Adventure Ready

The Updated Forester

- Larry Printz

You could easily make snide remarks about the ’19 Subaru Forester—that it’s an ideal car for those who fear foul weather, prize practicality, and don’t care much for speed. There’s nothing wrong with that, except that you’re overlooking those who use their Forester to go skiing, snowboarding, mountain biking, hiking, camping, or kayaking. Either way, Forester buyers get their kicks from what they do, not what they drive. Their car is the ultimate utility knife, which is why Subaru styling has always been the automotive equivalent of an earth shoe.

It also explains why the redesigned fifth-generation ’19 Forester’s roof can hold 700 pounds when parked, good enough to pitch a tent on and hold a couple occupants. And it’s also why the ’19 Forester no longer offers a manual transmission or a 250hp turbocharged engineoption. Few Forester fans opted for them, so the redesigned model doesn’t have them.

Instead, Subaru builds on the traits that attracted more than 1.8 million buyers to the Forester since its inception and now accounts for more than a quarter of the automaker’s U.S. sales.

Built on the new Subaru Global Platform, the ’19 Forester is slightly larger than its predecessor, with a 1.1-inch-longer wheelbase, although overall length has grown less than an inch. This allows for an additional 1.4 inches of rear-seat legroom and a 5-inch-wider rear door opening. Cargo space has grown 1.4 cubic feet from ’18, while the rear tailgate opening measures 51.2 inches, wide enough to fit a ’69 Subaru 360.

You’ll appreciate the added space once you climb inside, but you’ll really appreciate that it’s well-equipped, even on the base model.