2009 Subaru Forester Review - The right tool for the job

February 10th, 2009 by

sirkrameroy

Exterior

The Forester’s redesigned exterior gives the car more of a rugged, SUV-like appearance, but the overall look is still more wagon than SUV. Although not unattractive, the design is quite conservative and easily gets lost amongst the crowd of similar looking crossovers, especially in the plain white color of our test vehicle. Several times we walked up to a car thinking it was the Forester, only to realize (when the door locks wouldn’t open!) that we had stumbled on another white crossover from another brand.

Verdict

Subaru has created such a winning formula that it is one of very few automotive brands to post a sales increase in 2008, and the Forester in particular is selling strong, with sales for the month of November up 64% over 2007. In these tough economic times the value of a functional, practical car should keep pulling people into the showroom. Although fuel efficiency isn’t great (we averaged a bit over 23 mpg) and the as-tested price of $25,623 is a bit high for such a no-frills car, the Forester has a certain rugged charm nonetheless. Like a good windbreaker or a trusty tent, the Forester would be an excellent companion for those who don’t need to pampered and would rather brave the elements and venture off the beaten path.