2021 Subaru Forester Review | BIG Changes for 2021

What's up guys, welcome back to another one if you were new to the channel? I'm Gold Pony. I

review

cars, trucks, and SUVs on YouTube and today we're looking at the new

2021

Subaru Forester, courtesy of Apple Subaru in York, Pennsylvania, to learn more. in your inventory feel free to check out the link in the description box below and while I'm sitting at this red light I wanted to

review

this

subaru

forester

today because there are actually several

changes

for the

2021

model year of course , excellent resale value really with any

subaru

in general, in fact great reliability, you can check a consumer reports magazine to see that specifically the

forester

has amazing reliability and of course with subarus it has the best all wheel drive system that exists and that has been proven to have Having said all that, what do you say?

Let's go ahead and jump right into this and as always, start with the prices. As you can imagine, there are actually several different trim levels for the 2021 Forester. The first is the base configuration starting at 24 795. premium for 27 795 sport for 29 five 395. limited for thirty-one thousand three ninety-five and Finally, the touring starts at thirty-four thousand eight hundred and ninety-five dollars, but I will say, regardless of the equipment level, that the Forester has a power plant is going to be the same, the power of this beast will be a Subaru Boxer engine horizontally opposed direct-injected 2.5-liter that will generate 182 horsepower at 5,800 rpm 176 pound-feet of torque available at 4,400 rpm power sent to all four wheels, of course, via a linear CVT tronic with paddle shifters actually , if you go for the Sport trim level and above, that's how you'll get them and we'll test them in a moment here, but do what you mention with that Sport trim level as well.

Although you'll also get a seven-speed manual mode for the CVT if you go for those specific trim levels, that's kind of interesting, so of course we'll try that too, so like I said, we'll give it a chance. shot, I'll let you know what manual mode really feels like, but the 0-60 time comes in at about 8.5 seconds with mpg figures hitting 26 city, 33 highway on regular unleaded fuel, but before I try anything on the Forester, I wanted to mention that there are actually a few driving modes that come standard on this one and they will also include sport and smart.

Those two buttons will be located on the right side of the steering wheel. The steering wheel mounted controls there essentially are what they're going to do is adjust things like the shift points and the throttle response as well, so let's go ahead and push the sport and it immediately downshifted for me, so it'll hold. the rpm at a much higher level which will give you more power on demand so that will be useful for merging onto the highway and things like that and then you can hit smart i mode and that will essentially return you to your normal driving mode , but having said all that as I was mentioning, there is a seven speed manual mode here, so what we're going to do is push the shifter all the way back and to the left, that will give me that manual mode right now, it's telling me I'm in seventh gear so it's going to show the gears inside the digital part of the gauge it's right in front of you so I'm excited about all of that let's go ahead and find a straight line here and let's test the paddles exchange.

Keep in mind that this is a CVT or continuous. variable transmission, so there really aren't any gears to shift, but we'll see how well that shift simulates in the end, so let's go ahead and try it, here we go, you didn't shift right, huh, that's a good thing, really . It simulates a normal automatic transmission quite well, like it's running out the rpms and not shifting for me, so it's really a real manual mode which is great, like the Subaru did, giving the driver a little more control, so of course anyway I like it. Go ahead and do a quick little acceleration test here.

I think I found my place in three, two, one, yeah, well there's that CBT, not bad, definitely not the fastest thing in the world if you want to go fast with the Subaru Wrx or something. but okay, okay, we'll say i wouldn't have minded if the subaru forester came with maybe a turbocharged engine, maybe maybe with a small air scoop on the hood that feeds air to the top mounted intercooler, something like that would be pretty. It's incredibly sweet for a forester, but still, because you have this engine, you will get better fuel economy and of course better reliability than a turbocharged engine as well, but it's not the fastest thing in the world, but of course Anyway, continue with that acceleration test as usual.

Braking is equally important, so at the front you will find 11.6-inch ventilated front discs at the rear, a solid 11.2-inch rear disc and, indeed, for sports, when you go up a level, It rises a bit to a 12.4-inch ventilated front disc, so it's almost a full inch. bigger in the front when you go with that sport version, moving up a level at least in the rear, still a solid 11.2 inch rear disc for those shrimp, but overall when it comes to braking distance of 60 zero which will be 129 feet for the forester but that's with the normal brake setup, if you were to go with that larger brake setup it actually comes out to 118 feet which is very respectable for that tiguan which comes in at 131, honda hrv comes in at 116, so it's right in the middle of the pack, unless you go with that bigger brake setup with the sport trim level going up and then you'll actually get very good braking and I'll attest that there is absolutely no problem with braking feel on my short test drive today.

