2024 Subaru Forester does the tough daily grind; it brings the kids to school, carries the dog to the park, transports groceries and brings loved ones to warm places. This daily driver is a hero of a car.Â
The daily driver is a kind of vehicle too often overlooked. It’s the car that does the tough daily grind, the one that brings the kids to school, carries the dog to the park, transports your groceries and brings your loved ones to warm places during Canada’s infinite winters. The daily driver is a hero of a car that operates in the background, often forgotten and neglected. You need it.
The is a good example of a great daily driver. No, it’s not very pretty — does Subaru even have a design department these days? — and it doesn’t boast any form of interesting performance figures. There’s nothing about this compact SUV that’s attractive, yet it still manages to be wonderfully charming. The Forester is proof that some cars seduce, neither by their looks, nor through their spec sheets, but by being superb, daily, utilitarian vehicles.
In the burgeoning age of the electric car, the Subaru Forester is a dated formula. There isn’t a hybrid model offered, and it does not come with the option of a turbocharged engine as some of its rivals do. Yet, Subaru still manages to ship, on average, 120,000 of them each year.
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Why are people buying these things in droves?
Because the Forester’s recipe is a tried and proven one.
When something isn’t broken, you don’t fix it. Subaru excels at the art of perfecting a tried-and-proven idea. Because when you think about it, the Forester, with its 2.5-litre, Boxer, flat-four-cylinder engine and Subaru’s renowned, symmetrical, all-wheel-drive system, is essentially the same car as it was when it sold a decade ago.
But it’s not. Old Subarus sounded like a diesel-powered tractor when you started them on during a cold, winter morning. This new Forester sounds smooth, quiet, and refined. Its cabin, while still utilitarian, boxy, and not particularly attractive to look at, is quiet, well put together and loaded with modern technology we expect from today’s cars. There’s Android Auto/Apple CarPlay, radar cruise control, rear cross-traffic monitoring, and an automatic collision avoidance system.
While the Forester fits within the compact SUV segment, it’s always been sort of a lifted station wagon. This gives it car-like characteristics that blend beautifully well with the tough grind of a daily life; it’s got a ride height that’s neither too high, nor too low; large door openings that make taking things in and out easier; and a high roofline, yielding maximum headroom front and rear.
And while its hatch doesn’t allow it to be the most practical SUV in its class, the Forester has up to 1,953 litres (or 68.9 cu. ft.) of cargo space for your gear when all seats are folded flat. That’s a lot.
On the road, the Forester inherits Subaru’s buttoned down feel. That’s thanks to a Boxer engine that sits low in the engine compartment, enabling the car to have a more grounded centre of gravity. This is also why is still hands-down the best in the business. While many carmakers attempt to improve handling by way of electronics and fancy traction-control, Subaru uses gravity. It’s a simple, unique way to ensure maximum grip on a slippery surface.
Power isn’t a Forester strong suit, which is a bit of a letdown considering Subaru did once build a . It’s even more frustrating when you consider the fact that the company has more powerful engines in its arsenal. They could allow this breadbox to be quicker off the line and considerably more fun to throw around a twisty road.
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But we’re stuck with the 182-horsepower option as the only available engine. In its defence, it delivers what’s needed for daily chores, providing ample low-end torque (motive force) for passing manoeuvres, while returning more than decent fuel economy (8.5 litres/100 km combined over a full week and 930 km).
This fuel economy is possible thanks to the continuously variable transmission (CVT). While some drivers may not appreciate its droning behaviour (me included), it will enable you to save a few well-earned bucks at the pump. As far as CVTs go, this one is all right; it does what it is asked with minimal delays, and without sacrificing performance.
The Subaru Forester, as we know it, is on its last legs; a larger, more modern 2025 model is on the way. I hear it’ll, at last, be fitted with a hybrid source of power. That’s good news for those looking to save even more on their fuel bills.
But if you’re the kind of person who still prefers a tried-and-tested engine over the latest electrified technology, then the 2024 Subaru Forester remains, without question, a no-brainer.
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