SUBARU FORESTER REVIEW

List price from £24,995 Lease price from £306 The verdict 6

The Subaru Forester is a safe and roomy 4x4 that's genuinely capable in the mud

The Subaru Forester has always had a reputation for being rugged, dependable and practical. However, this latest version tries to be all that while adding a touch of luxury. Subaru is hoping that it’ll appeal not just as a useful and sturdy workhorse, but also as a comfortable, family-friendly rival to the likes of the Honda CR-V, Mazda CX-5 and Toyota RAV4.

Space

Spacious for passengers, but boot could be better

The Subaru Forester is an easy car to get in and out of, and it feels very spacious once you’re inside. Leg and elbow room are particularly generous, though the centre rear seat will only be comfortable for small adults or children on a long trip due to the fact the floor is raised where they'll want to put their feet. The boot is quite small compared with the majority of its rivals, too. And while the rear seats do split and fold down, they don’t leave a flat floor when they do so, making it awkward to load large items.

Comfort

Good seats, but there's too much noise and ride comfort could be better

The Forester’s seats are extremely comfortable and supportive, even on a long journey, plus it's easy to find a driving position that suits because there’s plenty of adjustment on offer. It's all the more disappointing, then, that the ride isn't better. The Forester bounces and jostles you when you’re driving around town. And while things are better at higher speeds, some bumps still unsettle it. There's also a lot of wind noise from the top corners of the car, and engine noise is a problem in diesel versions.

Dashboard layout

Complicated to use and unpleasant to behold

Arguably the worst thing about the Forester is the way its dashboard is set out. It's far from intuitive, so you often find yourself having to take your eyes off the road to carry out simple functions. Things are particularly bad if you go for a car with the touchscreen satnav system, because this is needlessly complicated and far too fiddly. It also becomes difficult to read in direct sunlight. To make matters worse, the speedometer in diesel models has extra numbers on it that tell you the maximum speed in each gear, but mainly just make it more crowded and difficult to read. Meanwhile, the information display between the two dials is also very busy. The air-conditioning controls are, at least, tactile and simple enough, although they’re located about a foot away from the small screen that tells you what they’re doing. The whole lot is couched in plastics which look like the sort you’d find on an early 1990s hi-fi – that is to say, not very classy. And the design itself is rather bland. The one saving grace of the dashboard is that it feels robust and unlikely to squeak or rattle in the car’s later life.

Easy to drive

Good visibility, but sensitive clutch can make smooth progress tricky

The Subaru Forester can be rather clunky to drive. Not only is its clutch overly springy, with a sudden biting point that makes it easy to stall the car, but when you're changing gear you need to give the lever a real shove. There are some neat touches, though. While they might look a bit odd, the creases that run down the bonnet help you judge the extremities of the car. Similarly, the flat, vertical tailgate makes it easy to work out where the car ends when you’re reversing, and most models come as standard with a rear-view camera. It's just a shame that Subaru doesn't fit sensors as well, for those who prefer not to watch a screen as they reverse.

Fun to drive

Punchy diesel engine entertains; slow steering doesn't

Turn into a corner, and the Forester's body quickly flops over to one side. This, combined with the nose’s tendency to pitch up and down when you accelerate or brake, can make it feel like the car’s body is slewing around on top of the suspension, rather than being controlled by it properly. That said, the suspension only lets the body lean over so far before it reigns it in, which means that it is at least predictable. There's also a huge amount of traction – as you’d expect with four-wheel drive as standard on every model – and together with the punchy diesel engine, this can make the Forester rather enjoyable to blast out of a corner. If only the steering wasn't so light and slow to respond to inputs.

Reliability

Should prove to be reliable

Reliability information on the latest Forester is limited; it isn't ranked in the Warranty Direct Reliability Index, which bases its rankings on warranty claims, and Subaru doesn't sell enough cars in the UK to qualify for the annual JD Power customer satisfaction survey. However, Subaru as a brand ranks highly in Warranty Direct’s manufacturer rankings, and Subarus have historically performed well in other reliability surveys, so we suspect the Forester will prove to be a dependable choice. It also comes with the reassurance of a five-year, 100,000-mile warranty, whereas many rivals make do with three years and 60,000 miles of cover.

Fuel economy

Less efficient than most, even in diesel form

There are no two-wheel-drive versions of the Forester available, which means you’ll have to have fuel-sapping four-wheel drive whether you like it or not. As you might expect, then, the Forester’s fuel economy figures are poor compared with its two-wheel-drive rivals' – but even compared with most similar-sized four-wheel-drive cars, it’s a little on the thirsty side. Worse still, on our test the diesel Forester struggled to come anywhere near to its official fuel consumption figures. And the XT model, with its turbocharged petrol engine, is extremely thirsty.

Affordability

Quite expensive for what it is, but should hold its value well

The Forester is priced on a par with four-wheel-drive rivals – and because many of those rivals feel better to drive, nicer to sit in and cost less to run, that makes it feel quite pricey. The fact that no two-wheel-drive versions are on offer is also a disadvantage; many rivals do have a two-wheel-drive variant in the range, giving them a cheaper starting price for those who don’t need drive to all four wheels. That said, servicing costs aren’t exorbitant, and because Subarus are sought-after among those who need a rugged, dependable four-wheel drive car, it should lose less of its value than rivals like the Ford Kuga.

Safety

Lots of safety kit and performed very well in crash tests

The Forester is one of the safest 4x4s you can buy. It was given a five-star rating by independent crash test body Euro NCAP, and achieved very high scores in all four areas of the testing, including 91 per cent for both adult and child occupant protection. That should come as no surprise, really, as Subaru hasn’t scrimped on the Forester’s safety equipment. It has front and side airbags for the driver and front passenger, as well as an airbag to protect the driver’s knees, and curtain airbags that run the length of the car at window level. That all Foresters come with four-wheel-drive also helps, as it will make them sure-footed in treacherous weather conditions, and there are electronic systems that help to maintain traction and stability. There's even a system which detects if you’ve accidentally pressed the brake and accelerator pedals together in an emergency situation, and overrides the accelerator so that you stop sooner.

Standard spec

No version is poorly equipped

The entry-level 2.0D X comes with heated front seats and cruise control - items that are absent from most rivals’ cheapest variants. However, things get even better with the XC (diesel) and XE (petrol) models. Both feature an electrically adjustable driver’s seat, automatic headlights and windscreen wipers, an opening panoramic sunroof and dual-zone climate control. We reckon all this is worth having. XE and XC Premium models add leather seats and satnav, while the top-of-the range XT gets an electronically-operated boot lid, keyless entry and keyless start, too. It’s worth noting, however, that no Forester is available with parking sensors, front or rear, and there is no option to connect an MP3 player via a cable. Some rivals also offer useful refinements like an automatically dimming rear-view mirror, or a system which enables the car to park itself in parallel parking spaces, none of which are available on the Subaru.