The interior of the 2019 Subaru Forester Touring has available saddle leather seat covers. Online: In the market for a new vehicle? To access hundreds of Mark Kennedy’s Chattanooga Test Drive columns visit www.timesfreepress.com/testdrive.
The 2019 Subaru Forester just got what I need as a 60-year-old baby boomer: A full face-lift and lots of new internal parts.
The resulting 5th-generation Forester, a five-seat crossover with full-time all-wheel-drive, is one of the most usable small SUVs on the market.
FAST FACTS
* Model: 2019 Subaru Forester * Exterior color: Horizon Pearl Blue * Interior color: Saddle leather * Engine: 2.5-liter, four-cylinder * Horsepower: 182 * Transmission: continuously variable * Fuel economy: 33 mpg highway, 26 mpg city * Local Dealer: Kelly Subaru, 900 Riverfront Parkway * Price (as tested): $34,295 (est.)
When confronted with design questions that pit practicality against styling, Subaru engineers almost always come down on the side of what’s practical. For example, the Forester may have the best outward visibility of any vehicle on the market. The windshield is huge and most of the other glass panels – including the moon-roof – are also large. The result is like driving inside a bubble, which is one of the best passive safety features that automotive designers can offer.
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The 2019 Forester is built on Subaru’s new Global Platform that also provides the foundation for the Impreza, Crosstrek and Ascent models. Using the same platform for multiple models lets Subaru concentrate on perfecting components instead of reinventing them again and again for different vehicles.
Kelly Subaru, at 900 Riverfront Parkway in Chattanooga, had 22 Foresters in digital inventory late this week, include some in Touring trim like our tester, which was provided for a one-week test drive by the manufacturer.
WHAT IS IT? The Forester is a five-passenger compact SUV with Subaru’s patented symmetrically all-wheel-drive system. No longer available with a turbocharged engine option, the Forester is powered by a 2.5-liter, boxer engine that makes 182 horsepower. It competes against the Toyota RAV4, Honda CR-V and Ford Escape, among others.
WHAT DOES IT COST? The base model, called simply the Forester, starts at $24,295. Our top-of-the-line tester has a base price, before options, of $34,295.
WHAT WE LIKED: The upscale interior with attractive saddle leather seats, the open cockpit with expanses of glass, the Horizon Blue Pearl exterior paint and the Eyesight suite of safety tech features including adaptive cruise control and pre-collision braking.
ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT: A new safety feature called Drive Focus is supposed to help with distracted driving. It consistently prompted me to “keep my eyes on the road,” even when I didn’t feel distracted.
WHY SHOULD I BUY ONE: The Forester is sure-footed and practical. It also holds its value well. If you are a downtown worker, the Subaru dealership on Riverfront Parkway is especially convenient.
BOTTOM LINE: The redesign should make the 2019 Forester timely for a number of years, which should help elevate resale values.
Contact Mark Kennedy at mkennedy@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6645. Follow him on Twitter @TFPCOLUMNIST. Subscribe to his Facebook updates at www.facebook.com/mkennedycolumnist.