WITH well over 100,000 examples sold in Australia since 1997, Subaru cannot afford to get its bread-and-butter Forester wrong. So, for the third-generation, Impreza-based PF3-series model, out go the frameless doors and quirky styling and in comes an all-new body, platform and interior, with significant increases in safety, space, refinement and features. Plus there’s more performance and fuel economy on offer. But the compact SUV competition hasn’t been standing still either, so how does the new base model X stand? And – in its quest for greater mainstream acceptance – has the latest Forester lost too much of its offbeat appeal?
Subaru Forester
Released: August 2005
Ended: March 2008
Family Tree: ForesterThe second-generation Forester’s mid-life makeover saw a new nose, improved performance, better gearboxes and a host of other minor changes to keep it competitive against the ever-improving competition. The ‘atmo’ non-turbo 2.5-litre boxer four-cylinder petrol engine’s power and torque outputs rose to 121kW and 226Nm respectively. Model nomenclature remained – in ascending order – X, XS and 169kW/320Nm XT turbo, while the transmission choices were a five-speed manual or four-speed automatic with a new manul-shift function.
Road Test
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