Subaru Forester 2.0D Xsn review

1. Introduction

Since its launch in April 2008, the new Subaru Forester doesn’t appear to have made a particularly huge impression on the 4x4 industry. It’s come at a bad time of course, but while most people would be willing to go along with its transition from an off-roader-estate to a fully-fledged SUV – especially given its new found levels of practicality – when it comes to on-road abilities the standard 2.0-litre petrol unit’s average output leaves its performance feeling rather watery and somewhat unsatisfying.
All that may have changed though, as the first ever diesel powered version went on sale in December 2008 and as customers of the compact SUV sector largely tend to concern themselves with oil-burners, this is surely Subaru’s best opportunity to present the vehicle as a viable alternative to the Honda CR-V, RAV4 and Freelander.

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