Fridae

Buying a Japanese mid-size SUV is entirely based on your state of emotion. A Nissan Murano would suggest that you are a drug dealer. The incredibly bland Toyota Rav4 would scream to on-lookers that you're an aspiring or closeted soccer mum. You can't get a Honda CRV as it looks like it had been in an accident. Oh, and I have almost forgotten about the try too hard Mazda CX-7.

So, that would leave us with the queer looking Subaru Forester; a car that took me years to figure out what it is supposed to be.

The first generation of the Forester was conceived in 1998 by a cash strapped Subaru in a bid to capitalise on the soft SUV trend that was started by the first Toyota RAV4 back in the mid 90's. Using the mechanics of the 4WD Impreza and with a practical estate body (read: style-free) and they stayed with that formula for the first two generations.

Into the third generation, the Subaru Forester is now quite a different animal compared to its predecessors. The new model has been upsized, so to speak, revealing more height (110mm), more width (45mm), more interior room via a stretched wheelbase (90mm) and more overall length (75mm). The changes in the dimensions are nothing in comparison to the fact that the third generation of Forester has decided to ditch its famed anti-style boxy shape and adopting a rather conventional Japanese SUV look.

Gone are the straight and boxy lines. The frameless doors made way for conventional doors to push refinement levels to new heights in the Forester. The height of the new Forester is now closing up with its competitors, no longer a man that stood bravely in the land of no where.

Thankfully, Subaru still can't make beautiful cars, the Forester remains looking "tuff" and indestructible. The ground clearance looks capable of taking the driver to places he or she would have previously thought only a helicopter could.

Driving the Forester can be a revelation for all anti-SUVs drivers. As a default, most SUVs struggle with its road handling ability due to dinosaur like dimensions. The high kerb weight threatens to spoil the ride quality, and some brave manufacturers try hard to add some "sports" car ethics to their SUVs hence further pushing the boundaries of ride comfort acceptance. Also, huge P.Daddy alloys that are needed to bling and pimp their rides are not helping SUVs to ride or/and handle well.

The Subaru Forester rides well, is absorbent and soothes out ripples that comes along the way. Steering is fingertip light around the center and loads up slightly at higher speeds. The inherent feeling of driving in a tall vehicle remains despite the engine being mounted a further 10mm lower than the previous car. Grip level is phenomenal on the Forester, just picture Rafael Nadal on a clay court, if you could lay your eyes off his hot buns! Is the Forester an Impreza on steroids?

Enough of changes and surprises! The Forester retains the lusty 2.5-litre turbo boxer engine churning out a familiar 230 bhp and 320 nm of torque. Here lies the single greatest problem I have with this Forester; the four-speed automatic gearbox. High-speed refinement is hurt by the highish revs the engine has to be at because of the gearbox having only four-speed. Otherwise, the 1,535 kg Forester seems to cope well with my heavy and greedy right foot!

Getting yourself into the Forester ownership would mean forgoing some style or more obviously, perceived quality in the interior. The plastics in the Subaru is not exactly "Marks and Spenser Cookie plastic wrapper" bad, but its not at all tactile. The blue decals serving as the backdrop of the Speedo and Rev-meter is not at all tasteful. But forgiveness is sought out as the Subaru famed hall of functionality shines brightly in the Forester. In addition, the "quality" of all instruments and equipment on board is as clockwork reliable! Countless quality surveys have been telling us that everything from the Gunma Yajima factory can take all the abuse one can throw at it. Just practice opening and closing the doors of the Forester; you and I will be on the same page after a few tries.

Having knowledge that the Forester utilises the Impreza's platform, I was not expecting much utility in the cabin. How wrong I was. The boot is huge and long. Rafael Nadal can throw in all his tennis gear and accommodate his entourage in absolute comfort with the Forester. The rear of the mid-size SUV can take three passengers with not much struggle. Tall drivers (not me) will certainly find the driving position spot on with plenty of headroom. Someone at Subaru's design team must be a parent of a young toddler. The Forester is the only SUV in the world that enables the driver to spot a child that is less than one meter tall from the rear hatch, even when the child is as close as two meters to the tall Scooby.

I like the Forester a lot, particularly the top-spec 2.5 XT despite some missing luxury equipments like the keyless entry system and auto climate control on Singapore bound cars. I am just afraid that I can't cope with the fuel bills although an attractive price tag at $88,000 might just offset that!

How can the Forester work for me? Mate the turbo-charged boxer motor with an electric motor (powered via lithium-ion battery) from Fuji Heavy Industries (parent company of Subaru) and include a more versatile gearbox to boast fuel economy.

A well-executed and still distinctive car, the new Forester is a dream SUV (crossover) if one can cope with the running costs - financial or otherwise.

	Subaru
Model	Forester 2.5 XT
Engine	Horizontally-Opposed, 4 Cylinder, 4-stroke, Turbocharged, petrol engine
Transmission	Sportshift E-4AT
Max. output	230hp@ 5,200rpm
Max. torque	320nm@2,800rpm
Acceleration 0-100 km/h	7.9 secs
Top speed	207 km/h
Fuel consumption (combined)	7.9 L/100km
CO2 emissions	13.0L/100km (combined cycle)**
Dimensions (L x W x H) /Weight	4,560x1,780x1,700/1,535 kg
Price with COE*	S$88,000*

*Prices quoted are indicative of prices in Singapore. Please contact your local distributor for prices in your country.

**The fuel economy on the Forester 2.5 XT recorded by another journalist is 9.5km/litre, that works out to be a 2.5L/100km less than my 5-hour test drive on the very same demonstrator. Boy, am I an angry driver!