I'm definitely a fan of the suspension and handling on the front. You will get an independent strut-type front suspension with the stabilizer bar at the rear. Double wishbone type rear suspension once again with the stabilizer bar, but perhaps what impressed me the most. Right off the bat I could instantly tell with the Forester that the steering feel is wonderful, it's absolutely wonderful, it's definitely on the heavier side of things so it instantly tells you the direction you want to go, usually with the SUVs you go to I find a lot of loose steering feel which is definitely not my favorite so with the Forester it almost feels more like a sports car so the steering feel is absolutely wonderful in the Forester , I will say that when it comes to walking.

The quality is about as expected, I mean we have a lot of road imperfections in Pennsylvania so I've been hitting a lot of them but it's as expected, it's certainly not the smoothest ride but it's not the worst either, so it's pretty much on par. Of course, I guess you could say that tapping cabin noise is perfectly fine too. I do hear a bit of engine noise when they really hit the accelerator, but other than that the Forester is pretty well insulated, which will tell you it was at highway speeds. for quite a while and not much outside wind noise coming back into the cabin, it's just the engine noise when you really hit the accelerator, that's not necessarily a bad thing in my opinion, I really enjoy it, but as for visibility, here This is really where The Forester really shines with absolutely incredible visibility, of course that's because its shape is a bit more boxy in nature, but it can be seen wonderfully from the rear, so as far as visibility goes, the Forester is certainly up there, but that rounds out the performance segment for this one. review guys, let's go ahead and take a look at the exterior of this new 2021 subaru forester.

Okay, so here it is guys, the new 2021 subaru forester. By the way, this is the limited version, finished in crystal black silica for anyone who is. It's funny, but let's go ahead and start now ahead of the Forester. I wanted to mention ground clearance because Subaru tends to do that pretty well. 8.7 inches of ground clearance in the front, which is definitely more than most other competitors in its class. That comes in at around eight inches, but the Subaru Forester puts it around 8.7, so it's definitely pretty good. LED headlights with steering feedback are now standard for the 2021 forester.

It's one of the new things this year, essentially, what that means is when you're turning. When cornering at night, those headlights will rotate based on the steering angle, which will help better illuminate what's around that bank, you're less likely to hit a deer or anything else, LED fog lights come with the premium trim level and premium LED daytime running lights come with all models, of course, red accents can be found only on the sport trim level and will be found near the front lip, side skirts and rear bumper, a bit more sporty looking, I guess you could say also with that sporty trim level We'll have gloss black front grille surrounds instead of the chrome you were currently seeing on the Limited model and of course that will come with the Touring , as well as chrome grille surrounds and additional details around the fog lights. down there, but that still wraps up the timeless look of the Forester's front end.

Let's go ahead and move on to the side of the Forester now, so let me go ahead and start with the raised top roof rails that come standard on the premium model. trim level and above, also rear privacy glass for the premium trim level, which means the base trim level doesn't actually have the rear privacy glass, it's something people often ask in my forester reviews on previous years. I wanted to mention that taking a look in the side mirrors, black power adjustable side mirrors that come with the bass finish, body color side mirrors that come with the premium sport and limited model, you will find a satin chrome finish on the mirrors sides, so if you went with the touring, that will be different. between the trim levels there and you will also get integrated turn signals if you also go up a level with the sports and then look down as far as the side skirts are concerned, they are going to differ between the trim levels you will also find some red accents If you opt for the sporty model, there will be some satin chrome accents with the Touring model;

Otherwise, you'll find that matte black rim on the bottom, which is currently what you're looking at right now, of course, and take a look at the wheel setup. 17-inch steel wheels with covers come with the base finish. 17 by 7 inch aluminum alloys at a premium and 18 by 7 inch alloys if you were to choose. the limited sport or touring like you were looking at right now, but now let's go ahead and go to the back of this one and now that we're in the back, you'll find a shark fin antenna on the top, just below of the rear spoiler. with an integrated brake light for all models just below the rear wiper, C-shaped LED taillights coming standard across the board.

