Video: 2011 Subaru Forester 2.5X Touring

That's probably why the current generation is a perennial cars.com favorite. The first thing you notice getting into the Forester is how easy it is to see out of this thing. The A pillars are narrow. The windows are really huge. The rear window isn't buried beneath two massive D pillars. Other crossovers like the Chevy Equinox, the Hyundai Tucson have slicker roof lines and sculpted windows but you pay for that in blind spots. It's not the case here. Our Forrester Touring test car has things like leather seats and a giant moon roof but the cabin design is kind of aging. And some of the finishes on the upper dash and doors feel a little bit low rent. Also a lot of the controls along the steering wheel on the stereo, really small, hard to kinda pick out on the fly. Other crossovers in this class have large center consoles in some instances. The Forester's is a little bit small but it converts to this trough right here if you pull these plastic pieces out. Unfortunately that doesn't leave the storage hidden from people who wanted to look inside the car if you need that extra room. The backseat has decent leg room but the seat sits a little bit low to the ground so some adults may find their knees up in the air. One editor mentioned that the backseat wasn't quite big enough for her husband and her kids. If that's the case, check out something like the Equinox. It's got a little bit more space back here. In Foresters with the moon roof, cargo volume behind the rear seats is about 31 cubic feet. You fold the seats down, you're looking at about 63 cubic feet of maximum volume. That's because they're kind of at the low end of the segment. Should be enough for a small family but if you need more room, cars like the Toyota Rav4 and the Honda CRV, both max out at more than 70 cubic feet. With the base engine, the Forester has decent acceleration and our test car is 4 speed automatic. Kicks down quickly enough on the highway. But the car is still kind of pokey up long on-ramps and this is where a five or six speed automatic might help. It handles well though with good steering and a pretty flat body on hard corners or breaking and acceleration. Ride quality is good too. On a highway, the suspension doesn't pick up little things like the CRV and it isn't choppy like a Kia Sportage. This is how a small crossover ought to ride. It's also how a crossover should hold up. Avoid the turbocharged Forrester XT, and reliability for the current generation has been excellent. It may not be the coolest crossover on the block but it's definitely one of the more sensible ones. <v man>For more car related news, go to cars.com or our blog kickingtires.net.