Will Forester chop Cayenne to size?
Subaru's Forester wants Porsche’s performance SUV crown! We predict that when it is launched, the 224 kW Scooby wagon will sprint from zero to 100 km/h in less than six seconds.
When CAR Magazine tested the Forester 2,5 Turbo in October last year, its performance surprised everyone. Here was a SUV that accelerated faster than a whole bunch of exotic machinery, Alfa 156 GTA, BMW 330i and Mercedes ML55 AMG included. Now Subaru is looking to make its acclaimed SUV go even faster.
The Forester STi will be launched in Japan at the end of February. To distinguish the fire-breathing newcomer from lesser siblings, it gets several of the iconic Impreza STi's styling bits, such as the colossal air scoop on the bonnet and pink STi badges. It will also feature dramatic 18-inch wheels, but, thankfully perhaps, not gold painted ones. The interior gets a slight lift, with, amongst other things, Recaro seats.
The Forester uses the Japanese company's boosted 2,5-litre flat-four, tuned to develop 29 kW more than the South Africa-spec Impreza STi. Performance should therefore be blistering at the very least. To cope with the extra power, the SUV has been equipped with the Impreza's uprated braking system.