The third generation Subaru Forester is the king of the compact sports utility vehicles, according to South Africa’s biggest motoring title, Car magazine.

Subaru Forester is rated highly

In the publication’s October issue a seven-way comparative test of the segment’s leading lights saw the Subaru Forester 2.5 XS see off a stiff challenge, the editors concluding that: “The Subaru Forester did not achieve an outright victory in any particular category, yet was consistently near the top…that shows a hard-fought and surprising victory for the underdog, Subaru’s Forester.”

The test team praised the Subaru Forester for its ride quality, spacious cabin, best-in-class ground clearance, low-down torque and keen pricing. They also concluded that the well-proven mechanicals should give it the same bullet-proof reliability as its predecessor.

“We’re pleased that the new Forester seems to have continued where the previous model left off,” commented Grant Bowring, Subaru Southern Africa’s Brand Manager. “What makes it even more meaningful is that virtually every challenger represented recently-launched offerings from our rivals, so the Forester was truly pitted against the very best and still came out tops.”

The Subaru Forester has become a perennial favourite with the Car team, the second generation version having been chosen as the best compact SUV in the magazine’s annual Top Twelve awards five times in the last six years and was the runner-up in the year it didn’t win.

So while the latest Subaru Forester version clearly has a hard act to follow, it seems to be off to the best possible start.