2018 Subaru Forester Interior and Cargo

The 2018 Forester is layered in soft touch plastics and metallic trim, all treated to a matte effect that plays into the Forester's earthy and robust feel. The standard trim cloth seats feel durable and should last as long as the rest of the car. Touring spec cars get sumptuous Saddle Brown perforated leather with contrasting stitching. Other leather color options include Touring Black

Leather, Platinum Leather, and Black Leather. The Forester 2.0XT Premium comes with Black or Platinum Cloth and sport bolsters.

One of the Forester's biggest selling points is its ability to carry a lot of stuff, and for 2018, Subaru has made sure that you can fit your entire Sunday social mountain biking crew in the back. Talking about mountain bikes, the Forester comes standard with a set of roof rails that technically increase cargo space by a lot (there's a ton of optional roof accessories on offer). Thanks to a square design, the rear cargo area is easily accessible and the space on offer is at the top of the compact crossover class. The rear seats fold down at the touch of a button, creating a completely flat loading space that can swallow more things than a Mazda CX-5 or Toyota's RAV4, but is outmatched by Honda's CR-V.

For 2018 the Forester tries to push key tech features such as its EyeSight active safety package, now standard on Touring models. Self-dimming headlamps and reverse automatic braking also feature. Touring models also get blind-spot monitors and rear cross-traffic alerts. Optional extras such as a tilt/slide moonroof and an upgraded audio system help the Forester feel reasonably fresh in a market awash with fresh technology and flashy interior specs.

In-car entertainment is handled by Subaru's Starlink infotainment system that has been praised for its ease of use and especially in the fluid manner it allows users to switch between menus. The base model gets a 6.2-inch screen that includes Pandora, iHeartRadio, Stitcher and Aha, smartphone app integration, a high-resolution LCD touchscreen display, 4 speakers, AM/ FM/CD player, HD Radio with iTunes tagging capability, USB port/iPod control, Bluetooth audio streaming and hands-free phone connectivity, and 3.5-mm auxiliary jack. The Premium and above get a larger 7-inch screen, while the Touring models push audio frequencies through a Harman Kardon eight-speaker system.