More Power and Refinement for Subaru's Smallest SUV
Subaru has been a serious thorn in the side of the sport utility vehicle market ever since the introduction of its rough 'n tough
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| Subaru showed the public that an SUV need not be overly tall to deliver the same versatility and off-road performance as a typical vehicle. (Photo: Subaru Canada) |
Outbacks. Advertised by none other than Crocodile Dundee (Paul Hogan), these sedans and wagons spearheaded a new era of capable vehicles without the traditional excess or bulk that truck-based SUVs had. But the story of a small Japanese company's efforts to produce a smarter SUV came to fruit when Subaru introduced the compact Forester in 1997. Classified as a compact sport utility vehicle, Subaru had effectively entered the SUV scene, but unlike its competition, the Nissan Xterra,
Honda CR-V and Toyota RAV-4, the Forester was the most car-like vehicle by a long, windy country mile. It showed the public that an SUV need not be overly tall to deliver the same versatility and off-road performance as a typical vehicle, and because of it, the Forester had the upper hand in many categories, including off-road performance, on-road performance, crash worthiness, interior space and fuel consumption.
In its nine years of production, the Forester has evolved once, with a major update back in late 2002. As an act of
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| It came as quite a surprise that Subaru unveiled an updated version of the Forester for 2006 at the New York International Auto Show in late March. (Photo: Subaru Canada) |
keeping up with the times, it became safer, more refined and a heck of a lot faster when it gained a turbocharger - the guts which helped back up its more stylish exterior. Though a turbo was always available on the first-generation Forester in other markets, it was the first time one was offered on the Forester in North America, and what an impression it made! The Forester XT was the WRX of the compact SUV range, producing 210-horsepower, with a tuned suspension and manual gearbox, transforming this tiny 'ute into a machine that could leave behind bigger, more powerful SUVs, and surprise quite a few sports car owners at stoplights.
