Finally, I entered an area of the track where an obstacle course was set up with cement blocks to drive over. The Forester boasts an impressive 7.5-inches of ground clearance. Blocks of wood and other rough materials had been thrown down for us to drive on. The ride was surprisingly comfortable, a benefit of the Forester's upgraded suspension.
Following the track time, we took a 100-mile-long drive through the Talladega National Forest and the motorways surrounding the Birmingham area. Here, I found this crossover vehicle conjured up its passenger car roots and, thanks to its four-wheel independent suspension, gave a pleasant and responsive ride. Pluses were the all-new struts that help reduce noise, vibration, harshness, or NVH. Equal-length axle shafts help eliminate torque steer (when the steering pulls slightly to one side under power). Variable Gear Ratio rack-and-pinion steering means increased responsiveness, and a turning circle of 34.8 feet.
While offering sophisticated AWD and a bigger four-cylinder than most in the segment, the Forester also offers decent fuel economy; it gets 21 mpg in city driving, 27 mpg on the highway with the manual transmission, and the automatic transmission's economy is as good in both categories, at 21/26 city/highway.
As mentioned, manual transmissions come with Subaru's Continuous All-Wheel Drive, which employs a viscous coupling center differential that divides engine power 50/50 between the front and rear tires. That balance of power shifts to the front or rear tires when the system detects wheel slip, usually in wet or icy conditions.
Automatic transmissions come with Subaru's Active All-Wheel Drive, which employs a variable transfer clutch that is controlled electronically to deliver power where it is needed under slippage. The Active system also uses sensors to determine where the vehicle weight is transferred, delivering more power to the rear wheels under hard acceleration, for example, to eliminate front wheelspin.
Subaru has revived its Hill Holder clutch for easier starting on an incline for all manual transmission models. This unique and nifty feature is engaged when applying the brake and depressing the clutch on a hill. Release the brake while keeping the clutch fully depressed and it holds the car in place while you move your foot from the brake to the throttle.
The 2003 Subaru Forester has been greatly improved over last year's model, which was a capable, versatile vehicle. Neither the sexiest nor the most functional car on the dealer lot, the Forester matches Subaru engineering with the best features of the economy car, wagon, and SUV to make a vehicle that has the best of all worlds, but belongs to none. We appreciated the Premium Package with its leather interior trim and moonroof.
