In Europe, sales of Subaru models have fallen to such low levels in every market expect Switzerland that it is a bit of a surprise that the marque still bothers with all the costs of continuing to sell and support a range of cars that in the case of the UK struggles to reach a four figure total of buyers a year. But in America, it is very different with record sales being reported every year. The image here is strong, and has been built around the standard all-wheel drive system (useful in the snow belt States, but arguably less so in the warmer places), practicality and safety. The two biggest selling models are the Outback and the Forester with roughly equal numbers of each finding buyers every year, both of them generally within the market’s Top Twenty. An all-new Forester was launched at the 2018 New York Show for the 2019 model year. At first glance it looked little different from the version it replaced, but this car, the fifth generation to bear the Forester name was in fact much changed under the skin, sitting on the Subaru Global Platform. The new platform is said to provide greater handling capability, agility, ride comfort and crash protection and is also claimed to be inherently resistant to noise, vibration and harshness (NVH). The car is slightly larger with more space for people and luggage and of course there is a whole load of new tech that has been added. Of course, Subaru did not change the things which have made the model so popular, so it will be pretty familiar to those who know its predecessor. That is not me, as on the rare occasions I saw one a Forester at a Hertz facility, it was ear-marked for someone else, Subaru rental cars proving very popular among customers even in places where the go-anywhere all-wheel drive system is not really necessary, such as Southern California. I did spot a Forester parked up on my first day in Los Angeles on the Spring 2022 trip, so I grabbed the keys before anyone else took a fancy to it. Although the plates suggested It had only recently been registered, it turned out to be a 2019 model and was doubtless a car that Hertz have acquired second-hand, which is something they have been doing to rebuild their fleet as the world gets back to normal. Their used cars often come in plusher than usual trim, and that was the case here, with the car featuring the Limited trim which has rather more features than you usually find in a rental spec car. The US press rate the Forester very highly with the car often being declared the victor in group tests, whereas in Europe on the rare occasions when one features in a review, it tends not to fare so well. Which was it to be for me?

All versions of the US market Forester get the same 2.5 litre flat four engine, which develops 182 bhp, the 250 bhp turbo four (and the manual gearbox option) that was offered in the previous generation having been discontinued. Whilst the configuration remains unusual, the distinctive sound that always clearly identified a Subaru is pretty much gone with just a little evidence of something slightly different under hard acceleration. And hard acceleration is what you will probably find yourself needing, as this car feels like it really needs more power to give it the sort of performance you expect or even need. Thankfully the engine is generally smooth, but it simply feels a bit underpowered a lot of the time, a problem I have experienced in all recent Subaru models I have driven. The transmission does not help. You get a continuously variable gearbox, which should mean you are always in the right ratio at any given time but in reality seems to add to the slightly reluctant impression the car gives you when you want a burst of acceleration. In gentle driving, all is well, but when you need a burst of acceleration, this car feels like hard work.  I covered 300 miles in the day I had the Forester and it needed 8.33 gallons to refill it, which computes to a commendable 36 01 mpg US or 43.03 mpg Imperial, an excellent result and one where the Stop/Start system would not have contributed much as few of the test miles were in traffic.

If you were expecting the rally heritage to have lingered in the way the Forester drives, then think again. This is a generic modern crossover-style driving experience. The steering is light and does not have much in the way of feel. The Forester will understeer if the bends are taken with much in the way of enthusiasm, though there is not much body roll. The ride is generally quite comfortable, with the car sitting on relatively high profile 225/55 R18 wheels. The brakes worked just fine. As with all Subara models these days, there is a standard all-wheel drive system with what Subaru calls X-mode. This includes selectable modes for snow drift and deep snow/mud as well as normal and also includes hill descent control and some trail selection capability. There’s much more off-road prowess with the Forester than a standard all-wheel-drive crossover. Couple this with the raised ground clearance, of 8.7 inches, which would help it avoid most dirt-road obstacles. and you can see the appeal of this car to those who live in parts of the US where the going gets tough and the weather closes in. There is also a full complement of safety features here, which is also something that Subaru promotes heavily in their advertising of the car. The EyeSight suite of driving aids — which includes lane departure warning and forward collision warning — is standard on every trim, and features such as blind-spot monitoring and automatic reverse braking are available on most versions. The DriverFocus system debuts on the Touring trim; it incorporates a head-tracking feature and sounds an alert if it senses the driver isn’t paying attention to the road. It also uses facial recognition software to store memory settings for up to five drivers. Simply sit down and the seat and exterior mirrors automatically adjust to your liking. I was pleased to find that the Lane Keep Assist system was less intrusive than is often the case.  It’s easy to see out from the driver’s seat thanks to the relatively thin roof pillars. The tall side windows enhance visibility as well. The rearview camera display is crisp.

Subaru have made considerable effort in recent years to try to improve the perceived quality of the interiors of their cars. Whilst the latest offerings, such as this Forester, are a significant improvement on what used to be presented, they are still some way off class best. This Forester tries hard to be a mix of interesting and quality, but the reality is a rather edgy design with a real melange of textures which include leather, gloss black plastic, fake metal, plenty of hard plastic, some dimpled plastic and a few chrome highlights. There’s clearly some way to go! What it lacks in material quality, though, it makes up for with ease of use. There is a simple instrument cluster with two large dials for the speedometer and rev counter, with a digital display area in between the dials for trip computer functions and including a bar chart style fuel gauge. There are the usual two column stalks for indicators and wipers, with lights, which include an auto function, operated by a rotary dial on the dash to the left of the wheel. The Forester retains an additional digital dash display in the upper centre of the dash. Below this is the touch screen for the StarLink system, which comprises audio functions, navigation and other apps. Included here were XM Satellite radio, navigation and you still get a CD slot as well as Apple Car Play, Android Auto and Bluetooth. The test car featured the optional nine speaker Harman Kardon audio system with decent sound quality on offer.  Thankfully there are still plenty of buttons beneath the screen for many of the operations you need. Beneath this unit are the three rotary knobs for the dual zone automated climate control. There are a lot of buttons on the wheel, including audio repeaters and cruise control. There is a heated steering wheel. I found that some of the displays were very hard to read when bright sun early in the morning was coming through the massive panoramic sun roof.

