Road Test
Subaru’s Forester has always resembled the shipping carton for a side-by-side Frigidaire, a barb that has become less pointed during this wagon’s 11-year lifespan. During that spell, even boxier boxes have appeared—think of the Honda Element and the Scion xB. No matter. The Forester’s practical, unpretentious countenance personifies Subaru’s ethos, and the model has done much to fatten the pay packets of more than a few Fuji Heavy Industries executives.
Every body panel is new. Just to look at the thing, you’d swear the ’09 Forester is 50-percent larger than its forebear. Not true, but it is 2.9 inches longer and 1.8 inches wider, and it rides atop a wheelbase stretched 3.6 inches. EPA passenger volume has swollen by 11 cubic feet. The back seat is now something of an amphitheater—legroom is vast, and egress will brighten the faces of octogenarians. The rear center rider, unfortunately, must perch on a rock-hard hump. As has always been true of Foresters, there’s headroom sufficient to support the odd cumulus cloud or two. Flatten the rear seats, and a mountain bike slides in, no sweat.
The base Forester is powered by the same 170-horse flat-four you’ll find in the nose of an Impreza. Mated to the heavier Forester, however, it rates about a 4.5 on the C/D passion meter. Bolt a turbocharger to that little barking boxer, however, and what once was Velveeta becomes Pont L’Évêque—witness blown Foresters winning our 5Best Trucks Small SUV award in 2004, 2005, and 2006.
For 2009, the 2.5XT and top-of-the-line 2.5XT Limited benefit from a revised turbo, bigger valves, and a meatier intercooler to produce—hey, wait a sec—the same 224 hp and 226 pound-feet of torque as before. How come? Subaru’s aim was to flatten the power curve and reduce the turbo’s on/off-ishness, goals they’ve absolutely achieved. Max horsepower now manifests 400 revs sooner, max torque 800 revs sooner. Behind the wheel, the first thing you notice about this third-gen Forester is that, apart from a tiny bump in power at 3000 rpm, there’s little clue that this is a forced-induction engine. Idle quality could be better, and 42 dBA is a titch noisy for a vehicle freshly returned from the NVH lab. Step-off is a little abrupt, too. On the other hand, full-throttle launches evince almost zero torque steer.
Sixty mph is yours in 6.7 seconds, which makes the turboed Forester way quicker than anything in our nine-ute “$25,000 Soft-Roaders” comparo in February. Still, it’s 0.8 second behind a Forester 2.5XT Limited we tested three years ago. Why? Well, the previous car was a five-speed manual and was 112 pounds lighter. The 2009 Forester XT, in contrast, is offered with an automatic only, and it’s a four-speed at that. Given this car’s price, a fifth gear should have been included. In truth, though, the ratios are nicely spaced, kickdowns are rapid and smooth, and you mostly notice the lack of fifth only at 80 mph and beyond. What’s more, the standard manumatic is quick to lead you to big revs and all the boost you’ll need.
