2011 Subaru Forester Overview Change Vehicle

This 2011 Subaru Forester overview explains changes for the model year, provides a summary of the 2011 Forester, and includes Subaru Forester safety, reliability, and fuel economy information.

Though it might appear identical to last year’s model, the 2011 Subaru Forester actually arrives with a few significant updates, such as a revised lineup of available trims. Other changes include standard Bluetooth connectivity on all models except the entry-level 2.5X, new audio and navigation systems, and slight tweaks to the vehicle’s exterior styling. Drivers of non-turbo variants will benefit from a new engine with improved fuel economy and a slight increase in torque for better overall performance.

While it’s true that the Forester’s lineup has been massaged a bit this year, none of the changes affect the base 2.5X model, which really isn’t so basic. The Forester 2.5X comes standard with features like air conditioning, cruise control, a tilt steering wheels, keyless entry, a CD player, an auxiliary audio input jack, power windows, power door locks, floor mats, auto-off headlights, and a height-adjustable driver’s seat. An automatic transmission is optional.

Look one stall to the right and you’ll find the more upscale 2.5X Premium, home to a power driver’s seat, Bluetooth hands-free calling and audio streaming capability, a USB port, Sirius satellite radio service, and other niceties like a power moonroof, a reclining rear seat, and secondary radio controls on the steering wheel. Alloy wheels, roof rails, and dark tinted rear privacy glass are also included. A turbocharged version, dubbed the Forester 2.5XT Premium, is also offered, and comes with a tilt/telescopic steering wheel, fog lights, a rear spoiler, and a functional hood scoop. Both the 2.5X Premium and 2.5XT Premium can be fitted with options including a portable navigation unit, a rearview camera, and a package containing heated front seats, heated mirrors, and a wiper de-icer system. If you get the optional automatic, the 2.5 XT Premium includes stability and traction control.

There’s an even greater level of luxury packed into the 2.5X Limited. Subaru has equipped this iteration with a CD/DVD player attached to a 4.3-inch center-mounted display screen, fog lights, heated front seats, leather upholstery and trim, and automatic climate control. The 2.5X Limited comes only with an automatic transmission.

As fancy as that Limited may be, there are buyers who still want a little something more. For them, Subaru offers the 2.5X Touring and turbocharged 2.5XT Touring. The most dolled-up Foresters arrive with HID headlights, a reversing camera, dual-zone automatic climate control, upgraded gauges, silver roof rails, and exterior mirror housings with integrated turn signals.

Like last year’s model, every 2011 Forester is fitted with a 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine. However, engineers have tweaked the inner workings a bit, with the result being improved performance at lower rpm, and slight improvements in torque and fuel economy. In 2.5X, 2.5X Premium, 2.5X Limited, and 2.5X Touring guises, the Forester boasts 170 horsepower and 174 pound-feet of torque (up from 2010’s 170 pound-feet), with EPA fuel economy ratings of 21-mpg city/27-mpg highway when mated to either a five-speed manual or four-speed automatic transmission.

Those engine changes had no effect on the turbocharged four-cylinder that you’ll find under the hood of XT models. Buyers opting for this relatively racy four-cylinder will avail themselves to 224 horsepower and 226 lb-ft of torque, though they’ll average only 19 mpg in the city and 24 mpg on the highway while burning premium unleaded. The four-speed automatic is standard.

If cars had emotions, chances are many would be looking at the 2011 Subaru Forester with considerable envy. Of course, most every new model on the market has at least a couple of redeeming qualities, but relatively few earn the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s Top Safety Pick award and Recommended status from Consumer Reports in the same year. The updated Forester is a member of that club, a point that should make prospective buyers quite happy.

That’s the good news. When it comes to reliability, J.D. Power and Associates is predicting that the 2011 Forester will provide slightly better than average dependability over time. Also, the Forester receives an overall safety rating of 4 out of 5 Stars from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which adopted tougher testing and scoring methods for 2011. Of particular concern is a 3-Star side-impact score, the result of a 2-Star crash-test result in the side-impact test for the rear seat occupant. That’s something for parents to keep in mind since this is where the little ones ride.

With plenty of versatile interior space, standard all-wheel-drive capability, and an increasing variety of today’s must-have creature comforts, the Subaru Forester is an appealing compact crossover SUV. This year’s IIHS Top Safety Pick award and recommendation by Consumer Reports for promising reliability certainly add to the Forester’s appeal, but they’re undermined somewhat by more pessimistic results from J.D. Power and the NHTSA. Furthermore, new and redesigned competitors are arriving with the promise of superior fuel economy, greater performance, more contemporary styling, and a broader array of features. Though it remains a solid choice, even Forester loyalists might find these enticing alternatives too hard to resist.

By Thom Blackett