FORESTER TEST DRIVE

I recently test drove the Subaru Forester to compare it to the Outback Sport, Audi A4, and some other vehicles.

The Forester is truly unique. When you drive it, your mind is somewhat confused as to what sort of vehicle you are in. It literally is half way between a full size SUV truck and a nimble little sedan! It's a very strange sensation at first!

ENGINE / Tranny:

The engine is essentially the same one they put in the sporty 2.5 RS and Legacy GT. It produces about 165 horsepower which is a good amount out of a 4 cylinder, but since this vehicle is larger, it isn't quite as snappy and quick to drive as the Impreza. However, it isn't weak either and could accellerate easiliy on the highway when we test drove it. The transmission felt good as well - very similar to the Impreza, satisfyingly notchy and solid for a vehicle of this size.

INTERIOR / OTHER:

The interior on the Forester was pretty nice. Most of the controls and stuff were similar to the Impreza, but there were a few nice additions. If my memory serves me correctly, the seats had the ability to move up and down in addition to forward and back which was a nice feature.

When you sit in the car, the front window seems to be almost verticle, making the car feel a bit like a truck, but when you drive it, or look at it from the outside, it doesn't seem that way. As I said, it's a bit strange (but "good" strange!).

One of the features I liked the most was the rear seats. They recline! They won't go all the way down, but you can get them to go past where you would get an airline seat to go - and it's enough to comfortably sleep in! This brings the rear-seat rating way up for me. I liked this feature!

The interior of the Forester was nice and roomy yet the vehicle still feels nimble and small when you drive it because it is actually quite short which is nice to have if you have a short garage like mine! People who live in a city like San Francisco should take note of this because there aren't many vehicles that are SUV's that could fit in a garage!

Driving it was interesting too. It stuck pretty well, but when you really started tossing it around, there is some body roll because the vehicle is a lot larger than say the Impreza. However, it still handles much better than any other SUV or MINI SUV on the market.

SUMMARY:
For $18k, the Forester is a good deal. It has a strong engine that you could probably even tow something with, great seating capacity and allwheel drive. It's pretty fun to drive for an SUV. It is an easy car to drive and park as well, and comes with some nice little extras. For myself, it is bigger than what I need right now, but if I had a kid or a family, I WOULD GET THIS CAR IN A HEARTBEAT (especially since I ski!).


Hope you found this information useful!