monster

I have no idea why I thought you said "fight pigs" ....I am offically

Tycoon

Lol, it's all good, mate...

Merc1

Oh yes, the anticipation of a new Subaru Forester is killing us! In 27 days and a couple of hours and minutes, Subaru will reveal the new 2009 Subaru Forester. There is no word on what the new Subaru Forester will be powered by, but the website shows a teaser image of the back of the car.

If you’re excited as us, head over to the Subaru JDM website and watch the countdown.

- ONLY REGISTERED AND ACTIVATED USERS CAN SEE ALL LINKS - CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

M

Tycoon

- ONLY REGISTERED AND ACTIVATED USERS CAN SEE ALL LINKS - CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

- ONLY REGISTERED AND ACTIVATED USERS CAN SEE ALL LINKS - CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

Just the other day, Subaru attempted to tease us with a pitch-black image of the 2008 Forester (click - ONLY REGISTERED AND ACTIVATED USERS CAN SEE ALL LINKS - CLICK HERE TO REGISTER). Today a new set of images featuring the 2009 Forester with no camouflage surfaced on the net giving us the first clear view of the crossover’s buttocks as well as a part of the front-end. Mark our words; the dam surrounding the 2009 Forester will break sooner than you think…

- ONLY REGISTERED AND ACTIVATED USERS CAN SEE ALL LINKS - CLICK HERE TO REGISTER


Source - Carscoop: - ONLY REGISTERED AND ACTIVATED USERS CAN SEE ALL LINKS - CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

Choleric

Lookin good minus the clear taillights.

and is it just me or is this taller and narrower than past versions?

Tycoon

It seems taller, don't know about the width though...

martinbo

The real deal:

Merc1

A Subaru that doesn't induce vomiting , at least from that real-life rear shot.

M

monster

The new Forester shows Subaru doesn't have any direction with their design. What ever happened to the octagon grille design that was once used on all Subaru? What are they trying to do with their front grill design. They used to have a strong individual identity, now the front of the car has a generic Japanese car look. The rest of the car isn't that much better, those wheel arches are straight from the Mitsubishi Outlander (check out the photo), and the rear end design can be from a Toyota van.
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It is yet another disappointing design from Subaru. I really hope they won't mess up the design for the next Liberty.

martinbo

In all honesty monster, let's be realistic here, besides the very lovely Subaru Legacy / Outback, FHI haven't made a pretty Subaru for over a decade now. The last good looking Subaru barring the aforementioned pairing was the delectable Impreza P1.

The current Forester sans STI treatment is an inconguous mess: strange protuberant and rounded nose at odds with utilitarian squared off looks of the rear. If it wasn't such a cracker to drive, my wife and I would be embarrassed to be seen in it.

Outlander looks terrific and, unfortunately, Subaru have gone a very similar route. How much creative license is there really available in this segment? Either your design looks like a RAV-4 or it looks like a Freelander. There's not much in between in terms of styling individuality... Controversial and much more expensive X3 notwithstanding.

Subaru can make dynamically appealling cars with their eyes closed. What they haven't been able to do to date is design cars with universal mass-market appeal. This strategy in moving to less distinctive but more palatable designs is a key component in the brand's evolution - whether successful thus far or not!

Talking of the octagon grill on your Liberty - I can wholeheartedly agree with you. There was such a great opportunity to solidify the brand identity accross the range and instead it got sidelined by a designer with a rather disturbing aftertaste of Alfa Romeo on his mind.

If this is the new Forester (which it is) then great. The back - as always - looks great and is better resolved that the front but at least the overall styling is better integrated and more cohesive than before.

The only worry for us existing Forrie owners is the increased ride height and taller dimensions - sure to raise the centre of gravity and lose some of that car-like handling. At least they listened to me and slapped on some 225 section tyres now.