Subaru Forester named Motor Trend Sport Utility of the Year

[Weasel 555]

Motor Trend has gone back to the basics by picking the newly redesigned Subaru Forester as its 2008 SUV of the Year. Right off the bat, editor Arthur St. Antoine claims that the choice wasn't a reaction to high fuel prices, with the Forester posting the highest fuel efficiency in a group of contenders that includes the BMW X6, Ford Flex, Kia Borrego, Infiniti EX and FX, Nissan Murano, Toyota Sequoia, Volkswagen Tiguan, Honda Pilot, Chevy Traverse, Dodge Journey and Lexus LX570. In fact, their choice may seem somewhat surprising considering that the Forester's 2.5L flat-four engine (turbocharged in the Forester 2.5XT and naturally aspirated in the 2.5X) is borrowed straight from the Impreza and makes do with only a 5-speed manual or four-speed automatic transmission. There's surely lots more innovation in this field of SUV contenders, but MT gave the Forester credit for being a Swiss Army Knife in a drawer of specialized cutlery. The rest of the field each does its own particular thing well, but according to MT, the Forester often equals or betters the field in some surprising areas like space efficiency and ground clearance. It lacks a lot of whiz-bang gadgets, but was appreciated by MT editors for keeping it simple and doing many things well.

read more:
autoblog.com/subaru-forester-named-motor-trend-sport-utility-of-the-year/



more pics:
autoblog.com/photos/-subaru-forester-us-spec/

[SD_GR]

No question the new Forester is very compelling and ahead of its predecessor. It's IMO good enough to make one forget about the Tribeca.

[302@12psi]

It IMHO does look about a 100 times better then the previous models. It's very "bland" and almost looks like the typical Rav4/CRV suv ute.


Having been in the market and having previously owned 2 Subarus this however did even make my test drive list.

[SeattleJeremy]

Having been in the market and having previously owned 2 Subarus this however didN'T even make my test drive list.

Fixed

But as Autoblog put it, you where looking for something a little more specialized, not the Swiss army knife.

Edit : Here's the MT link 2009 Subaru Forester - 2009 Motor Trend Sport/Utility Of The Year - Motor Trend

[snowcat]

No question the new Forester is very compelling and ahead of its predecessor. It's IMO good enough to make one forget about the Tribeca.

It's large enough to make the Tribeca irrelevant at this point, unless they bloat the Tribeca equally as their next card trick...

[RayfieldsWRX]

It's a great car, for sure, but "bland" is the operative word. My wife asked me who's Saturn was parked out in front of the house last weekend...it was actually a new Forester.

[Phatstud]

Definitely looks too much like a RAV4.

[josnroh]

It has mainstream looks now,but still has all that Subie goodness.

[jasonspeed]

This may have been covered, but I wonder if the 6-speed MT in the Diesel boxer is the same from the STI?

[SeattleJeremy]

This may have been covered, but I wonder if the 6-speed MT in the Diesel boxer is the same from the STI?

From what I've read it's the same transmission, but it has different gear ratios to better accommodate the low revving diesel.

[Marukai]

[Marukai]

[bigpatskize]

It's a great car, for sure, but "bland" is the operative word. My wife asked me who's Saturn was parked out in front of the house last weekend...it was actually a new Forester.

thats great lol

[spt wrx 2k8]

With the dealer lip and sports grille and rear spoiler this may not look so bland anymore. Picture only shows dealer front lip.

[willryanm]

Last year my mom was deciding between the Tribeca and the Forester. Unfortunately (IMO) she chose the Tribeca, but hey it's still a good car. It's comfortable, somewhat peppy, pretty large, and is much more fun to drive than the vast majority of SUV's out there.