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By
EWAN KENNEDY
23 January 2006
Subaru has announced a limited-edition version of its popular Forester
station wagon. Only 1000 are to be built and it rejoices in the name of
Forester X Luxury. Based, of course, on the standard ‘X’ model, the
Luxury has luxurious leather trim and a sunroof, as well as a rear
spoiler that protrudes horizontally above the back window.
The extra cost of the Luxury items is about
$5750 according to Subaru, yet it only charges $2000 more for this
limited-edition. At $33,990 it’s a bargain and likely to be
snapped up quickly. The automatic transmission Forester X Luxury
is priced at $35,990. These are recommended retail prices and
on-road costs have to be added to them. Imports will see 560
four-speed autos and 440 five-speed manuals coming to Australia.
Subaru Forester operates in one of the most
hotly contested segments of the Australian market, that of the ‘compact
SUV’. In 2005 it outsold everything else in its class. Hence
this special model, Subaru's managing director, Nick Senior, says,
"We wanted to celebrate that milestone with a special edition…"
For the 2006 model year the Forester received a
minor facelift with a five-bar radiator grille sitting beside new
twin-globe headlights. Additional power was extracted from each of
its two engines. The Forester X comes with a 2.5-litre flat-four
that manages a handy 121kW, it features an electronically
controlled throttle (drive-by-wire) for improved throttle
response.
Subaru was selling crossover vehicles long
before the term crossover was even dreamt up. The Forester is one
of the best of the breed, offering ease of driving in a practical
body that has decent off-road ability.
© Copyright
Marque Publishing Company
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