Subaru Forester Review Diesel

Driven:

SUBARU Forester 2.0D Premium – $39,990 Manufacturer’s List Price

SUBARU Forester 2.0D – $35,990 (not driven)

As a motoring journalist you are required to be utterly impartial in your appraisal of each and every vehicle you road test, but in this particular case, that’s going to be all the more difficult, when parked in our garage is the family Subaru Liberty.

We bought the car near new in 1998, the last of the two wheel-drive Liberties with a 2.2-litre Boxer engine and with regular servicing, I’m delighted to report a near faultless ownership experience over the last 12 years.

And while I know it’s probably a gross generalisation, each time I’ve met a fellow Subaru owner (and that’s plenty over the years) the brands’ general reliability tends to be the focus of the conversation.

It’s the same story when I’ve had the odd occasion to chat with the NRMA road service guys, who say the only time they ever visit a Subaru is to replace a dead battery or change a tyre.

So it comes as no surprise to learn that Subaru owners are some of the most brand loyal car customers in the business. As many as 65 percent of Subaru owners choose to buy a another Subaru vehicle, which is an unusually high number for an automotive brand that commands somewhat of a premium over some of its Japanese and Korean rivals.

The Subaru Forester has been a hit with Australian buyers ever since it was launched here in 1997, and that trend continues unabated today, with the model easily taking out the top spot in the highly competitive compact SUV segment.

Adding a turbodiesel variant to the Forester family, will probably serve to increase that lead by an even larger gap, although Japanese carmakers will need to watch their backs, as the Koreans are well and truly on the march, with some impressive product.

That said, year to date Forester sales for April (that’s well before the diesel hit Australian showrooms), was already up a comfortable 35 percent on 2009 sales for the same period.

It’s a similar scenario with Liberty and Outback; sales are up 54 percent for Liberty, while Outback units (which now includes a diesel variant) are literally through the roof, with a whopping 106 percent increase on last year.

Forester has racked up a stack of awards too winning US magazine ‘Car and Driver’s ‘Best Small SUV’ in 2004, 2005, and 2006.

Motor Trend Magazine also named Forester as its ‘Sport/Utility of the Year’ in 2009.

The current and third generation Forester is clearly a refined evolution of the two previous generations, with smooth styling, quality switchgear and materials, and a more spacious interior layout.

From the front, you could be forgiven for thinking it was the Forester XT (the high performance turbocharged petrol variant) as the large bonnet mounted cool air intake is identical to that on the diesel variants.

Subaru Australia is offering two model variations of the Forester Diesel namely the Forester 2.0D and 2.0D Premium. Both variants are powered by the same turbocharged four-cylinder 2.0-litre flat Boxer diesel engine producing 108 Kilowatts and 350 Newton-metres of torque.

It doesn’t sound like a lot, but after more than 250 kilometres behind the wheel of the latest Forester 2.0D across a combination of twisty tarmac, highway straights, and some thoroughly soaked off road tracks, I can assure you it’s got more than what you would consider adequate.

But the really important factor here, as with all turbodiesel powertrains, is torque and there’s plenty of it at the right place in the rev range. At just 1600 rpm, this engine develops 340 Newton-metres. Better still, when you mate that level of pulling power to an easy shifting six-speed manual gearbox, performance is solid.

If I had to whinge about anything with this particular transmission, it would be the slightly notchy shift from first to second gear, but that’s being extra picky.

However, the clutch is nicely weighted (more on light side) and take up is quite early in the travel, making this an easy car to drive.

The good news is, that both Forester diesel variants are equipped with ‘Hill Start Assist’, which means that regardless of whether you’re at a standstill half way up Awaba Street Balmoral (one of Sydney’s steepest bits of road) with the local garbage truck sitting a metre of your tail, the Forester 2.0D won’t roll back when starting off.

But the obvious question to Subaru Australia Managing Director, Nick Senior, was why is there no automatic transmission option for the vehicle? “It’s something we’re working on” was his answer and fair enough, if you understand that Australia is a small market for diesel in comparison to the whole of Western Europe, who likes nothing better than a diesel engine mated to a six-speed manual box to play with.

That said I have no doubt that Subaru is developing an auto transmission for their diesel, but I suspect it could be a while coming, given the various market pressures at play on the global scale.

Forester uses what is known as a ‘variable vane turbo’, which not only provides a wider spread of torque, but more importantly, an immediate throttle response without any of that unwanted ‘turbo lag’.

The drivetrain is smooth and impressively quiet for a diesel too. Engineers have done an excellent job in keeping vibration and engine noise out of the Forester’s cabin, allowing for a more relaxed drive.

But that doesn’t mean you can’t get a trifle enthusiastic, when you come across a few sweeping bends through some undulating terrain in and around the South Coast of NSW.

The Forester diesel has no problem in dispensing with slower moving traffic once you hit the pleasantly frequent and safe overtaking sections common in these parts. Drop down into third gear, and acceleration up steep inclines is effortless. There’s also plenty of punch in fifth, while top gear is largely for highway cruising mode and partially the reason why this vehicle can achieve fuel consumption numbers as low as 5.71 litres/100 kilometres.

We were driving the Forester 2.0D Premium, and while the car feels light, if not nimble on the road, I found the chassis to be well balanced and sure-footed through the bends, with a high level of grip from the 17-inch wheels shod with Yokohama tyres.

The rack and pinion electric power steering is also well weighted from dead centre, while less assistance at speed makes it an enjoyable drive through curvy bits.

Of course, it doesn’t hurt that all Subaru vehicles come standard with Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive and with Self-leveling rear suspension, both of which, increase safety for those on board the Forester.

What did surprise me, was the Forester’s equally impressive handling and composure on the numerous off road sections we drove on. Even when the rear wheels started to slip on some loose gravel sections, the various electronic safety nannies were quick to react and kept the vehicle well and truly on track.

Not only that, the ride quality on rough terrain could only be described as comfortable. Front and rear suspension is always compliant with no harsh damper crash or rebound, despite the fact that we hit a few sudden dips while moving reasonably quickly.

We gave the brakes a thoroughly good workout too down a long and steep section of tight bends, and although they were certainly hot, there was little if any brake fade after more than few kilometers of heavy use, and that’s certainly reassuring.

Forester remains at the top of the tree when it comes to safety, with a host of standard features including a five-star ANCAP safety rating, Dual front, side and curtain airbags and VDC (Vehicle Dynamics Control) to name but a few of the safety aspects of the car.

All round vision is also good, with plenty of glass, making it easy to judge distances when parking in tight spots.

The leather pews employed in Forester are so to worthy of praise, with excellent bolster and all round comfort due to the supple leather trim.

If I had any gripe about the new Forester diesel, it would be the lack of a proper integrated iPod/Iphone connection and Satellite Navigation (and rear camera function), both of which aren’t available as yet.

Not sure on the Ipod issue, but Subaru have said they are currently working on a factory fit GPS system for the Forester. Small items for sure, but nonetheless, an important consideration for many folks these days.

Forester was already a hard act to follow, and with the introduction of these two diesel variants, the popularity of the model will only widen.

Stay tuned for a complete CarAdvice road test of the Forester 2.0D in the coming weeks.