I love that lighting a little bit better at night there and then right underneath you'll find a single escape hatch. finished with a chrome tip it definitely looks good back there so I think you guys know what we need to do next as always here's the exhaust clip and something else since we're at the back of the forester when it's Try to open the rear liftgate. It will be a power liftgate only if you go with the Limited Touring or it will be optional on the Premium and Sport models, but you will get a manual liftgate which will again be the standard configuration unless you go with the Limited or Touring cargo capacity, a Once open it is 28.9 cubic feet if that wasn't enough space of course the rear seats fold down there is a 60 40 split that increases up to 70.9 cubic feet and it was relatively easy to fold those rear seats down , there's actually a little knob that's located in the corners of the top of those rear seats, you just lift that up and then push the seats down, that's pretty easy there, but it's also found in the cargo area, in I actually wanted to mention grocery bag hooks, there are also acres of cargo tie-downs back there, you'll also get in-floor storage on every trim level that doesn't always come standard on the SUV, so I didn't want to mention that cargo area tray removable that comes with the Sport from and up you will also find a light on the rear cargo area door for the Sport trim level and also up,so overall it's pretty much everything you could want in the cargo area of ​​a vehicle, so anyway we head now towards the back.

Legroom is 39.4 inches, so for reference, I mean even six feet tall, this is how much space I had back there. Do you also want to mention those rear seats if you go for the premium trim level and above, at least they recline? that is, if you want to lean back a little bit, they recline back or you can move them up a little bit also if you want the heated rear seats actually come with the Touring trim level, I want to mention that if you want to spoil your Rear passengers will down a bit, rear armrests with cupholders come with the premium level trim level.

We'll actually get two rear USB charging ports for the Sport trim level and I wanted to mention that you'll also get map pockets on the back of the front seat. They also have two different sections, you hardly ever see it, so it's a cool little design feature, like the subaru added, but now let's move on and get to the front seats, they are manually adjustable claw seats with the base. trim level electrically adjustable front seats for the premium trim level and above, you'll find heated front seats again for the premium trim level and above and by the way, that button is located just behind the shift lever, sport cloth with orange stitching for the sport trim level leather The seats will then come with the limited and touring and, by the way, it is also perforated leather.

I wanted to mention that overall the seat is very comfortable and definitely didn't have any issues on my short test drive today so I like the seats and the forester here, then take a look at the steering wheel, it's tilt and telescoping, it is leather wrapped for the premium trim level and above and will be heated if it were with the Touring and by the way, that heating feature is an option on the limited trim level that what we have today is actually located on the side right of the steering wheel, but we have that option, so it's great that it has heat, especially on cold days in Pennsylvania, unlike today, but it will be cold, I know, but anyway, now.

Go ahead and head to the start. Let me start by showing you the key. Here they basically have all the buttons on one side of the key lock, unlocking the button to open the rear hatch and, by the way, the unlock button. It will be the Subaru logo located in the middle of the key, in case anyone is curious, but it will all be a push button start if you opt for the Premium trim level and above, so we have it today. All I'm going to do here is just put my phone on the brake and press the engine start button located right next to the driver's right knee and so on, but then when I start, those gauges will do a full sweep.

The tachometer is on the left speedometer. to your right and there's a small digital display front and center that gives you basic information like how many miles you have left until you hit empty, your average miles per gallon at any given time, what driving mode you're in, and how I was saying before, what a rig I was on if I had to choose to put it in that manual mode here on the forester, but essentially it's a pretty basic meter setup. I think it probably would have been cool to add a fully digital gauge cluster and maybe the higher trim levels. from the forester, but it gets the job done either way, but taking a look at the overall quality of the interior, the power panoramic sunroof that comes with the premium trim level and above, I love it, you almost never find a power panoramic sunroof on so many trim levels of a vehicle, so the fact that Subaru puts it in the premium trim level ends up, of course, being pretty cold because you don't normally find that, so I wanted to mention that the LED map lights on the roof come standard on all trim levels, which is pretty good in comparison.

