Mr Hardware Reviews: MY12 Subaru Forester

[Mr Hardware]

Much like my CJ Lancer Review last year, i'm back again with a review of the MY12 Subaru Forester Auto that i've been driving a bit lately for work.

Appearance (Exterior): Boring. Like most vehicles in the Soft-Roader category, the Forester's overall looks are bland and unexciting. The view of the flank from the wing mirrors impresses slightly, but the soft and strange nose and anonymous rear end hide any sort of coolness it has. One thing I did notice, is that unlike other vehicles in the same category, the top of the front guards is roughly in the same line as the bottom of the window sills on profile, thus not providing the faux-tank feel when driving.

Appearance & Equipment (Interior): Very nice. Small, meaty wheel, good but small screen, Simple HVAC controls, standard fare switchgear on the wheel, ordinary stalks. Didn't go in to any trip computer controls, but i wish I had. Ceiling is unnecessarily high, felt like i was in a cathedral.

On the road (drivetrain): Finally, a return to an accelerator that responds in real time. After a decade of driving 'drive-by-wire' electronic throttles, with the response delay measurable in leap years, it's really nice to see that they've now got it back to the response of a throttle-cabled EFI car. Much like an AU falcon on a VY Commodore, twitch your right Number 10 and it will squirt.
One problem with this electronic throttle however is the throttle mapping. 20% throttle gives about 40% power, 50% throttle gives about 45% power. It's a little strange at first, you end up only using the first 25% and the last 90% (kickdown) of the throttle positions. That being said, torque spread was odd, rather than just building like a wave, it was more like a series of smaller waves throughout the rev range. I couldn't quite work it out.
Idle was a bit gruff - not in a good way however. Probably a symptom of the odd boxer engine they use.
Automatic transmission was above average. Shifts were not too firm, kickdown was a tad on the slow side for 1st but certainly not the worst box i've driven, and several times better than the glacial and enraging four speed in the MY07 forester.

On the road (ride and handling): Not much to say here. Ride was satisfactory, handling was satisfactory. Compliant, safe, but certainly not exciting. Did corner relatively flat at speed.

Overall: A nice car but poor value for money. At $33k, it feels about $7k overpriced, especially when you consider the much larger and similarly boring Toyota Camry.