Subaru Forester test drive since 2008 SUV

The main forester

Nowadays, it is fashionable to lead an active lifestyle. The inevitability of a large financial costs associated with this does not stop anyone.

 
The largest companies that produce sportswear, shoes, equipment and equipment provide customers with more and more opportunities to part with money. Naturally, automobile companies could not stay away from this healing boom. In large quantities, SUV - Sport Utility Vehicle (in free transfer - cars for outdoor activities) began to appear.

 
A characteristic feature of most SUV cars is a noticeable constructive resemblance to real SUVs. But there are others. In different years, many automakers made attempts to give an ordinary car an off -road appearance. Take, for example, the notorious Matra Rancho. It was made from the front -wheel drive SIMKA 1100 only by changing the body and placing rubber with an increased profile. However, this turned out to be enough for the new product to be well bought. A striking example of this approach is the all -wheel drive universal Subaru Forester, which debuted in Detroit exactly a year ago and again shown at the last car dealership in Frankfurt.

 
I must say that all -wheel drive is Subaru's horse. Most of the models issued by it are equipped with them. Anticipating an interest in the novelty among Russian buyers, the Japanese corporation Fuji Heavy Industries, which includes Subaru, directed several foresters (Forester means a forester, a forester) for an internship in the road and climatic conditions of his northern neighbor. One of them was at our disposal for a while.

 
Forester in the Subaru model gamut occupies an intermediate position between the universals of Impreza and Legacy Outback. It is full of reason that this is a herpheated Impreza, on the elements of the platform of which it is built.

 
The car looks elevated due to increased (190 mm) road clearance and large wheels of size 205/70R15. In the style of the body, a recent trend in the bio -deck in the direction of more calm forms and flat body panels has been traced. Similarly, Subaru Legacy Outback, the body below the belt is covered by wide plastic overlays, in front and behind, turning into massive bumers. The similarity with Impreza indicates the equality of the base and ruts of the front and rear wheels of two cars, as well as the same suspension - the front stand with a triangular lever in the front, and a similar design, where the role of the lower lever is performed by two transverse and one longitudinal thrust.

 
The machine is equipped with only one type of engine. This is a well -established four -cylinder atmospheric 2 liter of the Subaru opposite, the power of which is increased to 122 hp. (5600 vol./Min.). The transmission design is a constant all -wheel drive with an interdose differential and a viscous coupling as a blocking element. There is also a demultiplitor - a device that reduces the gear ratio of the transmission. The gearbox is a five -speed mechanical or four -speed machine.

 
Familiar features are easily found in the cabin - Forester’s torpedo is borrowed from the 1997 model year, the device and the steering wheel are taken from the even earlier versions of this car. Doors do not have a framework, which is characteristic of Subaru cars. In general, this model cannot be called completely new. Obviously, the company seeks to take its place in the niche of cars for outdoor activities, making a minimum of effort.

 
Despite the enlarged clearance, landing in Forester does not cause difficulties - the height of the seats is successfully selected. The forester's salon seemed somewhat tight, although for such a compact machine (length 4450 mm, height 1595 mm, a width of 1735 mm at a base of 2525 mm) is completely explained. Perhaps the point is in insufficient ranges of the seat adjustments and the steering column. In addition to the standard settings of the driver’s chair along the length and angle of the back of the back, there is the possibility of changing the height and angle of inclination of the pillow. However, for a two -meter driver there is little place.

 
If a person of such growth takes a place in the next row, then he will not have a chance of any tolerable existence at all.

 
The volume of the trunk is quite sufficient for the station wagon of such sizes and purpose, and the convenience of access to the cargo compartment is above all praise.

