Subaru Forester test drive since 2008 SUV

All photos of Subaru Forester since 2008

I left the forest ...

Subaru Forester is a clear example of how an extravagant show car, perceived as a design experiment, suddenly transformed into a serial car of an outstanding structure. It is unlikely that anyone could seriously assume that the STREGA concept shown by the Japanese company in September 1995 at the Frankfurt Motor Show would reach the assembly line - it was painfully led by radical oriental futurism. In fairness, it must be recognized that outwardly Forester differs significantly from its prototype, but has retained the general concept.

This car is most often called a universal of increased cross -country ability, referring to cars like Audi Allroad and Volvo Cross Country. But this approach is not entirely true. Forester is an independent model built on the platform of the famous Impreza, with a high body that resembles parquet SUVs. The release of the car began in the fall of 1996, but it entered the European market only a year later. In 1998, the S-Turbo option with a low-pressure turbocharger appeared, and in January last year, the car suffered a light faslifting, during which the shape of the rear lights and grilles of the radiator were changed, and the headlights began to be equipped with simple polycarbonate glasses. In this form, the car fell on the test of wheels. And just a few weeks ago, Forester underwent a second cosmetic operation.

Already the first, superficial inspection of the car is pushing for the conclusion that Subaru Forester is a means of transportation for individualists. In general, a straightforward design goes well with such an exquisite solution as doors without a framework, with a muscular relief of wings, causing a form of rally car in memory. You can’t call a beautiful car, but it is in its own way charming, probably, thanks to its semi-universal half-water-resistant appearance. The S-Turbo version can outwardly be recognized by the hood with a groove of the air intake and fog lights. If you try to determine the interior of the car in one word, then this word will be functional. Called and designed in detail - yes, but not at all elegant and not even intricate.

The driver’s workplace is really working, without bells and ground, but very convenient: with a magnificent chair and a steering wheel, an exemplary arrangement of pedals, a gearbox lever and visibility that you need. The dashboard is again simple, but how easily the information is perceived from it! The seat with reliable lateral support, in addition to regular adjustments, is equipped with adjustments in height and the angle of inclination of the pillow. And both front seats have leaning armrests. Side airbags are sewn in the ends of the seats, and there are four of them, including frontal ones. Safety measures can be fully attributed to the heating of the windshield in the zone of wipers. As many as three switches were hidden behind the leather steering wheel: the left controls the entire head light, the large right -wing - numerous modes of the work of three wipers, and the functions of cruise control are made to the lower right. But they did not accommodate everything. So, headlight washers are turned on by a separate button on the front panel. In short, at first the eyes scatter, but when you figure out all this farm, it becomes easier.

The abundance of all kinds of shelves and drawers is impressive. Three departments under the luggage gender, retractable cup holders in front and behind, the usual pockets in the doors, supplemented by containers with lids, as well as a shelf with a lid at the top of the central console, and also an eye in the ceiling, and the container between the front seats today has already become the usual thing. All this is the components of the concepts of comfort - along with air conditioning, electric drives and good music, without which Forester also could not do. But what struck us on the spot is a huge glass hatch with half a wings long. When it moves, the car turns into a convertible, leaving a clear sky above the heads of the cabin.

The rear seat is equipped with three head restraints, however, on the long run there are three here cramped. And one more remark: behind a tall driver, it is convenient to sit 175 cm tall, no more, otherwise the knees will have nowhere to put. The seat is formed in a ratio of 1: 2, and with a completely assembled sofa, the volume of the cargo compartment increases to one and a half cubic meters. Opposite engines are the famous horse of the Fuji Heavy Industries corporation producing Subaru brand cars. They have a number of advantages over in -line and V -shaped brothers: this is the best balance and a decrease in the center of gravity of the machine, and the contribution to passive security - with a frontal collision, the motor goes down, and does not enter the salon straight. And why do you need a boost of low pressure? To increase the torque value at low and medium speeds. And for sure: the starts of the four -wheel drive forestry (as the name Forester is translated) manages to fame - the motor is perfectly drawn from 2000 rpm, and the acceleration intensity remains somewhere up to 4500 rpm.

From the traffic lights, Forester goes forward literally like a rocket, leaving no chances even more powerful, but monopropod vehicles. Moreover, during touching, the gas is instantly poured into the slip of all four wheels, the supply of torque is so great. When accelerating from the place, the machine switches to speed smoothly, without jerks, however, if you need to shoot already in motion, sometimes thinks before turning on a lowering gear. The advice is this: if you are faced with the task of getting from point A to point B for a minimum of time, immediately turn on the Power mode, and the Forester will accelerate even more vigorously and respond more promptly to the actions of the accelerator pedal, whether it is the discharge of the gas. And the fact that the car will stop quickly, you can doubt: the brakes are excellent here, not only in the sense of efficiency, but in the sense of transparency of the drive. Yes, and ABS works skillfully without interfering in the control of the machine ahead of time.

Separate praise deserves very perfect sound insulation - at speeds up to 100 km/h you can talk in an undertone. AT

the transmission distributes the torque between the front and the rear axles in the ratio of 60:40. As an interaxine differential, there is a package of MR-T CRSIONS (which is also a multi-disc clutch), controlled by the E-4at electronic system (Active Torque Split AWD-the active distribution of torque). In the case of wheel slipping, this system by means of a hydraulic drive changes the degree of compression of frictions, throwing to 90% of the moment to the axis, the wheels of which have the best clutch with the coating. But it should not be seduced by the fact that Forester is not suitable for assaulting a serious off -road: a demultiper is not installed on cars with an automatic box in principle, although the presence of a self -locking differential of increased friction in the rear bridge allows you to not be afraid of such a phenomenon as diagonal hanging of the wheels.

The Hold mode intended for touching on slippery coatings, when the car starts from the second gear, and switching occurs earlier and smoother, is more effective when traveling along winter roads than when climbing mud.

Here are the pits and bogs of Forester, with its 190-mm clearance, overcomes calmly. Along the way, we note that the size of the clearance remains unchanged regardless of the degree of loading of the machine - thanks to the self -leveling rear suspension. However, one thing arises here but: the S-Turbo modification differs from the basic model with a more stiff, passenger suspension, oriented towards moving along the tracks, moreover equipped with stabilizers of the transverse stability in front and back. Therefore, get ready: the car will shake the car on the primer, although the suspension does not show the slightest tendency to breaks. It is also very good that when driving on bumps, there is no buildup of the body. In the city, the suspension diligently reads the profile of the road, but with gentle irregularities copes with five points.

In turns, Forester will give a head start to any SUV. On the arc, the car is rolled barely noticeably, and a very good hydraulic wrap provides confident feedback, informing the driver in detail about what is happening under the front wheels. Of course, this is not a real passenger car - with high -speed maneuvering, you can catch delay in the reactions of the machine to the actions of the steering wheel, and there is not always enough reactive effort in steep turns. But we ourselves boldly attribute these comments to the nit -picking area. What you need to be morally ready for is the specific behavior of a forester in corners: if for all -wheel drive machines with a sharp adding gas is typical, the Forester begins to slip out the front axle path. Such purely front -wheel drive manners of the car require the driver of the collection and clear corrective actions.

Now, having learned Forester, we are ready to repeat: this is a car for individualists - it is so not like design and behavior on the road to all other cars. But its owner will not feel like a white sheep, since excellent dynamics in combination with all -wheel drive allow you to focus on their sensations from communication with the machine and not think about the reaction of others. How much will you have to pay? $ 35 490. This is the price of an alternative style.