Not content with leaving well enough alone, Subaru decided that the 2014 Forester — a car that was selling well up to this point — needed a makeover.
If you’re looking for an analogous situation, try asking your new bride to get a makeover the day after the wedding.
“Wouldn’t you feel better as a redhead?”
Better yet: Build a backyard deck. Stain it, seal it, tear it down and use the lumber to construct a redwood Millennium Falcon.
“You sure you don’t want to be a redhead, honey?”
Maybe that’s a bit dramatic, but redesigning a car three years into its life cycle is certainly rushed. Especially considering 2012 sales of the Forester were among the best the Japanese automaker had seen for the compact ute. Sales for the Forester comprise around 25 percent of overall sales for the brand in total. Behind the Outback, Forester is neck-in-neck with the Impreza for second best-selling car for Subaru.
I’m not one to argue with success, but I will here. For 2014, Subaru took the same 2.5-liter, naturally aspirated four and a new 2.0-liter turbocharged four and planted both front and center into a new body. Engineers, who obviously thought you’d be gawking at the engine for too long, thought to minimize reflection from the hood to keep your eyes on the road. Good thinking.
The aforementioned turbocharged mill is the initial attractive option here, replete with 250 horsepower and a turbo, which means something to someone. I’m all for speed — and despite Subaru’s best effort to assure me that engine wouldn’t absolutely, positively, without-a-doubt fit into the upcoming Impreza WRX, despite sharing a similar chassis — the naturally aspirated version is what I’m here to see.
That engine, a 2.5-liter carryover from the old model produces 170 horsepower, and will likely be the more popular option with buyers. Up here at altitude, that’s a big thing for you and I, our clean, high-altitude air saps vigor like chain-smoking Pall Malls for 20 years.
Particularly mountain passes. Which is precisely how I find myself in Vail, during the summer — because why else would you pay these prices any other time than the winter?
With symmetrical all-wheel drive, Subaru’s Forester has been on the short list of compact utes for the past few years. With recent overhauls to the Honda CR-V and Toyota Rav4, the Subaru finds itself in crowded company of the worst kind: recently updated crowded company, that is.
Perhaps that’s why Subaru accelerated the time schedule to stay ahead of the dramatically changed 2014 Toyota Rav4, unveiled last year at the LA Auto Show and the upcoming redesign to the CR-V. Both of those utes have enjoyed similar sales success to the Forester and for good reason, they’re both very good cars.
To compete, Subaru focused almost solely on the interior experience. Engineers moved the A-pillar forward more than 9 inches and added a front quarter window to the driver and passenger side to enhance outward visibility. Additionally, the front seats have been raised 1.4 inches for a higher driving position with better visibility. Mirror-tint all the windows and I feel like somewhere a Japanese engineer will have a stroke.
To stem the rising rumor that Subarus battle with gas mileage, the new Forester manages a 24/32 mpg rating for the small engine mated to their continuously variable transmission. CVTs aren’t new, and are replacing traditional six-speed automatics everywhere at an alarming rate. (Almost equally alarming is how much fun a CVT can sap out of a car — and the Forester is no different.) Toyota’s all-wheel drive Rav4 manages 22/29 mpg and Honda’s similar CR-V produces 22/30 mpg, comparatively. That bubble was a big one for Subaru to bust, and so far it seems to have paid off. July sales for the Forester show it 40 percent ahead of last year’s model in cars sold year-to-date.
That’s where differences from last year’s model really fall off. The 2014 Forester resembles the outgoing model in almost every respect, same goes for the dimensions. This year’s model is only 1.4 inches longer, with 1 inch added to the wheelbase and 1.4 inches to the height.
The overall effect isn’t dramatic on the ride quality. The Forester is still 8.7 inches off the ground, which help it traverse just about anything. This year’s inclusion of “X-mode” a programming function with hill-descent control and gearing allow the Forester to climb truly hairy stuff, then go back down again. The turbo model, which I enjoy, isn’t strictly necessary to have fun in a Forester; all you need for that is a mountain town like Vail and an imagination.
Additionally the 2014 model starts at $21,995 (destination not included), which is $730 more than the outgoing 2013 model. That’s certainly not Vail money, by any stretch, but it is affordable for a capable ute.
Certainly Subaru won’t change this one anytime soon. I mean, you would think so, right?
Aaron Cole is managing editor of the Aurora Sentinel. He knows he’s wrong, but he’d rather hear it from you. Reach him at acole@aurorasentinel.com.
I bought a 2014 Forester over crv and rav4 primarily for safey (Eyesight), big doors and high seats for easy access, and great visibility. Pretty accurate review.