2014 Subaru Forester

SPECIFICATIONS

1. The 2.5L 4-cylinder makes 170 hp and delivers 24/32 mpg (city/hwy) with a CVT automatic. 2. Turbocharged XT models get a smaller 2.0L 4-cylinder but make more power at 250 hp and 258 lb-ft of torque with a 6.2 second 0-60 time. 3. 2014 Forester models start at $22,995 with an automatic transmission, with turbocharged XT models from $27,995.

PREVIEW

The Subaru Forester has a great reputation as a capable all-weather machine that’ll rarely trip you up no matter the conditions. However, the price paid by customers in terms of fuel costs and a rapidly aging cabin was starting to wear thin. So the company quite literally went back to the drawing board and came up with an all-new model that shares very little with its ancestors.

Thoughts that Subaru just mailed in a small facelift with a couple minor updates are dashed when discovering that the A pillar – a major structural piece – was moved forward by over eight inches. Sightlines are greatly improved and the side mirrors are now door-mounted as a result.

INTERIOR

Spend time with the latest version and you'll appreciate Subaru's efforts to have its shape as instantly recognized as its Outback sibling. Although only marginally wider and longer than the popular third generation, along with a similar stretch in wheelbase, the interior is significantly airier. Most notable is the increase in hip and shoulder room thanks to some deft magic and smart engineering. The whole dashboard follows the same script, pushed away from the driver and mounted lower too, again to help improve the feeling of additional space. The rear passenger seats are now easier to access thanks to larger door openings and doors themselves that open wider. The rear seat floor is flatter too, so the middle rider isn't jealous.

Cargo space is also up about 10 percent and high-end models get Forester’s first powered tailgate that’s smartly integrated to not impinge on space. The 60/40-split seats are easy to fold flat, and expand the total area to 74.7 cubic feet from 34.4 when collapsed.

Functionally, the Forester’s cabin takes inspiration from the new Impreza and XV Crosstrek, meaning much higher overall quality materials, fewer gappy plastics and a more modern design. Sightlines and visibility are improved even though no one seemed to complain about it before.

The standard seats are decently adjustable and supportive, although during the two days of wheel-time weren’t quite as comfortable as we’d like.The leather-covered chairs in the top-end XT seemed less annoying. Every Forester comes with niceties like air conditioning, power windows, a four-speaker stereo and Bluetooth hands-free with voice activation.

UNDER THE HOOD

Motivation for most Forester models comes from the carryover 2.5-liter ‘boxer’ four-cylinder that debuted in 2010. It produces 170 horsepower and 174 lb-ft of torque, and is characterful enough when pushed. Transmissions? A new-for-2014 six-speed manual is standard replacing the old five-speed, while Subaru’s continually variable transmission (CVT) replaces the ancient optional four-speed automatic.

As we’ve seen in the Legacy and Impreza, the CVT is a double-edged sword: it makes the Forester not only faster (0-60 mph time is over a half-second quicker at 9.3 seconds) but more efficient too. The new one officially gets 24 in the city and 32 on the highway, significantly better than 21/27 from before. Even the six-speed manual with 22 city and 29 on the highway tromps the old five-speeder.

Obviously, every Subaru comes with its legendary ‘symmetrical’ all-wheel-drive system, which delivers more than enough traction when the conditions are lousy. The company’s latest trick, though, is called X-Mode, which essentially gives the Forester things like hill-descent control, a simulated low-range mode for hill-climbing and off-roading. You activate it using a switch near the gear-lever, and it disengages when you exceed 25 mph.

We had the chance to test it out during the launch event on Vancouver Island and it was more than fine crawling up, down and over some seriously scrabbly surfaces. The HDC works like most others, meaning it maintains the vehicle speed down some pretty extreme grades without the driver doing anything more than steering. Subaru claims it’s useful for more than just pounding trails, though, and figures it has some benefits on any slippery surfaces too.

On-road, the Forester has a decent feel, and is composed along even the twistiest blind crests and turns through the mountains between Nanaimo and Tofino. The brakes are easy to modulate and the CVT’s slight motorboating effect can be mostly cancelled out with the use of the steering-wheel-mounted paddle-shifters. Downshifts are especially crisp and came in handy on numerous occasions.

The six-speed manual was less certain, though. Shift-feel isn’t exactly crisp, not the satisfying action you’d enjoy with either the BRZ sports car or WRX STI rally special. The engine feels a little less lively too, although still reasonably happy to rev.