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forester

The Forester was introduced in Japan in 1997 and introduced to US market in 1998. Until the end of the Subaru/General Motors joint venture agreement it was sold in India as a Chevrolet. The Forester is produced at the Gunma Yajima Factory in Japan.

The engine in the 2004 to 2005 Forester XT was identical the the US market's Impreza WRX STi, except for a smaller turbo charger, exhaust and engine management programming. In 2006 the Forester XT was awarded the International Engine of the Year Award. This same engine was also used in the Subaru Impreza WRX, as well as the re-badged Saab 9-2X.

After being named Car and Driver Small SUV of the Year form 2004 through 2006, the Forester won the Holy Grail. - Motortrends 2009 SUV of the Year. While those "in the know" weren't surprised, we did get a chuckle when MotorTrend stated (read the entire article here):

        "So how does a small, quirky, former airplane manufacturer from the Gunma prefecture of Japan finish first among surprise offerings from estblished players and bold moves by newcomers? How does it beat a chest-thumping, head turning mach mobile know as the BMW X6? How, when Ford wraps stylish sheetmetal around a Gulfstream V interior and calls it Flex? How can it win, when Kia serves notice to the entire category with its own body-on-frame, V-8 powered Borrego, and Infiniti conjures up seven-speed transmissions and jaw-dropping bird's-eye-view monitoring systems?" How about because Subaru's rule!!!

Well MotorTrend used a little more finesse, telling its reading of the engineering prowess of Subaru by highlighting:

       "The 2.5XT zips to 60 mph in 7.2 seconds and to the quarter mile in just 15.5...... fast or faster then all but the BMW X6, Lexus LX 570, Toyota Sequioa, and Infiniti FX and EX. It's not just fast, but fuel friendly, too. In that comparison, the Forester 2.5XT logger the best observed and EPA-certified city/highway fuel economy against turbo fours and sinx speeds of Mazda CX-7 and VW Tiguan."

       "While classmates like the Tiguan manage only 56.1/23.8 cubic feet of cargo space behind the front/rear seats, the Forester yields a whopping 63.0/30.8. Similar spatial advantages are seen in the commodious driver and passenger compartments; in our other small-CUV comparison test, the Forester provided the most front/rear headroom and front legroom in a field that included the Honda CR-V, Nissan Rogue, Saturn Vue, and Toyota Rav4."

        "With an undercarriage 8.9 inches above ground, the Forester 2.5XT not only beats everyone of the CUVs, it equals or betters fellow SUV of the Year contenders Honda Pilot, Kia Borrego, and Lexus LX 570 not to mention the  LandRover LR2, Toyota FJ Cruiser 4x2 and Ford Expediation 4x4."