2004 Subaru Forester Interior Review at Automotive.com
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Subaru
Forester
2004

2004 Subaru Forester Review: Interior

Below is a full, detailed 2004 Subaru Forester review and road test from New Car Test Drive. A full evaluation of price, equipment, the driving experience, and specs are all here in a structured, easy-to-navigate format from journalists with limitless ...     read more
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2004 Subaru Forester Review

Recently redesigned, now with a turbo option.
Interior
The seating position is high despite the fact that the Forester isn't a tall vehicle. This is nice, in the non-SUV department. The optional leather interior looks and feels stylish, and, not surprisingly, the instrument panel and controls are well and efficiently designed, using what Subaru calls a motorcycle-style instrument cluster. The driver's seat is highly adjustable and provides good bolstering, while the adjustable steering wheel has excellent range. The driver is afforded panoramic visibility from the big windshield, big side glass, and thin A-pillars. A wide rearview mirror and big outside mirrors provide a good view rearward. The wiper blades are designed to sweep a large area of the windshield clean.

Rear-seat passengers get good head and leg room. The Forester has great cargo capacity for its size, and lowering the 60/40 split rear seat doubles that capacity from 32 to 64 cubic feet.

The Forester works for a wide range of people, and when you consider all the airbag and seatbelt tricks, it keeps them all safe. It earned the highest possible ratings for crashworthiness in 40-mph frontal and 30-mph side impact crash tests by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, the only small SUV to earn that rating in both tests.

The interior materials are nice, though the top of the dash looks like plastic. Three big HVAC knobs make it easy to adjust the temperature. The audio controls are on the fussy side, however, and the stereo sounds tinny.

Standard features include remote keyless entry, good storage space in the console, a separate storage compartment for the front passenger seat, dual visor vanity mirrors with lids, dual sunglasses storage compartments, illuminated window switches, rear window de-icer, remote release fuel door, two 12-volt outlets located in the front cabin and the cargo area, tie-downs for gear and groceries, power windows and locks, and finally a full-size spare tire. Next Page


2004 Subaru Forester