We all know that the fourth-gen Subaru Forester was already existed back in the year 2013. By counting its price, this was the most expensive SUV in the market and the most plain-looking across the segment. Seeing the ridiculous price of the pre-facelift Forester makes them walk away and everybody go for the Mazda CX-5 and the Honda CR-V instead. The good news is, Motor Image Subaru Malaysia and Tan Chong International brought the facelifted Forester this month and made it as a CKD model to shed the uber-craziness price for this kind of SUV.
As you see here, the car that I am reviewing was the Subaru Forester 20i, one of the cheapest Foresters across the range. Plus, I did take some shots of the 20i-P, which will be covered later on.
Hmm...even though it was a low-spec Subaru, I didn't think it looks bad compared to its nemesis. By looking it outside, the Forester got its own character over its pre-facelift model.
Try not to bother the test drive license plate. The front bumper is remarkably better than its rugged and fat looking one found on the pre-facelift one.
Long gone the rugged and plain XV-ish look.
Some of the part did not change in the facelift especially the rear end and the side skirts.
Side profile seems nicer with the newly-designed tail lamps. Plus, the 17" wheels are relentlessly gorgeous than the old ones.
The DRL lights are well-position below. It never gets crappy and cheap like the one in the Vios. Well played, Subaru.
Pop up the hood, the Forester gets a similar engine from the XV, which of course is a 16-valve 2 litre boxer-4 with DOHC, which produces 150 hp at 6200 rpm and 198 Nm at 4200 rpm. Since it has a boxer-4 configuration, it is likely to have a balance weight distribution and precision.
Inside, the Forester gets a little bit of premium touch like the chrome-finished air vents, and also a newly-designed steering wheel.
Except that the head unit bezel is not really attractive. Only the 20i-P and XT have a glossy finish.
The old stereo has been replaced with the 7" touch screen system by Kenwood. By seeing the buttons and the interface itself, obviously it is made by Kenwood, with Subaru logo on it to hide them. Bluetooth pairing is not really complicated like the XV though, but it is kinda slow.
Sitting inside is way comfortable because it has leather seats. Wait, leather seats are standard for a low spec like this? How cool is that?!
After seeing everything inside and out, it's time to turn the ignition on and go for a spin.
Driving the Forester is like driving a car with a variety of genres. You might think its a normal SUV, it's not. The Forester has one of the best driving experience compared to the CR-V and the X-Trail. Since it is lower and shorter than these two, it has a lower centre of gravity and less prone to body roll. Cornering is way superb and sharper than these two as well, however the electric power steering gives a little bit of effort to ease the control, making it either boring or exciting to handle. Kinda odd. Visibility is really big for a SUV like this, and there is less blind spots at the back. While driving in the rain, the Forester did not have any slip issues due to its X-mode system, a system that cooperates the engine, traction control and the all-wheel drive system to improve vehicle control especially in wet roads and uneven road surfaces. Hitting closely to the red line and reaching high speed is way smoother due to its Lineartronic CVT box and the boxer-4 engine.
The interior cabin is way quiet, so sitting inside and cruising around is like a luxury car a little bit. To get over the boredom, a 6 speaker system is standard for to 20i and the 20i-P. The audio system has a little bass, but the clarity is spot on.
The most important part of the Forester is the safety. By seeing the brand itself, you can just call it a Japanese Volvo. Why? The reason is it has a 5 star crash test rating from NHTSA and most importantly, a good overlap crash test rating from IIHS. The Forester has a reinforced frame that reduced impulsive force to the cabin, resulting a low injury level in an accident. Compared to other SUVs, this one has 7 airbags instead of 6. Rear sensor is now available as well because the old one doesn't even have one as it has a reverse camera. Other safety gizmos like 4 wheel ABS, and VDC are standard across the range. Eyesight system for auto emergency braking? Too bad we don't even get one as this option is too pricey.
After focusing on the base model 20i, its time to take a look at the full spec version known as the 20i-P to find out the extra "peanut butter jelly jam" on it.
The front bumper design has no difference between the pre-facelift version, except for the grille.
New to the lineup, HID headlights with auto levelling is standard for the 20i-P and the XT.
Same goes to the LED tail lamps.
The daytime-running lights are hidden around the black edges.
Interior is way refined with extra gadgets, and new instrument cluster that is also found on the Subaru XV.
Keyless entry system with push button start, as well as power tailgate are available with no cost.
Steering wheel buttons for the top spec are also redesigned and easy to control. The SI drive buttons are also reduced into two.
Instrument cluster are way refined and easy to read.
A striking gloss-finished bezel around the centre console and dual-zone climate control are added.
Driver info system is also been revised as well.
To make things easier, power seats are standard for the driver (with memory) and the front passenger.
Rear seats can be reclined by pulling the strap to adjust the way you want to seat comfortably.
Opening the tailgate, you find this button on each side that helps to fold down the rear seat very quickly to have extra cargo space. Just like the CR-V, but this is an electronic-based system so it doesn't need too much force to fold them down.
Now here is the best part. Imagine if you got your hands dirty or going for a surf at the beach where you don't want to bring your car key around. This button down there can be used to lock or unlock the car by applying 5 digit PIN code to secure the car while your key is inside the car. Note that to put a digit as number 1 or 2, you have to press once, or twice respectively, and vice versa for other numbers.
Pricing starts around RM149,258.53 for the 20i while the 20i-L had a price tag of RM 159,046.57. The high end XT costs RM 211,729. There is a price discount for all of them at limited time only.
To sum things up, if you have a small family and you think that the Honda CR-V and the Nissan X-Trail are the norm on the road, or maybe you want some thrill driving pleasure, then the Subaru Forester is the top choice. Even though it is not as big as the "Big 2", but the legendary boxer-4 engine and Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive system provide a subtle performance and many accessories which are not available for its competitors were thrown in for a low-end model. With the redesigned look, the Forester appears to be younger and agile to fight against its enemies.
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