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January 29, 2008
2009 Subaru Forester JDM First Drive by Edmunds

Now It’s a Crossover, Not a Wagon

Source: Edmunds.Com
Text: Peter Lyon, Photos: Yoshitada Moro.

The 2009 Subaru Forester is looking for a little respect. Since its introduction a decade ago, the Forester has been an undersize underachiever, a homely but beautifully functional wagonette that spoke to the eco-friendly, happily independent Subaru enthusiast. Only there weren’t very many enthusiasts of small wagons.

Since there are a lot more enthusiasts of crossover cute-utes these days, Subaru has gone where the people are, and now the Forester looks seriously independent instead of just alternatively different.

The 2009 Subaru Forester has thrown down the gauntlet to its rivals, as it not only incorporates a bolder, more stylish look, but also matches the Honda CR-V and Toyota RAV4 for size. And thanks to a long experience with making all-wheel-drive friendly enough for real-world use, the Forester outdoes them in many ways.

Grilling for Identity
Mamoru Ishii, chief designer of the Forester, tells us that his design team has had two aims. He says, "Firstly, we brought the car more into line with competitors’ offerings in terms of size and stature while giving drivers a better all-round package. And secondly, we enhanced the Subaru identity." Ishii says Subaru’s brand recognition in the U.S. is still lower than most other Japanese carmakers, and he emphasizes that his designers tried to counter this by going for a stronger look with greater street credibility.

As we see it, the result is very much a work in progress, particularly at the front where Impreza headlights have been matched to a new grille that rehashes the horizontal vanes of the Tribeca’s grille. For all that, Subaru seems to have finally latched on to a design language that suits the whole range (except for the Impreza, which still seems half-baked). The front end of the new Forester isn’t beautiful, but it holds its own among stronger competition than it’s faced before.

Fire Up the Cutting Torch!
It’s probably appropriate that the 2008 Subaru Forester should abandon its Birkenstock-style heritage because it indeed is all-new. The wheelbase has been stretched 3.5 inches and the body is 3.0 inches longer than before, 1.8 inches wider and 4.3 inches taller. The additional dimensions come from some clever engineering, as the Subaru engineers have taken the basic body structure of the Japanese-spec Impreza wagon and joined it with the rear of the U.S.-spec Impreza sedan.

It’s not surprising that the Forester feels far more spacious than before as a result, and the front-seat passengers enjoy plenty of leg- and headroom. The rear seat has far more legroom as well, and the doors open to nearly 75 degrees.

To further transform the Forester into something that might be described as a crossover rather than a wagon, Subaru has jacked the whole platform into the air, giving it some 8.8 inches of ground clearance, the most in its class.

Quick, Into the Parts Bin!
"And that’s just the kind of things that chassis engineers don’t want to hear," says Kazuharu Ichikawa, the Forester’s chief engineer. "Bigger, higher and heavier are words that the chassis guys dread." Though the Forester gained only 66 pounds in this conversion to its new utility-style shape, Ichikawa says its size and height presented dynamic challenges.

Fortunately Subaru has some useful things in its parts bin. Most important is a body engineering technique called SI chassis, Japanese-speak for a more rigid chassis that absorbs bumps, vibrations and noise while improving safety and dynamic balance as you turn into a corner.

Also borrowed from the Impreza is the new double-wishbone independent rear suspension. It not only keeps all four tires on the ground no matter what silliness the driver might undertake, but also reduces dive under heavy braking. "Don’t forget that the front track is wider, too, which combines with the rear suspension and the SI chassis to improve cornering," Ichikawa reminds us.

We can confirm that the Forester’s new stance makes things possible that the old wagonette would never dream of. With the front track 1.4 inches wider and the rear track 1.8 inches wider (plus the new independent rear suspension), we could throw the Forester into corners without worrying about throwing it into the trees at the same time. A vehicle so high off the ground should not be able to corner like this, yet it does. It should roll and dive, yet it doesn’t. We just couldn’t get over it.

Single to Twin-Cam
On snow-covered roads near Mt. Fuji, we had a chance to drive the Japanese-specification all-wheel-drive Forester both with a four-speed automatic and with a five-speed manual transmission. The gear ratios of both transmissions have been optimized for improved fuel economy, while the manual transmission model has a viscous-type center differential and a limited-slip differential.

For the Japanese market, the Forester gets a new DOHC 2.0-liter horizontally opposed four that has variable valve timing on both the intake and exhaust cam, plus a free-breathing exhaust. The result is 146 horsepower at 6,000 rpm and 141 pound-feet of torque at 3,200 rpm. The U.S. will get a 2.5-liter version of this same engine, and it makes 170 hp at 6,000 rpm and 170 lb-ft of torque at 4,400 rpm.

Meanwhile, the revised Japanese-specification turbocharged 2.0-liter four delivers 227 hp at 5,600 rpm and 235 lb-ft of torque at 2,800 rpm. You’d better be ready for barrels of torque from around 2,500 rpm all the way up to 6,000 rpm. This is a powerful engine, and it’ll get the Forester Turbo to 60 mph in 5.5 seconds. You extend your right boot just to experience the turbo rush again and again. You’ll be surprised at the improved sound the boxer engine makes thanks to a new intake manifold and a twin-muffler exhaust system. For the U.S., there will be a 2.5-liter turbo, and it makes 224 hp at 5,200 rpm and 226 lb-ft at 2,800 rpm, and it has a different, low-revving character than the Japanese-spec engine.

More Good Stuff
To enhance both handling and performance, Subaru once again went to the parts bin and pinched two technologies first employed on the Legacy and then on the Impreza — VDC (Vehicle Dynamics Control) and SI-Drive. Standard equipment on all new Foresters, VDC ensures maximum grip. And SI-Drive lets you calibrate throttle response to one of three modes — Intelligent, Sport and Sport Sharp — a clever little device that makes the Forester a lot more fun than it has ever been before.

One thing that didn’t come out of that parts bin is the newly developed electrical power steering for the Japan-spec model with the naturally aspirated 2.0-liter engine. It reacts to vehicle speed and steering angle, and the new setup offers superbly judged steering effort and shows complete poise as the car holds its line through the quickest of corners. It works so well, you can’t tell it apart from the conventional hydraulic-assist steering in the turbo model.

The only unfortunate hand-me-down that the Forester has picked up from the Impreza is the latter’s four-speed automatic. Now that its rivals boast five- or six-speed automatics or even a continuously variable transmission, the Forester’s four-speed auto seems a generation behind the times. Sure, it only generates around a 15 percent efficiency loss compared to the five-speed manual transmission, but surely customers will expect something more. Subaru does build a good five-speed automatic that’s seen in the Legacy, Outback and Tribeca, but one of our sources tells us that Subaru just doesn’t have the production capacity to include the Forester on the list. Expect a five-speed auto on the face-lifted Forester in 2010.

A Clean, Well-Lighted Place
The 2009 Subaru Forester is a far more capable machine than the vehicle it replaces. It looks serious and even drives serious. And Subaru has also made sure the Forester offers some serious utility, just as you’d expect from a Subaru. It should make some people think twice when they’re pricing cute-utes from Honda, Mitsubishi and Nissan.

One telling question, however, will be whether the Subaru family likes the way the Forester has turned out. The friendly little wagon is gone, and in its stead is an even pricier utility vehicle. In fact, the 2009 Subaru Forester is so good (and so big), it makes you wonder whether you’d even consider a Subaru Outback, which is a lot more expensive. We mentioned this to our friends at Subaru and they just rolled their eyes.