The front doors have a nice elbow rest and large pockets each with a recess for 24-ounce bottles. The aluminum pedals on the XT are cool.
The air conditioning cools well, fast and quiet.
Following Subaru's design goals, the new 2009 Forester most needed rear-seat legroom and cargo space. The rear 60/40 seats fold flat to make a nice cargo area, widened by 5.2 inches between the wheelhouses thanks to a new double-wishbone rear suspension. The relatively gigantic cargo area will definitely appeal to active outdoors enthusiasts with lost of stuff. The specs are 33.5 cubic feet with the rear seat up, 68.3 with the seats flat.
Driver visibility is excellent in all directions, thanks to careful pillar design. Subaru staged a demonstration for us, placing a cutout of a kid behind the Forester and a Toyota RAV4. The Forester driver could see the kid in his rearview mirror at seven feet, but in the RAV4 the kid was lost in a low blind spot for 23 feet.
The rear seat reclines in all but the 2.5X base model, and includes a retractable center tray with fixed drink holders. Legroom is excellent, increased by 4.3 inches, on a wheelbase increase of 3.6 inches; and there's a couple inches more shoulder room, as well. The front door is wider than before, and the rear doors now swing open 75 degrees, making it easy to get in and out.
There's a lot of headroom, a whopping four inches more on the 2009 model over 2008; there's a bit less with the panoramic moonroof, but it feels like more because it's the sky that's over your head. There's headroom even when you jack the height-adjustable driver's seat to the top.
The new rear suspension is quieter, and other noise/vibration areas were refined.
We didn't get along with the navigation system, which comes in a unit with a single-disc CD replacing the standard six-disc CD (it's a space issue). In the daytime it's hard to read with sunglasses, because there's a lack of contrast; once, we even had to remove our sunglasses and close the sunroof, to read the map. It made at least one wild error on Southern California freeways. An awful male British voice seems to tell you to do everything three times, but usually not at the right time. It's impatient at stop lights, insisting you turn while you're waiting for the green arrow. It might take you a while to figure out what "Way Point" means, if you haven't been to London or can't remember even if you have. (Hint: you sometimes stop at a Way Point on your Way Out.) Next Page