(Photo: Kevin Corrigan, Auto123.com)

"Safety comes standard" has been the company's bi-line for a while now and so together with the obvious benefits of AWD, the Forester XT carries an impressive array of additional safety features.

Now we come to the all-important test drive, and this is where Subaru pretty much leaves the other wagon manufacturers wallowing in its dust. After all, Subaru has 30 odd years of AWD vehicle production behind them and a world rally championship heritage that is envied throughout the industry. Yes, Subaru certainly knows a thing or three about building a car that can perform and handle, just look at its famous WRX STI model with the legendary boxer engine which produces 293 hp.

(Photo: Kevin Corrigan, Auto123.com)

Of course, the company would be crazy to put that kind of engine into a family station wagon, so they took the basic design and de-tuned it down to 230 hp. This still enables the Forester 2.5XT to go from 0-60 in 6.3 seconds, and people think that family wagons can't be fun!

The on road handling characteristics of the Forester 2.5XT are almost perfect. The suspension easily soaks up the bumps and potholes, yet at the same time, it is firm enough to handle the performance figures. The AWD system works flawlessly. I shan't elaborate any further on this; I'll just refer you back to the part about 30 years of AWD production and the world rally championship.

All in all, this car just makes perfect sense to me and is an almost ideal "everyday vehicle". Naturally, my ultimate dream car might be a Bentley or similar, but I could be very happy driving one of these full time as it would fulfill all of my daily requirements. It has the load carrying capacity that I often need, it is a comfortable vehicle to operate, and when required "it performs".

(Photo: Kevin Corrigan, Auto123.com)

(Photo: Kevin Corrigan, Auto123.com)