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2019 Subaru Forester Buyer's Guide | What you need to know about this crossover

The 2019 Subaru Forester is its fifth generation. The popular crossover is Subaru's second-best-selling model in 2017 after the Outback, and it received subtle updates, a more rugged appearance and some new technology for the new model year. It's built on Subaru's new Global Platform, with a 1.2-inch longer wheelbase for a smoother ride and 1.4 more inches of rear legroom. There are new, more comfortable seats in front, a wider tailgate opening, more cargo room and standard EyeSight driver-assist technology and Starlink infotainment package, including Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatibility. Five trim levels are offered: Base, Premium, Limited, Touring and a new Sport model. All models share a CVT as the only transmission option, and the latter two are offered with a manual mode and steering wheel-mounted paddle shifters. With this buyer's guide, Autoblog aims to help you make an educated decision about whether to buy the 2019 Subaru Forester. We'll include safety and reliability ratings, engine specs and horsepower, fuel economy ratings and pricing. We'll also summarize what Autoblog's professional reviewers think of the Forester. Is the 2019 Subaru Forester safe? The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration had yet to rate the 2019 Forester as of this publication, but it gave the 2018 version an overall five-star rating, its highest possible. It gave it four stars for frontal crash protection, five stars for side crashes and four stars in its rollover crash tests. Likewise, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety hasn't evaluated the 2019 model, but it has named the Forester a Top Safety Pick for 12 consecutive years going back to 2007. That's despite the 2018 Forester earning a "marginal" rating for passenger-side small front overlap crash protection, which replicates a crash impacting a vehicle's front corner at 40 miles per hour. It earned "good" ratings in every other crash-test metric, and a "superior" rating for front crash prevention, when equipped with the EyeSight driver assist technology. The latter comes standard on the 2019 model. We'll update this once ratings are updated, but we encourage you to visit the NHTSA and IIHS websites to review ratings on the specific vehicle you're researching. Is the 2019 Subaru Forester reliable? Subarus are generally known for their reliability and longevity, and indeed, the company cites IHS Markit data that shows 97 percent of all Foresters sold in the past 10 years are still on the road.

Subaru's first hybrid drawing close

In 2011 Subaru parent company Fuji Heavy Industries confirmed that a hybrid Subaru would debut this year. Ever since, there's been speculation about what kind of technology the gasoline-electric hybrid would use - Subaru's own or some version of the Toyota Hybrid Synergy Drive, which car would debut the new system - Forester, Legacy, or Outback - and whether it would come to America or be a Japan-only model.
A report in The Detroit Bureau says that whatever that first model is, it could be shown as soon as the New York Auto Show, and while the company feels it's a must-have offering for the Japanese market it will also come to the US. It will have a Subaru-developed mild hybrid system that could have been previewed by the Hybrid Tourer concept shown at the 2009 Tokyo Motor Show, and is not expected to be able to drive on electric power alone. The Hybrid Tourer used a direct-injected, 2.0-liter boxer engine connected to a CVT and assisted by an electric motor rated at 13 horsepower. Subaru has yet to give anything away about the details of its hybrid plans, so we'll look to New York for the long-awaited unveil.

Watch Mark Higgins whomp the Isle of Man TT course in a 2015 WRX STI

Subaru has made another trip to the infamous Isle of Man TT, bringing along its all-new 2015 Subaru WRX STI. The goal? Best the already impressive time set by rally ace Mark Higgins and the 2011 Impreza WRX STI on the same swirling, high-paced ribbon of tarmac. Of course, you already know how that went.
What we didn't know when the story first broke, though, was that Subaru was monitoring data. Specifically, Higgins' data. He was fitted with a monitor that would record his heart rate, breaths, skin temperature and the g forces he was faced with as he lapped the 37-plus-mile road course. While Higgins and Co. were aiming to best their 2011 time (19:56.7), this year's effort also saw a push to beat the time of the sidecar racers.
You can get a recap of the entire event, with plenty of footage and data from Higgins' lap in the exhilarating video below. Take a look.