Subaru Forester a boost-happy family transporter

THE SUBARU lovers of the outdoors can look forward to, the Forester offers a wide rear gate, and can tow up to 2,000 kg of load. The cargo area can accommodate four large suitcases or four golf club bags, while an array of hooks helps secure smaller items. For longer items, the rear seats fold flat in a 60/40 split. Photo by Tessa R. Salazar

MANILA, Philippines—If you think a full-size SUV is just too sizeable, and a bad-looking one is just, well, bad, then train your sights at the unassuming profile of a Subaru Forester. You may find out quite later on that its station-wagon-next-door looks grows on you.

The Forester, despite the name alluding to things related to the woodlands, isn’t really designed for the off-road. Auto expert Giles Chapman, for one, is of the opinion that the Forester is a spacious and relatively tall station wagon. Its ideal owners would be the fortysomethings who may have occasional back pains, and who have small children. The Forester offers masses of head and leg room, an adequately authoritative driving position, and a usefully square cargo area that can accommodate a large dog in airy comfort or else move the contents of a small apartment in one swoop.

HIGH-QUALITY feed to get the horses working. The recommended octane rating to make the horizontally opposed, 4-cylinder, turbocharged, DOHC 16-valve Forester 2.5XT hum is 95 and up. Photo by Tessa R. Salazar

The Forester’s looks go well with any gender. A husband can coax the wifey to buy this without depriving himself the time to be on the race track on certain occasions. Subaru, which is well-known in motorsport circles as multi-titlists in the World Rally Championship stage, has mixed power, design and functionality in equal parts in the Forester. In turn, the Forester has attracted many potential buyers who know cars and their history.

In terms of market sense, the Forester has sliced through the compact SUVs and crossovers, and even through the sedan markets, judging by its wildly varied buyers’ profiles. These are buyers who: 1. demand a just-right sized vehicle with car-like driving feel; and 2. would want more rugged capabilities in their vehicle than the average family transport.

Motor Image Pilipinas, the exclusive dealer of Subaru in the Philippines, gamely offered this writer a few days to get up close and personal with a Paprika Red Pearl Forester. Of course, this writer gamely obliged.

LUCBAN ON ITS 'F' DAY. Forester about to drop by for all the fiesta-goers to ogle at. The Forester offers one of the most numerous standard features in a compact SUV--about 77 on this XT A/T unit (17 of which address passenger and driver safety). Photo by Tessa R. Salazar

I must commend its commanding view of the road that many petite lady drivers would appreciate in their drive. There is, indeed, generous head and leg room and an adequate cargo area, and despite all that, the Forester has car-like proportions, coupled with that car-like feel. For a family of five, the Forester hits the spot; anything bigger can already be considered impractical.

Testing the Forester out on the winding mountain passes of eastern Laguna going to the town of Lucban that sits on the side of Mt. Banahaw, this writer found the drive a breeze, with minimal body roll even during the tight elbow turns from Cavinti to Luisiana. And since power is routed to all four tires all the time, the Forester maintained its strong connection to the road, maximizing handling and control. For the passengers at the back, the three-point seatbelts, even for the middle seats, helped immensely in securing passenger comfort and confidence. The number of cupholders was also adequate, as two extra cupholders are available in a fold-out compartment at the middle back seat.

The big sky roof—big enough to encompass the view of front and rear passengers—is an added treat for lovers of the outdoors. And we sure appreciated that on this scenic afternoon drive.

On a separate occasion, I took for a ride from Alabang to Calamba and back a couple of senior citizens. They had nothing but favorable remarks on the Forester, ranging from it being “exceptionally smooth” to ride, to this being “not a tiring ride at all compared to my experience with other SUVs and crossovers.”

THE THICKLY forested Mount Makiling provides the ideal backdrop for the Forester, an unassuming looking station wagon that packs a punch under the hood: A turbocharged 2.5-liter Subaru Boxer engine generating 230 ps/5200rpm, and max torque of 320Nm/2800rpm. The Forester measures 4560 mm long, 1780 mm wide and 1700 mm tall. Photo by Tessa R. Salazar

Another 65-year-old female executive, a particularly meticulous customer when it comes to her rides, noticed that the ground clearance was just right for her physical condition. And being that she was on the hunt for a new SUV or crossover vehicle, she said the Forester was, indeed, on top of her list of cars to seriously consider as her next ride.

One comment that Subaru designers can take note of is the absence of an air-conditioning vent at the back seat. Owners of Foresters living in tropical climates would surely appreciate its addition.

Knockout punch

Driving the Forester, and extracting power from its 2.5-liter turbocharged powerplant, is no sweat. Even the cruise control is easy enough to engage and disengage. It can keep in step with stop-and-go traffic. The considerable curb weight (1,535 kg), plus the standard equipment it carries, dampens the acceleration a bit. But, hey, you’re not wearing a helmet and the back end of your car isn’t fitted with a parachute, so the kick that this Forester gives should be more than enough to get you going ahead of the rest.

The caveat for such power, of course, is the added fuel consumption. In the Forester, that consideration is underlined by the fact that the manufacturer expressly requires the owner to load the Forester up with 95 or more octane fuel only. That leaves us with higher-end fuels like Shell V Power, Petron Blaze or Caltex Gold that would cost about P2 more per liter than regular unleaded gas. For the fuel-conscientious family man or woman, the real-time fuel consumption gauge on the center instrument panel of the Forester is like the clock during a court sentencing—at times reading 2 liters per 100km, then in the next millisecond it reads 50 liters per 100km. My advice to the easily startled: Switch to the average fuel consumption readouts instead, and it’ll be like a spacewalk. Slow and easy.

Speaking of fuel consumption, here’s Inquirer Motoring’s “unofficial” mileage results (based on both digital readouts and manual empty-to-full tank tests): A consistent 7 km to 11 km per liter on combined highway and city runs. Computing the Subaru Maintenance Service package list, I have arrived at a figure of P260,000 representing the cost of maintaining the all-wheel drive Forester for the first 100,000 km.

Sounds hefty, doesn’t it? But what the Forester promises, in return, is no ho-hum matter: Good ride capabilities sufficient even for off-roading, versatile cabin space that both husband and wife, and the rest of the family can appreciate.

For the required P1.758 million to own the Forester, owners get all that, plus the smugness of having a symmetrical all-wheel-drive system matched with the 2.5-liter DOHC Subaru Boxer turbocharged engine that promises an almost perfectly symmetrical layout, maximizing delivery with exceptional traction that generates balance and stability for total control in almost any condition. A high flow intercooler, active valve control system and virtually no turbo lag generate a torrent of torque, a continuous crescendo of acceleration and immeasurable fun.

That’s knockout power, along with seeing the six stars of Pleiades.