Practicality is on the list of attributes that Forester owners expect and this Subaru does not disappoint. There is lots of space in the cabin. You do sit relatively high, but that is the whole point of the crossover type of car, but even so there is more than enough headroom even allowing for the fact that there is a sun roof fitted. The seats are leather trimmed in this version of the car. Adjustment for the driver’s seat is all-electric, but the passenger will have to make do with manual alteration to the seat’s position. The driver’s seat has lots of range adjustment, so that drivers of varying heights can get easily settled. The standard tilt-and-telescoping steering wheel helps, too. I found that the backrest was somewhat shapeless and as a result the seat was not as comfortable as you might expect and indeed hope for. Seat heating is part of the Limited trim spec of the test car.

The rear of the Forester is very spacious. There is particularly generous headroom, and even with the front seats set well back, legroom should be ample for even the tall. There is a drop-down central armrest which includes cupholders in the upper surface and occupants here also have useful door bins which include a bottle holder, nets on the back of the front passenger seats, as well as benefitting from a couple of USB ports and their own air vents. The only slight issue is that the third seat belt is mounted on the roof and does get in the way somewhat.

The practicality continues when you get round to the boot. There is an electrically assisted tailgate which lifts well clear to reveal a nice regular shaped boot. Overall capacity is good, though it is slightly smaller than the space you will find in some of the Forester’s rivals. There are plenty of hooks to allow you to anchor loose items. The asymmetrically split rear seat backrests drop down to give a nice flat and long load space. Inside the cabin there is a decently sized glovebox, pockets on the doors shaped to take a bottle, a central armrest cubby and a recess in front of the gearlever.

In the US, the 2019 Subaru Forester came in five trims: base, Premium, Sport, Limited and Touring. Each trim is powered by a 2.5-litre four-cylinder engine (182 bhp, 176 lb/ft of torque), paired to a continuously variable automatic transmission (CVT) and all-wheel drive. The base Subaru Forester trim kicks things off with 17-inch steel wheels, automatic LED headlights, a rearview camera, automatic brake hold, automatic climate control, a driver information display, a tilt-and-telescoping steering wheel, push-button start, selectable drive modes, a height-adjustable driver seat and 60/40-split rear seats. On the tech front, you get Bluetooth, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto integration, a 6.5-inch touchscreen, and a four-speaker audio system with satellite radio, a CD player and Subaru’s Starlink app suite. Also standard is the EyeSight bundle of safety systems, composed of adaptive cruise control, lane departure warning, lane keeping assist and pre-collision warning with automatic braking. The only optional features on the base Forester are alloy wheels, which are bundled with roof rails. Next up is the Premium. It adds the alloy wheels and roof rails, along with a panoramic sunroof, rear spoiler, tinted windows, hill descent control, colour driver information display, leather-wrapped steering wheel, power-adjustable driver’s seat, rear air vents, cargo cover, Wi-Fi hotspot, six-speaker audio system and selectable traction modes (X-Mode). Optional for the Premium is the All-Weather package, which brings a windshield wiper de-icer, heated mirrors and heated front seats. You can order it by itself, with keyless entry plus a blind-spot monitor and rear cross-traffic alert system, or with those features plus a power liftgate. The new Sport trim includes 18-inch black-painted wheels, automatic high-beam control, LED foglights, keyless entry, orange interior and exterior accents, an upgraded driver information display, steering wheel-mounted shift paddles with seven simulated gears, an additional driving mode, an additional traction setting for the X-Mode system and the All-Weather package. A package pairs the blind-spot monitor with automatic reverse braking and an 8-inch touchscreen. This package can be ordered by itself or in conjunction with a nine-speaker Harman Kardon premium audio system and the power liftgate. The Limited nixes the Sport’s orange trim, LED foglights and paddle shifters, but keeps the rest of its goodies. On top of those features, it adds self-levelling and adaptive headlights, foglights, dual-zone automatic climate control, a leather-wrapped shifter, leather upholstery, and the 8-inch touchscreen, blind-spot monitoring and power liftgate. An optional package pairs the Harman Kardon audio system and automatic reverse braking with a navigation system. The top-trim Touring model includes all of the previously mentioned optional features, along with the LED foglights, a heated steering wheel with wheel-mounted shift paddles, driver-seat memory settings, an eight-way power passenger seat, heated rear seats with remote-folding levers, and the DriverFocus system.

It is not hard to see the appeal of the Forester. This is a very practical vehicle. There’s lots of space in it, and unlike so many of its rivals, you really do feel that you could take the car on rough ground without undue difficulty. What really lets it down is the engine and transmission. Whilst generally refined, and certainly from my experience economical, the 2.5 litre engine is not really powerful enough for what has become quite a large and heavy car and the CVT gearbox does it few favours, either. Fix that and this could be the class winner, but as it stands, I am not sure that it is the no-brainer choice for those who live in suburban areas with no need for the off-road capability. And why does it not sell in Europe? Well, the engines on offer are even weaker, so unless you are in a place like Switzerland where the ability to cope with snowy mountains matters, it is a bit too niche to find wide-spread appeal.