Subaru Forester : Soccer Moms Delight!
Tags: Subaru, Forester
Okay, so when you think soccer mom, you might not automatically think “Subaru Forester”, but you might be wrong. The Subaru Forester could very well be the most popular small SUV choice for moderately earth-conscious, safety-obsessed soccer moms. I speak from experience. It’s not like my 4-month-old daughter is really playing soccer yet, but I have plans! So, not only am I a newly reformed hater of station wagons and all overtly “family-oriented” vehicles, I am a Subaru Forester-loving new mom who thoroughly enjoys the grisly tales of accidents averted and survived told by Subaru sales folks everywhere. During my Subaru orientation this past winter, I was unable to take my eyes off the photos of the Subaru Forester that had rolled 4 times, but still didn’t have any frame damage. And I was even more in awe of the pictures of the Subaru Forester that had been hit head on by a Chevy pickup truck, its front end crumpled like an accordion - but by less than a foot - its owner having survived with only a broken foot. And then I found out that the 2006 model now has break-away pedals, which might have prevented this woman’s broken foot, but hey, in the scheme of things, a broken foot is not such a bad deal when you’ve gone up against a half-ton pickup truck!
So, that’s all the girlie information about the Subaru Forrester (for now); let’s get down to the some of the nitty gritty. The Forester comes with a 2.5 liter engine, standard, which is accompanied by 173 horses. You also can get a turbo charged version that provides 230 horses for those times that you cannot get the kids to school or activities fast enough. Not bad for a kid-toting, dog-toting, over-the-hills-and-through-the-woods-to-grandmother’s-house-we-go car, eh? All models also come with full-time all-wheel drive, which is nice if you’re living in the colder parts of the country and have to deal with snow, but it’s also nice if you live in the southern parts of the country that are prone to flash flooding. And, speaking of safety, the Forester has excellent crash-test ratings in front and side impact.
Things you might not want to do with your Forester - just in case you are hoping to tow more than the kids’ stuff, the dogs, and the camping gear, keep in mind that the Forester towing capacity is 2400 lb with manual transmission and 2000 lb with automatic transmission. Also, as tempting as it is to take the kids and the dogs off roading, the Forester is not a serious SUV and does not have the clearance or suspension required to go bouncing through the wild. If your heart is set on either one of these activities, you might want to check out a more SUV-y SUV.