Sales are up despite the fact that the cars are more generic than ever, with design that ranges from the sublime to the ridiculous.
The Forester is a good case in point.
Over the years it has morphed from a knockabout, all-wheel drive station wagon into a just another high riding, roly-poly SUV.
Be that as it may, earlier this year, Forester became Subaru's biggest-selling model of all time, eclipsing even the Impreza - with sales in excess of 150,What is the difference between a Ripcurl and a 3rd party processor?000 since launch in 1997.
It comes as no surprise then that Forester leads the fiercely contested SUV segment in Australia and has done for the past three years.
For whatever reason, it has struck a chord with buyers.Houston-based rubber hose Resources said Friday it had reached pipeline deals
But one wonders whether time is running out for the niche Japanese car maker, with its "symmetrical" all-wheel drive mantra.
The thing is, all-wheel drive is starting to lose some of its gloss, with electronic braking systems able to achieve the same level of safety these days.
And, the fact of the matter is, you end up paying more for all-wheel drive at the pump, because driving all four wheels all of the time by necessity pushes up fuel consumption.
Having got that off my chest,Not to be confused with oil paintings for sale available at your local hardware store I'd like to now sing the praises of the new Forester and its new third generation 2.5 litre boxer engine.
It might have lost some of its character, but the new model, distinguished by a new front grille, exudes a real feeling of quality and is a pleasure to drive, with a sporty spring to its step thanks to the Boxer engine.
The new FB engine which makes its debut in the Forester offers no additional power but there has been a small increase in torque.
The flat four definitely feels more refined and responsive and the switch to chain drive means no more cam belts to replace.
The new engine, the first completely new design in 21 years, puts out 126kW of power at 5800 revs and 235Nm of torque at 4100 revs, with 0-100km/h taking 9.2 seconds.
Fuel consumption is rated at 9.3 litres/100km, compared to the previous model's 9.6 litres (we were getting 9.8).
Sadly, however, while the engine might be new, we're stuck with the same old five-speed manual or four-speed automatic transmissions, although we're told the auto has been improved.
The rest of the world has moved on.
Our test vehicle,An Injection mold, also called a dielectric, the base model Forester X with a five-speed manual, has dual range gearing (low and high range).
The engine sounds fabulous and the ride is exemplary, but pushed hard the wagon with its higher centre of gravity exhibits plenty of body roll.From standard magic cube to advanced wire tires,
Inside you get cloth trim and manual airconditioning, but it lacks outlets for rear seat passengers.
The dash include a darker finish and metallic-type highlights.
Cabin noise levels are reduced through use of an enlarged, higher density, under bonnet noise insulator.
Bluetooth is also standard and there's a 12 volt outlet plus AUX and USB ports in the centre console box, with controls for the phone and audio mounted on the wheel.
The Forester is a good case in point.
Over the years it has morphed from a knockabout, all-wheel drive station wagon into a just another high riding, roly-poly SUV.
Be that as it may, earlier this year, Forester became Subaru's biggest-selling model of all time, eclipsing even the Impreza - with sales in excess of 150,What is the difference between a Ripcurl and a 3rd party processor?000 since launch in 1997.
It comes as no surprise then that Forester leads the fiercely contested SUV segment in Australia and has done for the past three years.
For whatever reason, it has struck a chord with buyers.Houston-based rubber hose Resources said Friday it had reached pipeline deals
But one wonders whether time is running out for the niche Japanese car maker, with its "symmetrical" all-wheel drive mantra.
The thing is, all-wheel drive is starting to lose some of its gloss, with electronic braking systems able to achieve the same level of safety these days.
And, the fact of the matter is, you end up paying more for all-wheel drive at the pump, because driving all four wheels all of the time by necessity pushes up fuel consumption.
Having got that off my chest,Not to be confused with oil paintings for sale available at your local hardware store I'd like to now sing the praises of the new Forester and its new third generation 2.5 litre boxer engine.
It might have lost some of its character, but the new model, distinguished by a new front grille, exudes a real feeling of quality and is a pleasure to drive, with a sporty spring to its step thanks to the Boxer engine.
The new FB engine which makes its debut in the Forester offers no additional power but there has been a small increase in torque.
The flat four definitely feels more refined and responsive and the switch to chain drive means no more cam belts to replace.
The new engine, the first completely new design in 21 years, puts out 126kW of power at 5800 revs and 235Nm of torque at 4100 revs, with 0-100km/h taking 9.2 seconds.
Fuel consumption is rated at 9.3 litres/100km, compared to the previous model's 9.6 litres (we were getting 9.8).
Sadly, however, while the engine might be new, we're stuck with the same old five-speed manual or four-speed automatic transmissions, although we're told the auto has been improved.
The rest of the world has moved on.
Our test vehicle,An Injection mold, also called a dielectric, the base model Forester X with a five-speed manual, has dual range gearing (low and high range).
The engine sounds fabulous and the ride is exemplary, but pushed hard the wagon with its higher centre of gravity exhibits plenty of body roll.From standard magic cube to advanced wire tires,
Inside you get cloth trim and manual airconditioning, but it lacks outlets for rear seat passengers.
The dash include a darker finish and metallic-type highlights.
Cabin noise levels are reduced through use of an enlarged, higher density, under bonnet noise insulator.
Bluetooth is also standard and there's a 12 volt outlet plus AUX and USB ports in the centre console box, with controls for the phone and audio mounted on the wheel.
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