Subaru Forester wins US Sport Utility of the Year
October 20, 2008 by Matt Brogan
It’s that time of year when the COTY awards start to flood in, and here’s one of the first. Subaru Forester has been named 2009 Sport Utility of the Year by our good friends at American automotive publication, Motor Trend.
The award was given based on exhaustive testing by the magazine’s editorial staff who based the decision on Forester’s performance on and off road, via track testing and such carefully considered essentials as driving performance, safety and features.
As the award is not a comparison test, each contender was evaluated against three simple criteria: superiority (engineering, design, utilisation of resources); significance (its impact on the market), and value (what buyers get for their money versus the competition). Forester was, according to Motor Trend editor-in-chief, Angus MacKenzie, the judges’ unanimous decision calling it ‘The SUV for our times’.
“We are proud and honoured to receive this award for the Subaru Forester,” said Thomas J. Doll, Executive Vice President, Subaru of America. “The previous Forester had become a byword for practicality and durability and we knew the 2009 Forester had a tough act to follow. So, we made the new Forester bigger, more powerful and more economical than ever – while retaining its legendary reliability and safety, only in a more complete package.”
Our congratulations to Subaru on receiving such acclaim. For more on the strengths of the new Forester click here.
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Fantastic news for Subaru. I agree, the Forester is an outstanding vehicle. It will last forever, looks quite good, has more than enough off road capability, yet still handles like a car and has an option of a turbo option. Great overall package which will be made even better when we get the new Boxer Diesel and new auto/manual combo in a year or so.
at last america is starting to realise that big engine, large heavy suv,s are not the way to go!, good work subaru on another great car..I agree with Tim the boxer diesel will be a good addition to the range.
Has more than enough off road capability, I don’t think so Tim. It is only a SOFT roader.
And you think 99% if people will actually take these things further than a rocky trail? No, don’t think so.
I have, and it has enough off road capability for most situations.
Do you mean a rocky trail or a small stone trail Tim, I suspect the latter.
Tim’s point is the same Spitfire, yes, its no landcruiser 70 series, but 99% of Australians don’t need that level of capability. I’d say 95% don’t need a 4WD, but the Forester does blend the versatility of the 4WD body shape (large interior, high driving position that people like for some unfathomable reason) with car-like dynamics. This is one of the best soft-roaders you can get, so congrats to Subaru.
Genie, it was not my intention to criticise the Forester per se, in fact I agree with you that it is one of the best soft roaders on the market. I was merely taking Tim to task for saying it had off road capability. I am sure you will agree that there is a lot of difference between all road and off road.
Make it a ’small stone trail’ Spitfire, whatever makes you sleep at night mate..
Having an XS Premium, I couldn’t be more happier with mine. Love it, punchy, comfy and great on fuel. Only thing i hate is the radio, the reception is shocking, it changes channels around cbd!
Sports utility?
Wouldnt that mean it has to be a ute…? LOL