2011 Subaru Impreza Wrx Sti Wagon 4-door 2.5l on 2040-cars

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2019 Subaru Forester Long-Term Introduction | Bring us your dogs

A 2019 Subaru Forester is officially entering the Autoblog long-term vehicle fleet. Subaru completely overhauled the Forester for the 2019 model year, so we’ve snagged one to start a year-long test. The new, small Subaru crossover left quite an impression on us when we drove it for the first time. It was much more refined and advanced than before, even if it doesnÂ’t look that different.  For example, the new Forester adopts SubaruÂ’s Global Platform and a new direct-injection 2.5-liter flat-four engine. The interior gets a massive overhaul with a new design, upgraded materials and impressive technology. What does it lose? The turbo. That's right, the 2019 Forester cannot be had with the outgoing model's 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder or any sort of engine upgrade. WeÂ’ll see how much weÂ’re missing the grunt by the time our year is up. What we got Subaru offers the Forester in five different trim levels, and we got the highest of them all: Touring. This means all the tech and luxury goodies are onboard, but it also means a $35,270 base price after the $975 destination charge is tacked on. All-weather floor mats and a rear seatback protector nudged our carÂ’s final price to $35,495. The other tempting trim option was the Sport, but we decided to pass on the slightly ridiculous red-orange accents — our eyes will thank us. Instead, our Subaru exudes class, or at least as much class as a Subaru can, in Horizon Blue Pearl.  As we mentioned, our Forester comes with the naturally aspirated 2.5-liter boxer four-cylinder. It makes a whopping 182 horsepower and 177 pound-feet of torque. At no point does it feel quick, but itÂ’s not painfully slow either. However, weÂ’re afraid to see what might happen with a full load of people and gear on a weekend getaway. Look out for updates on that one.  As for the extras we get with the Touring trim, there are many. Luxuries include LED headlights and foglights, 18-inch alloy wheels, leather interior trim, a 10-way power driverÂ’s seat, heated front and rear seats, dual-zone automatic climate control, navigation and a Harman Kardon audio system. Coolest of all, is SubaruÂ’s Driver Focus system with the infrared camera mounted on the dashboard, only available on the Touring. It watches your face to make sure youÂ’re alert and watching the road ahead, reminding you to look if it detects your inattention. An added benefit to this is facial recognition, allowing driver profiles to be set.

To the end of the world in a Subaru

On a quiet beach in southern Argentina, I stood in awe facing the Desdemona, a massive cargo ship that wrecked ashore in the mid-1980s and has remained untouched for the subsequent 30 years. In the intervening time, Desdemona was not vandalized, nobody broke her down and sold the parts for scrap, and unlike what you'd expect in the United States, no one set up shop to sell memorabilia in addition to a $5-beach entrance fee. This is only one of a thousand gorgeous vistas that make up Patagonia, the southernmost part of South America and, indeed, the end of the world. I was there to drive Subarus along dirt two-track roads and gravel highways on an epic journey from El Calafate to Ushuaia. Subaru would have you believe that this sort of rugged wilderness is the natural habitat for its cars. Whether or not that is a stretch, the Subies proved to be up to the task of trekking Patagonia. But I fully expected that from the get-go. What I didn't expect was how every part of this journey – the cars, the location, the people – would combine to form one of the greatest travel experiences of my life. View 85 Photos The end of the world. Patagonia is gorgeous, vast, brilliant. And those words don't even really do it justice. The plains, the lakes, the mountains, the forests all feel like every color is more vibrant, every detail is sharper. It's like looking at the world through an Instagram feed, and then realizing that every photo has the "no filter" hashtag. The journey started on Valentine's Day, with senior video producer Chris McGraw and I flying to Atlanta, followed by a 12-hour flight to Buenos Aires. That's where we met the rest of the group, and spent a day relaxing and exploring the Argentine streets and shops. "It's like looking at the world through an Instagram feed, and then realizing that every photo has the 'no filter' hashtag." But we still weren't at our start point. From Buenos Aires, we hopped a flight to El Calafate, about 1,500 miles southwest. It's a common entrance point to Patagonia for tourists and explorers because of its proximity to the Perito Moreno Glacier, a stunning site we visited the next day. Watch our earlier update video to see more about the glacier – an ice formation three times the size of Manhattan (and growing!). If Patagonia is on your bucket list of vacation destinations, this glacier is a mandatory stop. There's a boardwalk that runs along the lakes, leading right up to the face of the glacier.

Subaru is America's third most off-roaded brand

When you think of iconic off-road brands, where does Subaru fall on your radar? Somewhere in the middle? Perhaps near the bottom? Don't worry, you're not alone. Until recently spending some time in Bend, OR, where we drove the all-new 2015 Subaru Outback, we never really pegged the Japanese automaker to be a highly lauded brand among off-road enthusiasts, despite many of the company's products actually being quite capable when the going gets rough.
But the data says we're wrong. According to a 2013 J.D. Power study, Subaru vehicles have some of the highest use off road compared to other brands - of course "off road" here just means anything not on a paved road, so even gravel trails and tame two-tracks count in these statistics. Nearly 29.5 percent of its cars are used on trails and dirt roads, with only the Ram and Jeep brands besting that statistic, at 30.2 and 31.0 percent, respectively. Said another way, Subaru sold 424,683 vehicles in the US in 2013, meaning that some 125,281 saw off-road use. Mainstream brands like GMC, Ford and Chevrolet all trail Subaru, and even Land Rover comes in at less than 20 percent.
Some 34.7 percent of Outbacks are taken off paved roads, according to J.D. Power data.