled with McPherson struts upfront and a multilink system at the rear, added to its sure-footedness and comfort. On tar it is just as stable and rarely gets out of shape, although there is a fair amount of body roll, probably owing to its 1 590mm height.
One of the nicer features is the ‘Hill Holder”. Stop on an incline, depress the clutch and move your foot from the brake back to the accelerator. When you pull off, the brakes are automatically released as the clutch is engaged, so there’s no need to make use of the handbrake.
Subaru’s claims of 8,67 litres of fuel per 100km appear a little optimistic, and in city driving you’ll use closer to 11 litres for every 100km travelled. Top speed is a claimed 190kph, but being brand-new, I refrained from testing the nought to 100kph dash.
The Forester 2,5 XS retails for R295 000, and is covered by a three-year/100 000km warranty, while there is a maintenance plan of 63 000km/three years.