by James Hamel

Created on: February 22, 2011   Last Updated: March 20, 2011

The 2011 Subaru Forester is, quite frankly, an SUV that you really don’t expect to be as good as it truly is in real world driving conditions. Its blocky styling and somewhat ancient 4-speed automatic gears don’t elevate your hopes that this SUV will turn out to be anything special.

But it most certainly is, with even the automatic proving to be more than capable of turning this immensely utilitarian SUV into a fun to drive family workhorse. Yes, the 2011 Subaru Forester is fun to drive thanks to the grip afforded by its standard symmetrical all-wheel drive system, tautly geared steering feel and agile handling.

While it may not be a class leader particularly in any one area, the 2011 Subaru Forester 2.5X tested here excelled by being truly above average in all areas. First off, it comes very well equipped starting at $23,495. This price included features like a panoramic sunroof, air conditioning, 17-inch alloy wheels, all-wheel drive, roof rails, power windows, power door locks, keyless entry, 10-way power driver’s seat, Bluetooth, cruise control, AM/FM/CD audio with an auxiliary input jack, cruise control, a tilt/telescoping steering wheel and a 2.5 liter 170 horsepower/170 lb. feet of torque “Boxer” engine.

The horizontally opposed cylinders in the Subaru’s unique “Boxer” engine design are thusly named because the cylinders would look like two boxing gloves moving towards each other if you could look inside the motor when it’s running. This particular motor design is only used by one other manufacturer, Porsche, and is beneficial because it allows the engine to be mounted lower in the engine bay thereby lowering the vehicle’s center of gravity.

The enemy of safe and stable handling in all SUVs is their inherently high center of gravity and the 2011 Subaru Forester is able to fight this problem and offer drivers a car-like driving experience thanks to this special engine design and a terrifically balanced suspension set-up. On a very long road trip along Southern California’s decaying inland empire freeway system, the 2011 Subaru Forester 2.5X proved to be a very soothing and quiet motorway companion.

But then even when pushed at higher than recommended speeds around corners, the 2011 Subaru Forester 2.5X handled it all more like an Acura TSX Wagon than a Honda CR-V. Yet somehow you still get that elevated driving position some SUV buyers absolutely require. The interior, while rather lacking

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