A remarkable little machine is the Subaru Forester.
A slightly unappealing, boxy little soft-road wagon that stole the hearts of a generation of Aussie drivers, and is still around to tell the tale.
While the squared-off, unflattering lines of the Forester have remained largely intact, the car itself has evolved through many personality changes. And it’s still as much of a go-anywhere (well, almost anywhere) family friendly, urban adventurer as it’s ever been.
In the process, it’s become a familiar sight in settings ranging from the racetrack to the goat track.
Talk about an all-rounder.
A little Forester was once spotted sitting on a lake bank of Fraser Island, now known by its traditional name K'gari, seemingly having wandered well out of its comfort zone.
The following day the same Forester was chugging along the beach, just above the low water mark, effortlessly taking the famous sand island and its crisscross of roads and trails in its stride.
The racetrack? Well, the Forester’s many guises have ranged from pedestrian, four-cylinder pluggers all the way up to a series of turbo-charged, high-performance versions - a stealth bomber that could blow away all but the most powerful pocket rockets.
The Forester first broke cover in 1997 and has remained one of the more enduring marques over those almost-three decades.
That first edition not only showcased the full-time four-wheel-drive that became a staple of Subaru’s range, but set the benchmarks for trouble-free, uncomplicated soft-roading that has come to define the Forester.
Versatile, too. By the time the second-generation Foresters had been rolled out, Subaru was making its mark in the World Rally Championships - giving rise to a fleet of lookalike, road-going copies of the Impreza WR-X that came to dominate the World Rally Championship.
That, in turn, prompted one of the more unique iterations - the Forester STi with its rumbling, turbocharged four-cylinder engine bringing 194kW and a staggering 0-100km/h time of barely 5.1 seconds.
These days, well into its fifth generation, the Forester has gentrified to the point where the famous, turbocharged variant no longer exists. Instead, buyers have only one engine choice - a normally-aspirated, 2.5-litre, four-cylinder engine that’s standard across the range.
Not that everything’s changed.
Like its Impreza stablemate, the Forester has retained that signature chugga-chugga exhaust note – compliments of its Boxer four-cylinder engine, so named because its horizontally opposed cylinder layout means the pistons move horizontally in the same way as two boxers sparring with each other.
That configuration has allowed Subaru, over the years, to create engines that sit lower, thus lowering the car’s centre of gravity and underpinning the marque’s reputation for balanced handling and all-wheel-drive grip.
So not everything about this Fifth-Generation model is unfamiliar.
It might seem the Forester has been around almost as long as the brand itself, although that’s not quite the case. Subaru, a division of Fuji Heavy Industries that manufactures everything from buses to attack helicopters, recently marked its fifth decade.
The Forester recently had another reason to celebrate as well – chalking up 300,000 sales in Australia in just over a quarter of a century.
That’s no mean feat – averaging better than 11,000 cars sold for every year it’s been on the market. There are plenty of makers who’d like that kind of success for an entire range, let alone one model.
Those sales stalled for a time in 2022, when failing supply chains halted the Subaru assembly lines. Imports resumed late the same year, thanks to a decent face-lift to get things kick-started.
The Forester will face some fresh competition later in 2023 with the release of Subaru's new CrossTrek, soon to arrive in Australia with early orders already underway.
Subaru is yet to announce when its sixth-generation Forester model will arrive, although smart money suggests a 2024 arrival.
Tested here is the 2.5i-S model that, thanks to a recent facelift and technology upgrade, should keep sales afloat until a new model arrives.
In the meantime the 2023 version comes with a couple of tech upgrades (including new advanced safety systems) so there’s still reason for Forester lovers to avoid the wait for the new model.
The flagship 2.5i-S, retails for $46,340 (or just over $50-grand on the road.)
There’s also a hybrid model which adds about $3000, although feedback about the petrol-electric version has been a little mixed, including some suggestions the next model will feature a hybrid system sourced from Toyota.
Still, it’s a well-sorted, well-evolved machine that, after three decades has hit its sweet spot in some ways.
The Harmon Kardon audio, leather seats (heated in the front) give the car an air of sophistication - complemented by its smooth, quiet road manners and the generosity of cabin space (not to mention 500L of storage behind the rear seats). A sunroof and electric boot further enhance comfort levels.
While it’s no longer a firecracker to drive, the latest Forester enjoys refined, smooth and seamless performance and, thanks to that boxer engine and symmetrical all-wheel-drive, brings a confident, well-resolved dynamic package.
Surprisingly, the lack of a turbo didn’t greatly diminish its responsive acceleration and intuitive seven-speed CVT transmission.
The Subaru-Intelligent (SI-drive) allows quick adjustment for changing surfaces - from loose stones to snow - further enhancing its off-road capability.
SUBARU FORESTER 2.5i-S
* HOW BIG? It’s grown quite a bit since earlier models, and delivers impressive space for five people and their getaway gear
* HOW FAST? Not particularly, especially when compared to earlier sporty models
* HOW THIRSTY: 6.7L/100km is the official thirst. The hybrid model would reduce that
* HOW MUCH? The range begins from $37,890 for the 2.5i AWD. The model tested here, the 2.5i-S, costs $46,340 plus on-road charges.
