Yahoo Autos The 2019 Subaru Forester Delivers for Brand Loyalists
Sometimes the names an automaker gives its cars are a feint. Take Subaru: Ascent. Forester. Outback. Names that suggest that their owners are adventurous and outdoorsy people who require a rugged and capable car to support their way-finding lifestyles. It's a compelling pitch, and it's working for Subaru, which posted its 82nd consecutive month of sales growth in September. But the names-and the image-have increasingly little to do with the cars themselves. Are Ascent owners ascending anything steeper than a driveway? Are Forester owners foresting?
As the Forester enters a new generation for 2019, the truth emerges that this little SUV has always just wanted to be a safe, friendly commuter, and it moves further in that direction here. Subaru says that practically every part that isn't a nut or bolt is new. The car rides on a stiffer platform, with new K-braces to gird the front suspension's pickup points. Also, the 2.5-liter flat-four that powers every Forester is now direct injected.
But it would take a studied eye to spot the differences at a glance. The new Forester bears more than a passing resemblance to the old one, and though packaging changes have netted an extra 1.4 inches of rear-seat legroom, the car is less than an inch longer and wider than the outgoing model. Some changes make the Forester less appealing to enthusiasts, such as the ditching of the manual transmission and the turbocharged engine due to low take rates. Subaru is instead hanging its hat on safety, pitching its standard all-wheel-drive system as a winter-weather necessity and installing its EyeSight driver-assistance system on every trim level.
With that in mind, it may be an achievement that our drive in the new Forester was just dull. Initial throttle response is good, but the 182-hp engine and CVT (the only available transmission) aren't designed for hijinks. On-track, the Forester was unhurried, accelerating from zero to 60 mph in 8.5 seconds. Sport mode sharpens the throttle response but can't disguise the fact that there's not much power at the top end. The Forester is poised, with accurate steering and a controlled ride. Still, we suspect most buyers will be more interested to hear that the front seats are comfortable and that outward visibility is excellent. In building the new Forester, Subaru carefully crafted a car for its customers and their delusions, not for enthusiast critics. We may bemoan the loss of the beefier engine, and there are still cars in the class that drive better and cost less. But it's easy to imagine a horde of happy Forester owners who never dip far enough into the throttle to realize what they're missing.
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