IndyStar.com's view

Subaru and all-new has a certain rhyme to it, and it serves Subaru of America just fine for introducing its 1998 Forester sport utility wagon.

That is the catchy little aspect of this new line of vehicles from the Japanese auto manufacturer The Forester looks like an SUV (sport utility vehicle), but the EPA classifies it as a small station wagon.

Actually, it is a combination of both. The Forester can be classified as a true hybrid, being based on a car platform but with the design characteristics of a truck.

In an era when among manufacturers SUV’s are like heads – everybody has one – Subaru is tossing its entrant into the market with features that resemble those of an automobile. The utility aspects, however, conform to that of an off-road vehicle.

Offered in base, L and S model form, the Forester is based on the strong Subaru Impreza platform that has proven itself by establishing back-to-back championships on the rough and ready World Rally Championship circuit. It’s driveline is shared with the Legacy Outback model.

Subaru was the pioneer of four-wheel-drive for small station wagons on the American market about two decades ago, and its entire line of vehicles are built around this concept of driving all four wheels full time.

You can call the Forester a wagon or an SUV, but in either instance, it’s a pretty slick piece of machinery.

With 99.4 inches of wheelbase and an overall length of 175.2 inches, it’s fairly small. The body structure is based around the two box design concept with a fairly tall greenhouse (passenger compartment) and a short hood.

The shortness of the hood is made possible by virtue of a flat-4 (opposed four-cylinder) boxer-type engine that is mounted longitudinally in the chassis. The engine is only two cylinders long and flat, design characteristics that let the motor be mounted more forward in the chassis.

In addition to the boxer engine having an inherently lower center of gravity, it also is mounted far enough forward so that the half-shaft driving axles for the front wheels exit the sides the sides of the transmission/differential case in line with the wheel hubs.

Any way you look at it, the Forester looks like an SUV or an SUW. There is some effort to assist aerodynamics by rounding off the corners and giving the windshield a little rake, but the coefficient of drag still is 0.405.

An interesting feature of the wagon is that despite almost 7.5 inches of ground clearance, it is not necessary to step up to gain entrance or step down to exit.

The “H” point (a measure of hip position) is 23.2 inches high. What this means is that the position of the hips while sitting in the Forester is virtually the same as the position of the hips while standing. This permits simple linear movement for vehicle entrance or exit.

Once inside, visibility is excellent via an expansive amount of glass, thin roof pillars and the low, short hood. The rear seats are the traditional spit-bench type for added cargo spa ce. And the rear seatbacks can recline like those in front.

The four gauge instrumentation of speedometer-tachometer-temperature-fuel is standard fare. Support indicator lights surround the gauges, and the front individual seats are divided by a center console.

This is all pretty much state-of-the-art so that first-time drivers quite quickly adapt to seating and operating controls.

The Forester’s heating and air conditioning system basically is the same as the Impreza and Legacy.

Once you’re inside and ready to go, you have lots of power at hand. Each bank of the flat-4 features dual overhead cams and four valves per cylinder. Displacing 2.5 liters (150 cubic inches), the motor produces a rousing 165-horsepower.

Something that almost always impresses drivers of this four cam flat-4 is the distinctive sound of the motor under heavy throttle. The engine has its own gutty little roar and gives the impression things are going to get real interesting, real fast.

The origin al 4W D wagons were strictly manual transmission, but then along came advancements in technology so four-speed automatics have been available in the Subaru line for some time. The Forester is available with either system.

Subaru isn’t trying to reinvent the wheel, but with a wagon that starts at around $18,695 it is trying to reinvent the way people look at sport utes. In its 1998 Forester, it has a hybrid vehicle that showcases unique engineering concepts.