A fresh look, a livelier spirit
The Subaru designers have woken from their slumber.
For 2006, the Forester has a new front- and rear-end design. This means that the compact sport utility first offered in 1998 comes across looking less like a station wagon and more like a member of the far more popular, not to mention more fashionable, sport-ute family.
OK, the Dodge Magnum is an exception to the rule that the time for wagons has come and gone. But it’s the only exception.
The ’06 Forester went on sale June 1 with a more timely design to give it a fresher front, rear and side appearance. It is built off the same platform as the Impreza sedan while the larger Subaru Outback is built off the Legacy platform.
Forester is offered in the X, premium, L.L. Bean and top-of-the-line XT Limited version, the one we tested. All but the XT Limited come with a 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine that turns out 173 horsepower, up from 165 hp for ’05. The XT Limited comes with a turbocharged 2.5-liter engine that provides a more than ample dose of pep moving off the line or into and out of the passing lane, thanks to a boost to 230 hp from the previous version’s 210.
For a compact SUV, Forester is lively and spirited. Yet, at the same time, it offers respectable all-season mileage: 21 miles per gallon city, 26 mpg highway. Unexpectedly, the mileage rating with the four-speed automatic is better than with the five-speed manual, which is rated at 19 mpg city and 25 mpg highway. So, if mileage-conscious, automatic gets the call.
Forester, like all Subarus, comes with full-time all-wheel drive for stable and secure motoring -- though it doesn’t mean you won’t experience body lean in a tight corner.
What Forester lacks, however, is a few more inches of cabin width. As with the Pontiac Torrent, those in the back seat will need to take a deep breath before entering and hold it for the duration of the trip. The new design makes Forester look like it’s cinched tight in the midsection, and at 68.3 inches wide, only the Jeep Wrangler, at 66.7 inches, offers a snugger cabin. The Honda CR-V and Ford Escape offer 2 inches more of width than Forester; the Hyundai Santa Fe and Mazda Tribute offer 4 inches more.
To overcome the snug feeling in the cabin, the Forester Limited comes with a standard power sunroof. The sunroof opening not only allows ample ventilation, it provides a spacious view above. However, it opens so far that you may pause, as we did, to ensure the roof is going to eventually stop opening and not slide off onto the pavement.
The roof serves front- and rear-seat occupants. Subaru found it necessary that the roof stop sliding halfway before completely opening or closing. Subaru says it’s to warn kids who have either hands or heads popping out of the opening when it closes.
Of course, if a motorist allows a child to travel with arms, hands and melon popping out from the sunroof, that person has a problem far worse than worrying about the kid’s head and should have his own melon examined.
The XT Limited starts at $27,895 and comes with only one option, the four-speed automatic at $800. That saves a lot of painstaking time trying to figure out which option combinations are the best -- and then having to pay for them.
Standard equipment includes four-wheel anti-lock brakes; eight-way power driver’s seat; heated front seats; leather trimmed upholstery; power windows and (heated) mirrors; AM/FM radio with six-disc CD changer; automatic climate control; keyless entry; cruise control; and 12-volt power outlets upfront and in the cargo hold.
A storage tray is under the rear cargo floor for those little items that are best left hidden. And there are grocery-bag holder hooks on the back of the rear seats as well.
One feature you don’t get is side-curtain air bags, because, though freshened for ‘06, this still isn’t the next-generation Forester. That will come out in a couple of years with a total remake that allows for the addition of that safety system. For now, you have to settle for side-impact air bags. Even without the curtains, Subaru boasts Forester was named safest SUV in its size segment in crash-test ratings, and Consumer Reports magazine has given it a Best Buy rating.
Subaru says it expects 2006 sales to equal, if not exceed, 2005 levels of 56,000 units.
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2006 Subaru Forester XT Limited
Base price: $27,895
Price, as tested: $28,695
Powertrain: 2.5-liter, turbocharged four-cylinder, four-speed automatic
Horsepower: 230 at 5,600 rpm
Curb weight: 3,300 pounds
Wheelbase: 99.4 inches
Overall length: 176.6 inches
EPA fuel economy: 21 mpg city/26 mpg highway
