2003 Subaru Forester 2.0 GT review from Switzerland

Nothing has gone wrong.

I have traveled around 8000 kilometers in the last 5 weeks after I collected this vehicle. I have been utterly impressed with the overall quality of the vehicle - compared to my old Land cruiser anyway! (If you drive a Rolls-Royce, then you might think it has a little too much plastic ;o)

I do 120 motorway kilometers every day to and from work, and does this extremely well. The 180 brake horse power engine allows very quick acceleration 0-100kph in around 8.5secs with a top speed of 210kph (for you imperialists... that's 0-60 in 8.5secs with a top speed of around 130mph).

At the weekend, I often take it up into the mountains (Swiss Alps)... It handles the snow and ice perfectly, and I haven't noticed any difference in performance at 2000m plus...

The engine is the same as the WRX Pro-drive (300bhp/ps) but has a soft-pressure turbo fitted instead. This engine has a reputation as being the most bullet-proof engine available at the moment, and at 180bhp/ps it is rather under-tuned, which should make for extreme reliability in the future.

To sum up, I was looking for a four wheel drive commuting vehicle which would handle mountainous terrain, snow and ice, accelerate like a sports car and be as comfortable as a luxury car. I bought the top-end model (with features like double sunroof, cruise-control, climate control, leather interior and 16" alloys as standard!!!) and it has been everything I hoped for.

And it even has room for the kids as well as all the ski gear!!!