Test: 2011 Subaru Forester S-Edition

THE S-Edition shapes up as the fruit of a one-night stand between a Forester and Subaru’s performance arm, STI.
It gets a massaged turbocharged engine and STI-inspired extras inside and out but retains the practicality and spacious cabin that have fortified Forester through a barrage of attacks by newcomers.

VALUE: Sleeping with STI isn’t cheap. The Forester S-Edition is based on the XT Premium model but costs $5500 more because of the more highly tuned engine, the five-speed automatic transmission (why don’t all Subaru Imprezas get this?), a leather and Alcantara mix for the upholstery and a few other bits and bobs.
Pretty much everything else is from the XT Premium’s goodies list, such as the huge sunroof, leather trim and top-notch radio/sat-nav system.
But while it is comparative in price to similarly equipped rivals, the Forester doesn’t look as stylish and the $50,990 doesn’t translate into metal.

DESIGN: This is where it all goes a bit wonky.
The Forester is a very practical wagon that isn’t made in Germany only because Subaru created the shape first.
It is based on the time-old line drawing of two boxes — one big, one small — backed into each other and while some of us admire the pragmatic sketch, it’s not stylish.
It has also been around for a while. Against the Volkswagen Tiguan, Kia Sportage and Hyundai ix35, for example, it’s dated. Effective, but dated.
That aside, it has a lot of clever family-friendly features. I love the flexibility of the cabin — there are flip-up cup-holders in the rear-seat cushion, remote levers for lowering the back seat, and the back seats are higher than the front so that kids have a clear view out of the side windows.

TECHNOLOGY: STI has either breathed more mumbo into the 2.5-litre turbo petrol from the XT Premium or detuned the WRX engine. Regardless, it’s the hottest box on the Subaru block with 193kW/347Nm, a jump from the XT’s 169kW/320Nm.
However, its fuel consumption is identical, averaging 10.5L/100km.
The best news is the five-speed automatic from the Liberty. This is the only Forester with this box and Subaru goes the extra distance by equipping the S-Edition with paddle shifters on the steering wheel column. Cool.
The rest is constant all-wheel drive, MacPherson struts at the front and double wishbones at the back.
The S-Edition tightens up the screws in the suspension for flatter cornering and this means it misses out on the self-levelling rear end that is a feature of its siblings.

SAFETY: Five-star crash rating, electronic stability control, six airbags and lots more little nanny aids in the electronics all make this one safe little truck.
The high seat is arguably a potential safety feature, as is the full-size spare tyre.

DRIVING: This was driven back-to-back with the normally aspirated 2.5-litre XS model with the four-speed auto. It’s pointless talking about which I prefer.
The S-Edition has a delightful linear bottom end that gets a kick about 3200rpm as the turbo becomes fully awake.
It is, in fact, two engines. Drive it smoothly and you will get decent economy and no ugly photographs in the mail of you in the car.
Give it a boot and it raises its head and really gets going.
The bonus here is for overtaking, as in the country when passing a truck, for example. Not on the freeway.
It is a nice drive but it is no WRX. Part of the problem is it feels as if it is on stilts — which it is in comparison with the WRX — and there is some nervous jiggling and hints of some vagueness in the suspension and steering when the power is applied.
Personally, I’m not confident about pushing this anywhere near as fast into a corner as a WRX.
That is not the aim. It is just a quick wagon in the same mould as the Mazda CX-7 turbo and some much more expensive Euro-wagons.

VERDICT: There is no doubt this is a lot of fun. The auto is superb and makes it an easy drive in the city. It’s roomy, comfortable and well equipped but you have to ask yourself if there is value here, particularly when there is the less powerful and only four-cog auto version in the XT Premium. Perhaps the S-Edition is for the WRX owner who just wants a bit of comfort. Or room for the kids.

specs
Subaru Forester S-Edition
Star: 3.5/5
PRICE: $50,990

verdict
WE LOVE: Practicality, performance, space
WE LOATHE: Hard plastic trim, dated styling