Used 2011 Subaru Forester 2.5XT Touring Crossover SUV Review & Ratings

Based on Subaru's rally winning Impreza platform, the Subaru Forester 2.5X Touring Crossover SUV shares the standard Subaru all wheel drive (AWD) system. Subaru's concept with the Forester from the day it was launched almost fifteen years ago was to find the ideal combination between a crossover sports utility vehicle (SUV) and a normal family station wagon, although quite a bit larger. With the Forester they succeeded in doing so whilst maintaining smooth and comfortable ride conditions and outstanding handling either in on or off road situations.

As soon as the first series Foresters hit the dealerships, early reviews showed that with the Forester, Subaru had hit a winning formula. The early Foresters came with Subaru's standard 2.5-liter, 165-hp flat-4 engine, which by no coincidence, was the most powerful that could be found in any crossover mini-SUV of the first ten years of the 21st century. Add that to the highest standard of interior comfort for which Subaru were renowned, internal capacity that rivaled that of a much larger jeep, and safety statistics that earned impressive reviews, it was little wonder that the Subaru Forester clamed a very wide segment of the market, leaving its principal competitors, the Toyota RAV 4 and Honda CR-V well behind

Series two of the Forester, launched half way through the "Noughties", continued to impress, although Subaru made very few changes and most of these were cosmetic. . Despite that, general reviews for the model continued to be only positive, and sales and demand never seemed to slack, although there were increasing undertones in car review magazines and web sites that the Subaru Forester was beginning to earn a reputation as ever so slightly behind the times, as far as looks were concerned.

In terms of functionability, if there were any complaints about the first two series' of the Subaru Forester was that the vehicle's low ground clearance could present a problem on even the slightest of off road conditions.

With the launch of their series three model Foresters, launched in late 2011, Subaru have done a lot to answer the critics, particularly the significant being powering the Forester with their new FB engine design, the first Subaru model to have earned that distinction. Considerably more powerful than the engine used in previous versions, the Subaru Forester 2.5X Touring Crossover SUV is powered by a 2.5 liter double overhead camshaft FB25 engine.

The first engine to be launched by Subaru in almost a quarter of a century, the company is convinced that the FB 25 is worth the wait. Company reviews state that fuel economy has been improved significantly due to the engine's capability of operating at maximum efficiency with a considerably higher torque and reduced rpms.