Subaru Forester

The Subaru Forester, is a tall, all-wheel drive Compact Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV) manufactured since 1997 by Subaru — and is marketed as a compact crossover. Originally introduced to the United States in 1998, the Forester shared its platform with the Impreza up to the third generation and now features a hybrid platform of the Japanese Impreza wagon and the rear platform of the U.S.-spec Impreza sedan.[1] The Forester was designed and built with four-wheel drive (AWD) as standard equipment.

The Forester was introduced at the Tokyo Motor Show November 1995 as the "Sutoriga" concept, and made available for sale February 1997 in Japan, and to the US market in 1998 using the Impreza platform but with the larger 2.5 liter DOHC EJ25D four-cylinder boxer engine from the Outback, making 165 hp (123 kW) at 5600 rpm and 162 lb·ft (220 N·m) of torque at 4000 rpm. In Japan, the Forester replaced the Subaru Impreza Gravel Express, known in the USA as the Subaru Outback Sport. The Forester appeared after the introduction of the Nissan Rasheen in Japan with a similar appearance, and the Forester's Japanese competitors include the Toyota RAV4, the Honda CR-V, and the Suzuki Grand Vitara. The name "forester" is meant to imply the vehicle is "of the forest". Due to the Forester's low center of gravity, it meets the United States federal safety standards for Passenger Vehicles, and does not require a risk of rollover warning label on the driver's visor. Size and price wise it fits between the shared Impreza platform, and the larger Legacy.

As with all Subaru models marketed in the United States and other international markets since the early 1990s, the Forester is equipped with an all-wheel drive drivetrain. Subaru advertising employed the slogan "SUV tough, Car Easy" to appeal to the SUV-oriented market; and to this end, the Forester from its inception had features associated with SUVs such as a large, space-efficient cargo area, higher h-point seating and more ground clearance while based on unibody rather than body-on-frame construction. In this sense, the Forester met the criteria of the term crossover before the term appeared. Notably, the third generation of the Forester is marketed by Subaru as a crossover.

The Forester, up until the end of the GM partnership, was sold in India as a Chevrolet alongside other unique Chevrolet models sold there. However since General Motors no longer holds an ownership stake in Subaru's parent company, Fuji Heavy Industries, sales in India of the Chevrolet-badged Forester have ended. The Forester is produced at the Gunma Yajima Factory in Japan.