Subaru Forester 2.0 Litre Diesel Review

I finally got around to buying a new car this week. The first time in along while I have felt the desire for a new car, but after a couple of recent near-misses I decided I would be more comfortable with my wife driving a newer car than the 11 year old Peugeot 106S we have been driving. I will continue to use that, but have just bought a 2010/11 Subaru Forester 2.0 liter boxer diesel.

I understand the US market does not get the diesel engine, but with diesel fuel 25 centimes (35 cents US) a litre cheaper than petrol in France, it would be almost insane not to buy a diesel engine. A six speed close-ratio manual transmission coupled with permanent symmetrical all-wheel drive featuring a viscous limited-slip differential manages to give astounding fuel economy of around 45 miles to a gallon of fuel in mixed conditions.

I have never owned a diesel engine before, but so far I am extremely impressed. It does rattle a little compared to a petrol engine, but this is more than made up for by the fact that it starts making maximum torque at 1800 rpm and really ticks along with very little effort. It does take some getting used to as I am used to thrashing petrol engines, but you really need to be shifting gear at around 3000 revs to get the best from this engine.

Maximum power is reached at 3600 revs, so driving it to get the best out of it compared to the Peugeot means rethinking when to change gear quite drastically. Plus of course, it has 6 gears. It is not a sports car, but manages a respectable 0-60 mph in under 10 seconds, and will do a top speed of 116 mph - more than fast enough for a car of this shape.

After a few days, I have had to drastically change my tune about diesel engines. The first time I drove one back in the 1980s I swore I would never buy one, but this thing is incredible. Subaru have come out with the first boxer diesel, which - if you are not technically inclined, means the pistons in the engine go side to side instead of up and down, which means the center of gravity of the engine, and thus the car is shifted downwards, making for excellent stability and road holding. So not only does it hit max torque very early and - thanks to its free revving abilities, max power a few nanoseconds later, it handles like a dream. So far, one of the best handling cars I have driven, and I am looking forward to trying it in bad weather. I imagine the Subaru Imprezza WRX is even better handling. I gather it is called all wheel drive instead of four wheel drive as it is permanent.

All in all - I like it so far. It is well built, although a little plasticky inside, but the dashboard is uncluttered and simple. There is loads of room, both for passengers and storage, the paint work is high quality, the seats are comfortable, even for a big guy like me, and the overall look is nice and clean. Visibility is excellent, and the wing mirrors are bigger than my head. I have taken a few photos using my Olympus EP2 camera and you can see a larger version by clicking on the photo.

Definitely recommended after a few days, and if it is as long lived as I have heard about Subarus, we will be running this for many years to come.Used Subarus seem to hold their value reasonably well, and the stupid discount I got from the government incentives made this a pretty good buy. As self employed freelancer, I got a 12% up-front discount and I can reclaim the VAT (TVA) because I leased it as a business expense - another 19.6%. Hard to refuse when a two year old one was offered at a 20% reduction.

The actual model we chose was the 2.0D XS Nav plus, which has an insanely complicated Sat Nav system fitted. Main reason I bought that is an attempt to keep my driving license in shape as the French are adopting the speed camera approach to over-taxing their citizens, the same as the UK has been doing for years and the Pioneer sat nav warns of approaching speed cameras.

I will do a more in-depth review after a few months running it. So far - so good.