The success of Subarus All-Wheel Drive Forester has been driven to new heights, with the Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV) passing the 200,000 sales tally this month.
Forester is Subarus best-selling model ever in Australia and it is also one of the most awarded vehicles on the local automotive landscape.
Launched in 1997, it established a new class of vehicle in the Australian market then tagged as a compact SUV- and has gone on to achieve a variety of notable milestones.
A Forester variant was the first in Subarus range to achieve an independent five-star rating for occupant safety from the Australasian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP) a benchmark later achieved by every Subaru model sold in Australia.
In 2003, it achieved what was then the best-ever crashworthiness test rating for a compact SUV five stars. It was also the first time any Japanese-built car had achieved a five-star ANCAP rating.
Forester has also found a niche with emergency services, including use as a rapid response paramedic ambulance in metropolitan areas, and performing general ambulance duties in rural locations.
Nick Senior, Managing Director, Subaru Australia, said: Our original launch television commercial for Forester positioned it as the perfect vehicle for dirty weekends.
Unlike four wheel drives at the time, it was totally at home on the Monday-to-Friday commute, or the school run.
But come Friday night, it would just as ably switch into the ideal vehicle for buyers to pursue their recreational or lifestyle interests on the weekend.
Towing, carrying bikes, kayaks, camping gear, fishing rods dogs, cats, kids theres not much a Forester cant do.
Mr Senior said what started out as an AWD wagon with one engine option has grown into an entire range of vehicles with normally aspirated, turbo petrol and turbo diesel engines.
The Forester range expands even further this month with the launch of the first automatic transmission diesel variants.
The wagons durability and reliability mean many thousands of earlier generation Foresters remain on road and Mr Senior added: Anecdotally, there seem to be many older Foresters used by P-platers, which is pleasing for us, given the safety features that have been such an intrinsic aspect of each generation underpinned, of course, by the surefooted grip of All-Wheel Drive.
Within our company we often talk about the Subaru Passion and Forester owners are prime examples of all that it entails, with many of the wagons handed down through families that just cant bring themselves to part with their favourite SUV.
Last November, Forester 2.5i was again been named Best All-Wheel Drive (AWD) Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV) under $45,000 in the Australias Best Cars awards.
See the latest Forester television commercial here:
This info and more can be found at: http://www.subaru.com.au/
