Drivelines

Refreshed but Not Revitalized

- John Phillips

Subaru Forester HIGHS: Acres of greenhouse, minimal weight gain, as practical as a shovel.

LOWS: Still underpowered, still uninvolving, almost nothing to separate it from the herd.

THE SUBARU FORESTER is now 27 years old. All grown up. Or at least no longer living in Fuji Heavy Industries’ furnished basement, where it served as a stepping stone for wannabe Outback buyers. In that subservient role, the frumpy but friendly Forester should have withered. Instead, Subaru sold 2.7 million of them. It’s tough to start messing around with a product whose value hovers near Grand Cayman’s, especially if your buyers’ median age is 62. An all-new Forester every few years? Unnecessary.

Except that it was. The compact-SUV category is now the largest and most competitive in the U.S. In Car and Driver comparison tests in 2013 and 2020, the Forester finished last. No Forester was included in our recent eight-SUV test [“SUVs for the Real World,” May/June 2024] because its refurbishment came about a month after the comparo. It wouldn’t have won anyway.

Every exterior body panel is new—check out those squared-off wheel wells—so the car looks borderline modern. And yet the shape somehow looks more generic, more forgettable, with two onlookers guessing it was “maybe an Explorer?” Dimensions are barely changed compared with the prior non-Wilderness versions: 0.5 inch wider and 0.6 inch greater overall length. The claimed curb weight ranges from 3510 to 3664 pounds, depending on trim. So at least it’s among the lightest in the class.

It has all-new seats too, with more aggressive thigh and shoulder bolsters, not that the existing lateral grip demands them. Inside are ritzier materials and some imaginative flair, notably dash padding that seems to burst open as it meets the side vent. Also a sensuous leather steering wheel possibly lifted from Maserati.