QUESTIONS OF ECO-FORESTRY (some text hidden) --NONE--

By Jonathan Crouch

Introductionword count: 104

Boxer engines and Subaru have been inseparable for most of this Japanese brand's life. In recent years though, some have begun to question whether this flat four format really has a place in the industry's largely electrified future. In 2019, Subaru wanted to assure us that it did, hence the full-hybrid e-Boxer petrol unit fitted to this fifth generation Forester. This 'SK'-series model also got a much stiffer platform, a considerably classier cabin and even more capable off road ability via its Symmetrical 4WD system and X-Mode drive settings. But you'll still need to be very much a Subaru loyalist to really like it.

Modelsword count: 6

5dr SUV (2.0 petrol [standard, Premium])

Historyword count: 533

Wouldn't it be nice to find a properly capable mid-sized family SUV? A car that could walk the walk as well as talking the talk? A car like this one, Subaru's fifth generation Forester, which in 2019 was enhanced with an e-Boxer mild hybrid petrol powertrain. Everything about this design seems to be nicely balanced, from the shape and positioning of its freshly electrified Boxer engine to the shape and positioning of its intended clientele. People who want something fashionable, but don't need to make a fashion statement. People who want something tough and rugged, but don't need to tackle the Rubicon Trail. Subaru hoped that the smarter styling inside and out would go down as well as the Symmetrical All-Wheel-Drive system and the symmetrical off road technology. In this MK5 form, this Forester is very much a mid-sized SUV, but in its first two generations of life, this model was simply an AWD estate, albeit a very capable one. The first generation 'SF'-series car of 1997 and its successor, the 'SG'-series model of 2002, satisfied the kind of market Subaru has long also catered to with its Outback station wagon. Perhaps wary of continued duplication alongside that car, the Japanese maker gave the Forester more of a raised Crossover vibe in its third generation 'SH' form of 2008, a theme further developed with the fourth generation 'SJ'-series version of 2012, which was usefully updated three years later. This MK5 'SK'-series model though, launched in late 2019, offered the most fundamental change in Forester design we'd seen yet. The key thing Subaru wanted to talk about at launch was the fact that this car, like their smaller XV Crossover, had installed a proper full-Hybrid version of the brand's classic flat four Boxer petrol powerplant, this engine designated the 'e-Boxer'. Just as significant was the news that this fifth generation Forester was the third of the company's modern-era models to sit on its 'Subaru Global Platform' - a chassis we had first seen back in 2016 underpinning the MK5 version of its Impreza family hatch, then subsequently also in the second generation version of its XV small SUV. That chassis made this car stronger and more sophisticated, most notably in the way the floorplan could now accommodate the company's advanced 'Eyesight' driver assist technology. What didn't change though, was the way that customers bought a Forester for what could do, not for what it might say about them. Talk to almost any former owner and they'll tell you of times when they cruised past other similar vehicles that came unstuck when the going got tough. They'll tell you that nothing ever fell off. That nothing ever went wrong. And that nothing would persuade them to buy anything else. All of which would be great for Subaru's UK importers if there were a lot of these kinds of people. But there aren't, so this 'SK'-series model needed to satisfy the brand loyalists while also reaching a wider audience - people who perhaps might never have owned a Subaru before. There was a light facelift in 2022, then this car sold in this form until early 2025, when it was replaced by an all-new MK6 model.

What You Getword count: 428

Subaru wanted this car to sell alongside sleek, premium-badged upper-mid-sized SUVs and with that aim in mind re-styled this fifth generation 'SK'-series Forester model to look a little less chunky and utilitarian. Yet it's still clearly a car that'd be as at home on the lower slopes of Ben Nevis as it would be in Belgravia. Loyal owners wouldn't want anything less. The cabin's certainly a great deal smarter than anything we'd seen previously in this model line, though it still doesn't quite bring to mind premium brand standards of quality. The key changes made here over the previous generation model lie on the centre stack, where the vents were re-positioned either side of an infotainment screen that grew in size to 8-inches. This monitor gained a far classier user interface and incorporated smartphone mirroring for 'Apple CarPlay' and 'Android Auto'. Other manufacturers would also build the various vehicle informational functions you'll need into such a monitor, but Subaru continued to prefer to separate these into a separate smaller colour screen at the top of the centre stack. Anything that both these main monitors can't tell you will probably be covered off by the further screen that sits between the two clear instrument dials that you view through a tactile three-spoke multi-function steering wheel. The front seats aren't particularly high-set, but there's not much wrong with the design ergonomics and with this MK5 design, there was a bit more elbow space up-front, thanks to an extra 20mm of width between the seats. A clever touch is a facial recognition system that can automatically set seat position, door mirror angle, display screen content and air conditioning settings to your preferences as you get in. In the rear seat, this feels like a slightly larger SUV in MK5 form, mainly because this MK5 model's longer wheelbase separated front and rear passengers by a further 30mm, so there's a little more space for legs and knees, helped by scalloped front seat backs and front chairs you can comfortably slide your feet beneath. This 'SK'-series model's extra body width also made it a little easier to fit three adults across the rear bench, something aided by the relatively low height of this central transmission tunnel. Let's finish by considering luggage capacity, accessed via a rear hatch that on the top 'Premium' variant is power-operated. Boot space compared to the MK4 model rose by just 15-litres to a 520-litre total, this figure no doubt compromised a little by the need to site the e-Boxer Hybrid system's lithium-ion battery beneath this cargo area floor.

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