packs a punch!

As we’ve come to expect from niche market manufacturer Subaru, quality is as good as it gets. Tough though the new Forester certainly is, it’s packed with thoughtful touches inside.

Warm, spacious and inviting, there’s all the ambience and quality of a luxury car, but there’s no unnecessary adornment or excess.

With lots of room for five strapping adults and their luggage, intelligent use is made of every bit of space - and the flexibility offered by permutations of ’seats up/down/half up or down’, means that you can change from luxury cruise liner to cargo ship in an instant. You’ll always be safe, of course, because plenty of airbags are there just in case.

But how does the Forester feel behind the wheel? You sit tall and enjoy good visibility - and the range of seat adjustment lets everyone get comfortable. Cars like this often wallow when the roads are twisty - but not the Forester. The handling is surprisingly agile - with the added security offered by the four wheel drive. And if you load it to the gunwales it still handles well.

The drivetrain is smooth and the transmission is seamless - all the way to the ‘more than enough’ top speed of 116mph. Despite being a real workhorse, it gives you the best of both worlds, being ‘torquey’ as well as free revving.

The only ‘downside’ for the less perceptive amongst us is that it is not the fastest and slickest motor car in town: no, it’s far too tastefully refined to be that. This substantial car returned nearly 40 mpg overall during a week of testing: the makers modestly claim just 34.72mpg. This seems to reflect the whole ethos of the Subaru marque. Where other manufacturers make economy claims of millions of miles per gallon thanks to a following hurricane, Subaru are straight and true.

It’s a ‘Robin Hood and Little John rolled into one’ motor car: a vehicle which will have Friar Tuck dimensioned competitors rolling in its wake. And its poise and assurance are guaranteed to bring a twinkle to the eyes of Maid Marian herself. It is a Forester after all!

by Syd Taylor