27 Aug 04
The Subaru Forester has always been one of the more entertaining 'soft-roaders' to drive. Its boxer engine, with horizontally-opposed cylinders lying flat, enables a lower centre of gravity to better exploit what is an agile and composed chassis. In fact, it achieves on-road behaviour that rivals that of a well sorted saloon car, which is no surprise as it is based on Subaru's Impreza saloon, which begat the sensational Impreza turbo.
The Impreza has always been about supercar-baiting performance and handling, and with the new top-of-the-range Forester 2.5 XT, a little bit of that has rubbed off on Subaru's offroader. Previously, the most potent engine available was the 177bhp 2.0-litre 'four, but now you can specify your Forester with a 2.5-litre unit developing 208bhp and 236lb ft of torque, which is a big increase over the 2.0-litre's 181lb ft. Unlike its weaker siblings, the fastest Forester cannot be specified with a power-sapping automatic transmission. So when you stir the 2.5 XT's five-speed manual fast enough, this Forester will sprint from 0-60mph in just six seconds and will storm on to a top speed of 140mph.
