New Forester makes sweet music

All photos courtesy of motorpics.co.zaclick to enlarge

Whereas some WRX fans felt a little let down by the softer for-Europe style conversion from iconic big-winged, golden-wheeled saloon to un-spectacular hatch, Forester fans will be delighted with the more elegant SUV looks of their favourite Subaru.

Quite striking in appearance, the new Forester is higher, longer and wider (and 20kg lighter!) than the previous model and is now flexing its muscles in the competitive premium quality crossover vehicle segment.

But of course, it has one major advantage over the rest of the clan and that's its motorsport proven boxer engine and all-wheel drive.

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And with the latest Forester this works like magic, giving it grip, go and cling that can only be envied by the opposition.

All-wheel drive is the ideal way to make maximum use of engine torque because it distributes smaller amounts to each wheel. This in turn provides maximum traction and makes the vehicle more controllable, especially on unpredictable surfaces where too much power can cause wheel-spin and loss of control.

In a nutshell, AWD makes for safer and easier motoring.

This is a huge benefit when you venture off-road, and on tarmac it just makes cornering so much more enjoyable, even in something as high-rise as an SUV.

What also helps is that Forester uses the same basic platform as the Impreza and roadholding doesn't come much better than that.

“Crossover” vehicles are very much the thing these days, but in the process most of them really don't cope well with either of the two terrains they are said to be designed for: on the road they tend to feel top heavy, lacking in edge-of-the-envelope stability, steering feedback, muscle and stopping power and when the going gets tough they only just keep going and not nearly as enthusiastically and as successfully as purpose-built 4x4s.

The new Forester copes better than most others I have driven in its class.

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There is much else to like about the vehicle - a nice classy interior with lots of elbow, shoulder and leg space and a big hole for luggage at the back, wide-opening doors, aircon, good sound and lots of safety features, including six airbags and fair pricing.

The one thing that some won't like about the vehicle is its growly engine. I love it, but passengers complain that it's intrusive. In fact, quite a few at first thought it was a diesel engine.

My advice to them is simple, told to me by an old-school mechanic years ago when I complained about a whining diff: “Turn up the music and you won't hear it.”

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Other than the gruff engine I could find nothing little else in the Forester to grumble about, although I suspect it might be quite thirsty if you drive it too enthusiastically.

I only drove it for a few days but enjoyed it very much. I reckon it will work well as a school delivery vehicle, daddy's commuter car, horse-box towing vehicle and show-off pavement parker.

Our test vehicle unfortunately was not armed with the super-charged 2.5-litre engine responsible for the party under the WRX bonnet, but even so it was more fun that lots of others in this class.

All Foresters come with a three-year/100,000km warranty, a three-year/63,000km maintenance plan and 12,500km service intervals.

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The models and prices are:

• 2.5 X 5-speed manual R269,000
  
• 2.5 XS 5-speed R289,000
  
• 2.5 XS 4-speed SportShift Automatic R301,000
  
• 2.5 XS 4-speed SportShift Automatic Premium R330,000
  
• 2.5 XT 5-speed manual R349,000
  
• 2.5 XT 4-speed SportShift Automatic R364,000
  
• 2.5 XT 4-speed SportShift™ Automatic Premium R387,000