In 1998, the US was blessed with the Subaru Forester. It came with a 2.5 liter
engine and either a DOHC or SOHC configuration. Models included the Base, L, S and S Premium and all had AWD
transmissions. It was available as either an Automatic or Manual transmission. All versions produced 165 horsepower. In 2003 Subaru redesigned the Forester with a new look and different engine options for its second generation. All 03-05 Foresters came with 2.5 liter 4 cylinder boxer engines. They were either the naturally aspirated SOHC or the
turbocharged DOHC version. The SOHC produced 165hp while the turbo guy banged out a whopping 210 horsepower. In 2006 a new version of the Forester came along with revised
headlights,
fenders,
bumpers and
door cladding to give it a smoother, more modern look. This version was a slight change from the 2003-2005, but was soon totally redone for the 2009 model year. For 2009 the body totally changed and the same 2.5 liter engine was improved to 170hp and 224hp for the Turbo version. The turbo'd XT also lost its
manual transmission option and was only available with an
automatic transmission. Once again Subaru decided to change the body up in 2014. Currently, the Forester averages about 24 mpg city and 32 mpg highway.