2009 Subaru Forester X Review

How about a cheeky SUV for some “Love?”

My anger at Subaru for pulling out of the WRC aside, the Subaru Forester is one of the best small SUV/Crossovers you can buy. There are few who could argue that they are robust, great handling vehicles that do VERY well in snow.

But, let me plead my case as to why the Forester X is so good.

Subaru Chief Designer Mamoru Ishii did a fantastic job updating the venerable Subaru Forester. It’s larger in nearly every dimension without feeling porky or unbalanced. The front-end does remind me of the current Mitsubishi Outlander (another one of my favorites), but it still has its own character. What’s more, the Subaru Forester is one of the more handsome Subaru vehicles, next to the Legacy, in my estimation.

I’m afraid I do have a bit of a bias towards the Subaru Forester as my wife and I bought a 2001 model as our first combined purchase vehicle. I loved the Forester, as I was the primary driver. After a little over a year, I gave it to my wife after she had a car accident. She drove it (hard) for 4 years in every harsh Denver, Colorado condition. It even made a 120 mile round trip through the Colorado blizzard of 2003 when NO other vehicle could manage on the highway.

It gets worse…

I towed well over 3,000 lbs (a few times) – the Subaru Forrester was rated at 2,300. I jumped it several times on back roads over dirt mounds. The old Subaru Forester went rally racing in Palmdale (after I watched the real pros in action). It mud-bogged in 2 feet of mud and I sank in 3 feet mud (which was just a hair too much). I forded a 2 to 4 foot river with it. I tied a 400 lbs couch and lumber to the roof for hauling. It held about 1,300 lbs of man flesh (I’ve got big friends) fishing tackle, beer and chow for a 200 mile fishing excursion. That little thing pulled an old Ford F-100 4X4 out of a deep snow drift. It drove all over Pismo Beach, Moab, Pikes Peak, Durango, The Rockies, Albuquerque, San Francisco, Las Vegas, San Diego, The Grand Canyon and Reno – all of these at least TWICE! That Subaru Forester has been to places yet to be named and places I’ve forgotten.

The only repairs needed (other than a fried clutch, tires, rear shocks and new brakes – my fault) was some rear bearings, ruined half shaft and a water-pump. This after 87,000 miles of my abuse… that’s not bad. Unfortunately, Subaru repair and maintenance costs are kind of high, but you do have a unique car that has more (and unique) moving parts than most. Still, the Subaru Forester never left us stranded.

I miss it…

This new Forester is a better vehicle than my 2001 in every way… except one.

At $22,495 the 2009 Subaru Forester X Premium Package comes standard with a horizontally opposed (boxer) 170 horsepower (170 lbs feet of torque) 2.5 liter, 4-cylinder engine. A 5-speed manual transmission and this combination yielded 20 mpg city and 26 mpg highway. The 4-speed automatic is optional.

2400 lbs towing is the standard tow rating and I pray you keep to it. With this tow rating the Subaru Forester makes a great, low weight tow vehicle. If you have a pop-up trailer or a small U-Haul, this is a great tow machine. Also, if you have the massive sun roof option (seriously, its one of the largest in the business) you can have a passenger stand on a seat and guide you into a tricky parking spot!

Driving the Subaru Forester X Premium Package is more exciting than the Honda CRV and slightly less exciting than the Mazda CX7 which I consider two of its main rivals. The Subaru Forester feels (and IS) a beefier vehicle. It’s extremely safe as government and insurance institute crash tests scores for the Subaru Forester are at the very top of the industry.

Cornering is easy and grip is always good. Once you get used to its mid corner lean, you can easily modulate the best rhythm to use for slow entry quick escape in tight corners. I feel the Mazda CX7 is a better road weapon, but the Subaru Forester is capable of keeping pace in any weather. The ÜBER-quick, 224 horsepower turbo Subaru Forester XT comes with the ho-hum 4-speed automatic. Still, this version would more than compete with the turbo CX7.

The interior of the 2009 Subaru Forester X is a vast improvement over the older (even the last model’s) interior. The “Subaru Swoop” inside, which was pioneered in the Tribecca works well in the Subaru Forester. Essentially, it’s a trim piece that swoops high from the side door panels and drops as it nearly meets in the middle of the cockpit. All entertainment and comfort controls sit between the swoop lines. It’s a uniform interior esthetic that is on all Subaru vehicles. It cleans up what was a disjointed, parts-bin interior design of the past. Best of all, the switch-gear, knobs, handles, easy to reach controls and storage bins are well made.

Front and rear seating has greatly benefited from the redesign and enlargement. Even though I was able to stuff maximum sized men in my old Forester, this new one has several additional inches that would have made that chore easier. It’s a great back seat for child seats, teens and adults and can honestly hold three average sized adults. The front seats are supportive, firmly cushioned and legroom is better than before (but I would like an addition inch of seat travel for people over 6’2”). All the same, it’s a welcomed improvement and Subaru finally has a competitive interior with its bigger rivals.

As with most vehicles, I enjoy the manual version much more than the automatic. The Subaru Forester X is no exception. However, in this variety the 2009 Subaru Forester is a new version of the one I owned for 5 years. So it is here, with a comparison of two similar, yet distinctively different vehicles that I made my discovery as to what the new Forester lacks (and an easy fix).

It needs more get-up-and-go.

Power is good as is throttle response – but it’s slower than it should be. The manual transmission is a tad rubbery and not the most positive in engagement. Quick shifting and aggressive clutch action seems to reveal a puzzling tendency for the engine to stay revving as you down-shift. Combined, these idiosyncrasies fight hard driving as if they are slow-going nannies. It soiled my spirits as I hit some great back-canyon roads.

I’m not sure if the sticky accelerator is a glitch or part of the design as I have never encountered this phenomenon in any other new Subaru vehicle, but it takes some of the fun out of hard driving. Subaru designers managed to dial out a great deal of the Subaru Forester’s growl too. Now, this is a personal thing as many people like a fairly hushed car. I LIKE to hear a bit of the engine and especially enjoy the sound of a boxer engine growling and barking as it revs high. In the 2009 Subaru Forester’s case, you need to rev up to 5,000 rpm before you hear the golden tones of the 2.5 liter 4-cylender that sounds a bit like an old Porsche 911.

Three things can make this normally aspirated vehicle fantastic – two of which can be handled through the dealership. Being that the Subaru Forester is more or less a Subaru Impreza stretched in most dimensions, many mechanicals from the Subaru Impreza work on it. Add the $295 short throw shifter kit and add the air intake kit along with a “cat-back” exhaust system. Subaru used to offer this on their website, now I believe it’s up to individual dealerships. These modifications will wake up the Subaru Forester X 5-speed and you will have a sporting remix on an already great machine.

This is the only thing the older Subaru Forester did better – it had a quicker feel. Performance numbers would not agree with my assertion as the non-turbo 2009 Subaru Forester is about as fast as the one it replaces. The cornering and acceleration just don’t feel quite as sharp as the older model. It could be that the added clearance, heavier weight and larger dimensions are to blame.

But I’m nitpicking here.

You see, having such a bias and still feeling that the Subaru Forester X is a fantastic machine only bodes well for this model. Test other small SUV’s first before you try the Subaru Forester. Oh, and if possible, test it on an inclement day. Few can match it. So, for the consumer who is looking for a capable, all-weather vehicle that is robustly built – check out the Subaru Forester!

I still miss mine.