The Subaru Forester is a small yet dependable SUV with an adventurous spirit that offers passengers a smooth, relaxed ride and a lot of cargo space. The brand believes that the car’s tough and powerful aesthetics alone are reason enough to take on new terrains without compromising safety and comfort. The Subaru Forester lineup comes with two variants in the country—the Forester 2.0i Sport EyeSight and the Forester 2.0i-S EyeSight.

Forester 2.0i Sport EyeSight
This variant of the Subaru Forester features 18-inch, 10-spoke aluminium alloy wheels in a dark metallic finish. The car is lit up by hexagonal LED fog lamps in the front, LED cargo lights, and LED gate lights in the rear. As the ‘sporty’ variant, the car has sport fabric seats and a leather-wrapped steering wheel with orange stitching.

On the exterior, there is a hexagonal front grille, roof rails, and a roof spoiler, to add to the car’s adventurous streak. This variant is available in five different colours.

Forester 2.0i-S EyeSight
This variant of the Subaru Forester 2.0i-S features 5-spoke, 18-inch aluminium alloy wheels, LED front fog lamps, leather seat covers, cargo lights, and a leather-wrapped steering wheel with silver stitching.

The car is available in nine different colours and includes exterior elements such as LED headlamps and fog lamps, a hexagonal grille, roof rails, a roof spoiler, LED rear combination lamps, and a clean side sill to protect one’s clothes even when the car is dirty.

Features of the latest Subaru Forester

Engine and performance
Both Subaru Forester variants feature a horizontally opposed, 4-cylinder, 4-stroke petrol DOHC 16-valve engine with a Lineartronic transmission. This allows the car to go from 0 to 100 in 10.3 seconds, and it is capable of achieving a maximum speed of 193 km/hr.

The SUV has a symmetrical all-wheel drive (AWD), which distributes power equally to all wheels to provide better traction on wet and slippery terrains. Thanks to its layout, this technical system also has a low centre of gravity, ensuring passenger safety.

To offer security on rough roads, the latest Subaru Forester also has a dual-function X-Mode feature, where drivers can choose between SNOW/DIRT and D.SNOW/MUD. Hill Descent Control further adds stability, helping drivers maintain a controlled and constant speed when going downhill on slippery roads.

Fuel economy
The brand has rated the Subaru Forester’s combined fuel consumption at 7.4 lit./100 km and carbon dioxide emissions at 168 g/km.

Interior equipment and technology
Inside the Subaru Forester, passengers get a 4.2-inch full-colour Meter Display that shows all necessary driving information in a consolidated space. The instrument panel is topped by a 6.3-inch LCD multifunction display that is easy to navigate. Notable tech features in the cabin include standard Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity, USB power outlets (in the front and rear), a central console box with an internal power outlet (12V), a seat position memory switch, 8-way power-adjustable driver’s seat, and a power sunroof.

The Subaru Forester has a dual air-conditioning system, allowing passengers to adjust the levels to their preference. In the rear, passengers will find divided seatback pockets, a rear ventilation system, a rear seat centre armrest, side-sill steps, cargo lights, cargo hooks, and one-touch folding switches that make it rather convenient to change the layout of the car.

Cargo
The squared-off design of the Forester in the rear allows it to have a wider opening to the boot space, making it easier for passengers to load and unload large objects. This space can easily hold up to 11 suitcases when the car is at full passenger capacity. Additionally, the rear seats fold in a 60/40 configuration and lie completely flat to make it easier to store long items. With the seats folded down, the car’s cargo space jumps up to hold 23 suitcases — perhaps one of the best cargo volumes in the segment. The Sport variant also has a power rear gate, making it simpler to access the cargo space with a single touch, even with full hands. The inner lock switch controls the locking for all the doors as well as the cargo gate.

Safety and driver assistance
The Subaru Forester offers an optimal driving position and window heights, ensuring proper visibility in all directions and creating a primary layer of safety. Active safety features on the car include hazard avoidance, a vehicle dynamics control system, active torque vectoring, and auto vehicle hold.

That’s not all. The Subaru Forester also has a plethora of advanced safety technologies to prevent accidents. Some of them include the Subaru Rear Vehicle Detection (SRVD), High Beam Assist (HBA), and Steering Responsive Headlights (SRH).

To offer drivers a more pleasant experience, the car is also equipped with a host of driver assistance features. For instance, it has a pre-collision braking system, autonomous emergency steering, adaptive cruise control, lane centring control, and preceding vehicle adaptive steering control. The SUV gets a lead vehicle start alert, pre-collision throttle management, and lane departure prevention as part of the brand’s EyeSight Driver Assist Technology package.

The Subaru Forester 2024 is priced at approximately KES 3,500,000. Note that the price can vary significantly based on one’s location and the trims and add-ons chosen. To find the latest prices and deals on the Subaru Forester, one needs to talk to a broker at their nearest dealership.