Just before the local launch of the 2019 Subaru Forester with EyeSight, we were sent on a long haul from Penang all the way to Bangkok to get a first impression of what the SUV is really like.
Frankly speaking, it won’t win too many hearts with the way it looks. While it may not look as unattractive as the Fiat Multipla, but with the CR-V and the alluring CX-5 around, the Forester does appear to be at a disadvantage. You certainly wouldn’t buy one because of the way it looks.
The Forester would however appeal to you with the way it drives, the traction, stability and ultimately assurance behind the wheel that it offers because unlike the part-time AWD systems in the CR-V and CX-5, there’s nothing quite like Subaru’s Symmetrical All-wheel Drive which operates full time – sending equal power to all four wheels.
Netizens may have a reason to not trip over themselves over the flat-four naturally-aspirated boxer powertrain paired with a CVT transmission in the new Forester, which doesn’t offer the kind of surge in performance that the turbocharged XT of old used to have but you’d be pleasantly surprised how little you’d missed that powertrain, as did we, once you’ve had a go in it.
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