 
With visibility, everything is in order, the road in front of the car is clearly visible, and the side mirrors of the rear view, along with the inner mirror, allow you to keep abreast of everything that is happening from behind. In the forestry cabin, it can become lighter if you push the curtain of a wide hatch. The hatch itself is equipped with an electric drive with buttons on the ceiling console at the rear view mirror, the cleaning case for sunglasses is also hidden there. Forester's interior is comfortable, the color and material of the seats are successfully in harmony with the exterior. The low quality of the manufacture of some plastic parts was surprised - in some places defects are noticeable in the form of burrs and overlook in the places of the press form.

 
The car controls are logically arranged, the location of the pedals is without comments, to the left of the clutch pedal - already familiar to the Subaru Impreza site for the left leg. The gear lever is convenient in terms of location and moves, with the exception of the fifth gear, which, due to the more stretched trajectory of the lever tip, seems somewhat detached. Demultylic lever - here, on the tunnel. The steering wheel switches have crossed the Subaru Impreza, and therefore it was not necessary to re -master the control of lighting equipment and wipers.

 
It's time to check the Forester (including its off -road qualities) on the go. On the hard coating, the car showed itself quite worthy. The painful engine provides good acceleration dynamics in the entire speed range - you do not feel an obstacle in the traffic flow. The motor is with good elasticity, which makes it possible to more often switch the programs, especially when you move in more or less free space from other cars. And here is an unpleasant feature - on the lateral mirrors, especially on the right one, the dirt sticks very quickly.

 
The suspension was not at all stiff, its characteristics correspond to the usual universal rather than an SUV. Large wheels help the car confidently and almost imperceptibly pass small irregularities, and even a large profile of the road does not cause shaking, not to mention the breakdowns of the suspension. The pedals have good information, and after a while you forget about the existence of intermediaries between the legs and mechanisms of the car.

 
The steering, due to the correctly selected hydraulic power characteristics, allows you to feel the way excellent. The steering wheel lies comfortably in the hand, this is facilitated by the material of the rim and the shape of the spokes, in addition, this bagel is already familiar to us by Subaru Impreza GT. The convenience of management (especially on the long road) is also promoted by the armrests: the left - on the inner door panel, the right (leaning) - on the side of the back of the seat. Subaru Forester can be called neutral. With a normal, non -estimate ride, the car obediently passes the turns without the slightest hint of disruption of the front or rear wheels. The steering wheel is very sharp, and unlike Subaru Impreza GT, it is less softened by a hydraulic wiper. A more powerful engine of this model caused a noticeable redistribution of a high torque between the front and rear wheels in various road conditions, which, in turn, led to unpleasant shocks in the transmission during movement. They were handed over to the steering wheel, and they should have extinguished them respectively a more powerful hydraulic wrap.


When driving in the cabin, the car is quiet enough, the engine and transmission are not irritated by excessive noise and vibrations. The brakes work perfectly, with normal driving they easily cope with their duties and without ABS, which, however, is quite appropriate in extreme cases.

 
Finally asphalt behind. We are going along a snowy road in one of the Moscow parks. Car passage is amazing! Without switching to a reduced gear, we confidently moved in the snow, even when he reached the wheel hubs. A serious test was the ravine slope, where all -season (read - summer) rubber began to slide. Forester began to tighten down. We began to think about the tractor, but even in this situation the forester did not fail and, however, with torment, but still took us and the photographer to an even place.

 
In general, Subaru Forester is certainly good. Solidly made, except for the little things, a machine with a reliable working character, in which the best features of the Subaru all -wheel drive cars were embodied. Forester left Impreza, but did not reach Legacy Outback, yielding to it both in size and in engine power. Nevertheless, Forester will be able to work properly in urban conditions all the working week, and on the weekend to help their owners actively rest. That's it, now you no longer need to carefully choose the routes of suburban trips and you can no longer follow the weather forecasts - we are with us a forester! New life...

 
Forester's Russian dealers will cost $ 40,000 in the region, which is quite justified due to its universality and high consumer properties.

 
Sergey Ivanov
 
 
 

A source: Motor magazine [No. 2/1998]