2018 Subaru Forester Performance

The Forester's performance is comparable to that of a Golden Retriever and a German Shepherd. The 2018 Forester offers two engines: the base 2.5-liter flat-four that will happily putter along, just like a good 'ol Goldie, and a potent turbocharged unit that brings out Shepherd's growl. In either guise, the Forester lives happily in the suburbs, on the open road or on the trails and has enough grunt to get the job done. The turbo will be best suited to high altitude driving, as the 2.5 flat-four tends to run out of breath. Seven seconds is the magic 0-60 mph number, as the turbocharged Forester XT manages to just undercut that number from a standstill.

The 2018 Subaru Forester is powered by either a naturally aspirated 2.5-liter flat-four, that pushes out a mild 170 hp and 174 lb-ft of torque and, despite the growing shift towards smaller turbocharged units, serves the Forester well as a base powertrain. What the engine lacks in outright performance, it makes up for with a predictable powerband and a good balance between in-town tractability and lowdown grunt for the dirty stuff. The 2.0-liter turbo motor is a winner, and with 250 hp and 258 lb-ft on tap, it turns the Forester into one of the quickest soccer-kid delivery systems on the market. Interestingly, the Forester's turbo-four delivers 18 hp less than the WRX at the same RPM range, but both deliver the same torque figures. The turbocharged Forester will do a 0-60 mph time of just under seven seconds, and with the magic of modern flash tuning, you can be guaranteed to see some on the road that will embarrass its big brother the STI.

The 2.5-liter flat-fours come with a 6-speed manual as standard, and the Lineartronic CVT (Continuously Variable Transmission) is available higher up in the range. The CVT continuously adjusts gear ratios which means there is no loss of momentum. It does a good job of mimicking a traditional auto in terms of replicating shift points. The gearbox helps the Forester stay within the optimal rev range for whatever situation you find yourself in, meaning the fuel consumption stays as low as possible; an important factor in a car with permanent AWD.

Subaru claims a figure of 22/28/25 mpg city/highway/combined for the manual 2.5 flat-four engine and 26/32/29 for the CVT auto. The 2.0-liter turbo returns figures of 23/27/25 mpg. Keep in mind that the Forester has to spin all four wheels on a permanent basis. The CVT auto gearbox truly shines in this department because it keeps the engine running in the optimal rev range, meaning the engine doesn't have to burn any fuel unnecessarily. Fuel economy is on par with its class: the Ford Escape's base model features the same size base engine that produces 168 hp and 170 lb-ft of torque and returns numbers of 21/29/25 mpg when power is sent to the front wheels (all-wheel drive is not available on the base engine). The Escape's 2.0-liter turbocharged I-4 engine pushes out 245 hp and 275 lb-ft and in all-wheel-drive spec chugs down 20/27/23 mpg. The Ford Escape makes use of a six-speed automatic across the board.