Tuesday 9th February 2016

Subaru Forester STI: PH Fleet

Does the Forester STI reality live up to the dream? Dan reports back on life with his new Subaru

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I first wrote about the Forester STI late last year as I attempted to justify blowing nearly 10 grand on a decade-old imported Subaru. Despite a determined going over with the ugly stick it's had a great response both online and on the road so, a month and a bit into ownership, it's time to welcome it formally to the PH fleet.

Certainly drives like a Subaru!

I realise a blacked out biscuit tin on wheels with a bonnet scoop isn't your typical automotive pin-up. But if you asked me to sketch my ideal car I think I'd end up with something pretty much Forester shaped. I need to haul kids and associated clobber, I want room to carry a bike or two, it needs to have boring stuff like ISOFIX mounts and airbags and Mrs Trent needs to be confident driving it. Four-wheel drive would be a handy bonus too for when the weather gets a bit grim up north. Which it has been. 

On top of that I want something with PH credibility, some engineering intrigue, the ability to entertain when opportunity strikes and - naturally - a bit of performance. Boxes ticked. With the added bonus of gold Brembos! 

So how does it go? Perhaps unsurprisingly it's pure Subaru, from the slightly apologetic cough on start up to the astonishing pace it'll carry when the weather, road conditions and topography suggest otherwise. 

I speak as the former owner of a classic Impreza WRX wagon (a MY95 import) and custodian of the PH Fleet WRX STI we ran last year. Characteristics of both of those cars are shared with the Forester. It's got the close gearing and typical short-throw, notchy gearshift. And you have to contend with a bit of lag before things get interesting. The steering is pretty light and the front end quite darty, though the initial turn-in balance errs towards understeer. It's also not shy in the chassis set-up, which is surprisingly stiff and perhaps the one main compromise over the more softly sprung UK car I thought I wanted. The benefit of that, of course, is Impreza-like cross-country pace with the comedy value of deliberately fugly proportions. 

Another Subaru back in the Trent household

Steering lock, throttle, lateral load - the more you ask of the tyres the happier the Forester seems and if the nose is pointing where you want it to go you probably should have been on the power already. It's a hoot - the more you throw at the car the more it seems to respond, encouraging increased overlap between your braking, steering and throttle inputs to deliver lovely neutral drifts out of the corners, squatting down as the rear axle pushes the nose into the turn and the front wheels pull you out. I appreciate the fact it's all being done mechanically too - there's no brake nibbling, electronic torque distribution or any of that synthesised stuff you get in modern equivalents. 

Conversation with fellow owners indicates a stiffer rear anti-roll bar is a popular mod and tips the balance further in the direction described above. Officially I'm happy with the quoted 265hp but I think it would benefit from a little more boxer burble. Domestic negotiations are a little tense on this matter and I don't want the full chav bean tin backbox. But a Subaru should sound like a Subaru. Recommendations on this front gratefully received. Before collection it was mapped and had a basic oil and filters service too but I think it'll merit a proper going over soon, not least the brakes which feel a little lacking in bite given the bling within the wheels. I'm hoping fresh fluid and some braided hoses will sort that. 

Fast enough; now the quest is on for more noise...

Elsewhere the ICE update has been a huge success too, the Pioneer system fitted recently by Halfords bringing the car bang up to date in terms of connectivity, navigation and entertainment. I had feared a new head unit in an old car would look out of place but the screen integrates into the interior very nicely indeed.

It's long overdue a proper wash and buff-up as well. But the weather's been awful. Plus it would be both a waste of time and the opportunity to enjoy what the car does best. I usually hate this time of year and the sense winter will never end. Right now I'm loving every minute! 

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FACT SHEET
Car: 2005 Subaru Forester STI (JDM import model)
Run by: Dan Trent
Bought: December 2015
Mileage: 122,843km (at purchase)
Purchase price: £9,500
Last month at a glance: It's boxy, it's ugly and it's mine!

Photos: Sim Mainey

[MajorMantra]

I love these, and I don't know why people slag them off for being ugly - I think there's an inherent rightness to them, a nice combination of utilitarian capability with a dash of aggression, but not in the cartoonish fashion of some current cars.

Fuel consumption is fairly hideous isn't it?

[MajorMantra]

^^not many for sale though. Remember that SOTW?: http://www.pistonheads.com/regulars/ph-features-sh...

I wonder who bought it...