In my opinion, the best verdict you can give any car is whether at the end of the test drive, you’re actually willing to sign your soul for one.  With the amount of cars I’ve driven so far, there is usually a fault or two that will make me re-think whether this car’s such a good purchase or not.  Be it the design of the smoothness of the engine or the design of the cup holder, there is always an excuse to say: this isn’t perfect; let’s move on to the next one.  When I got the chance to take the Subaru Forester 2.5XT home, my frame of mind was no different.  But no matter how hard I try, it’s very hard to fault this car.

What turned me on immediately is the Forester’s single-minded focus in design and execution.  Instead of using a modest front-wheel driven sedan as its platform, Subaru engineers fitted something extra-special: the Impreza WRX.  You heard that right; the same Initial D beating, WRC-winning all-wheel drive machine formed the basis of the Forester.  In other words, the Forester was designed from the ground up to be a highly capable all-wheel drive powerhouse.  Needless to say, they slotted in the same 230 horsepower 2.5-liter flat-4 under the aluminum hood.

In the flesh, the Forester looks taut and butch, with just the careful amount of lines and curves to make it well-proportioned.  Although based on the model launched in 2002, it was re-skinned to carry modern touches such as the new headlamps, bumpers and the chromed grille.  Currently, there are two variants of the Forester available; both with all-wheel drive.  The only way to tell the difference visually, aside from the wheel size, is the muscular gaping turbo hood scoop on the 2.5XT.

Ingress and egress is great with the Forester’s raised hip point.  Once inside, you’ll be greeted with a logical cabin that’s fitted with the best materials found in a compact SUV.  Overall, the build quality is hard to fault with great soft, feel plastics throughout and great supportive seats.  The perforated seats may look normal, but they’re actually treated to make them water repellant.  The only minor quip I had was that some interior trim reminded me too much of the Chevrolet Optra (Subaru was after all, once owned by General Motors).

Based on the Mk. II Forester launched way back in 2002, the Forester XT receives a new front facia as well as a redesigned rear. It looks much prettier in person.

You can tell the turbocharged Forester 2.5XT from its normally aspirated 2.0X brother by the large turbo hood scoop, large diameter exhaust tip and 17" alloy wheels.