In addition to the halogens, you will also have a sunglasses holder on the roof here. Dual-zone climate control will come with Limited and Touring trim levels, only home lighting controls will be optional on all trim levels where it doesn't come standard. any particular trim level, although right in front of the shifter you'll have an auxiliary port, two USB charging ports, and a 12-volt power outlet, there's a bit of storage just behind that and behind the shifter.

changes

you will have an electromechanical parking brake and in the middle of all this will be the x mode dial and so essentially what is x mode on the forester uses improved control of the vdc system along with increased engagement of the all-wheel drive system to give you better traction and bad weather, for example, when it snows here in Pennsylvania, that's definitely a mode you'll want to use, but there are specific modes within the x mode, there's actually the normal mode, which is in the one you leave it for normal driving, is when you just press down on the dial there, but if you turn it to the left you will have snow and dirt, if you turn it to the right you will have deep snow and mud, so I want to mention that the mode x en It will also be there for you in the Forester and will be a very useful feature when it starts snowing and of course you have the best all-wheel drive system in the Forester anyway, so basically everything will be perfectly fine. when you get to those conditions, but right behind that dial, you'll have two cup holders right behind that, a little bit of storage and inside the center armrest, of course, even more storage along with the 12 volt outlet there as well generally when In As far as the interior quality of the Forester is concerned, it is more or less as expected, in fact it is something similar.

There is some rubber finish on the doors and just above the passenger side glove box, which is pretty cool. Some plastic finishing on top of the glove box too. but I will say I like the design and again overall it's pretty much finished as you would expect the Forester to be finished so no issues for me but now let's get to the tech screen. There are actually two tech screens I wanted. To mention and let me start with the one above to control what's on that top text screen, there's actually an information button on the left side of the steering wheel and it's one of those things that you probably won't know how to control. what's on that screen, unless someone tells you, is labeled as information and when you press that you can see things like your outside temperature, what day of the week the date is and also your security information will be up there . some off-road status, weather information, oil temperature, there's a compass up there, radio information, the list goes on, but you can really find a good amount of information on the forester's upper technical screen, but just below that is where it's found. find everything else and It will be a 6.5-inch color touchscreen for the base premium and sport model;

Otherwise, if you opt for the Limited or Touring model, you'll upgrade to an eight-inch color touchscreen, which is what you're currently seeing right now. Bluetooth and audio streaming. It comes standard either way with Android Auto Apple Carplay for every trim level. By the way, even the base Forester you still get Android Auto with Apple Carplay and that means if you have a smartphone, just plug it into the Forester and free navigation will be displayed. On that tech screen, in addition to the ability to like and dislike your Pandora songs, there are a couple of other supported apps and the factory navigation system will come with the Touring trim level, only it's really only You need it if you go down a lot. tunnels or if you live in the mountains or something, of course you can also check your radio information on that screen and by the way, as far as the Forester's sound systems go, they will differ substantially between trim levels . four speakers come with the base six speakers come with the premium sport and limited model and you will find a nine speaker harman kardon sound system if you go for the touring model that sound system is optional on the limited model we have today and we have By the way, that's why I mentioned it, by the way, that sound system because it was 576 watts, so what do you guys say?

Let's turn on the radio, see what we're playing today and let's definitely test the clarity of it. a ton of bass with a harman kardon sound system, I will say that and conveniently it was very easy to adjust the amount of bass, the midrange speakers and all that, there is actually a sound button located just below the radio settings , it was very easy I found it so I was able to turn that bass up a little bit to make it even better so I loved it it was that simple to adjust as well but the sound system is great if you were to go for the Harman Kardon I will definitely say that . nice enough, but the last thing I wanted to mention to you on that tech screen is that when you put the forester in reverse, of course, you'll find a standard rearview camera for all trim levels across the board, letting you know who or that. is behind you which will always lead us to safety and so starting with safety I wanted to mention that the forester is one of the top iihs safety options and by the way it is the highest designation awarded by iihs, so that is always the best option.

The best start you can get is side draft in the front and airbags come standard, driver's knee airbag and in the rear you will have a latch aka lower anchors and child tethers for car rear seats, child rear door locks, tire pressure monitoring. The system also includes Subaru View as standard on all Forester trim levels. It will include a pre-collision braking system, pre-collision throttle control, lane departure warning and adaptive cruise control with lane centering, in addition to the adaptive system. cruise control system, you can adjust it using the steering wheel-mounted controls found on the right side of the steering wheel, but the list actually continues from that sport level onwards and will add automatic high beams as well as a point blind. monitoring system with rear cross traffic alert and that will be the little Subaru logo on the side mirrors that will let you know if someone is in your blind spot, of course when turning level and up it will also add reverse automatic braking , which By the way, will be optional on the limited model, so I wanted to mention that as well, but ultimately when it comes to my final thoughts here on the 2021 forester, it's great when it comes to safety and Subaru always delivers. takes a lot of pride in their safety readings and really overall safety on all of their vehicles.

I've seen interviews with subaru executives who really take pride in it so that's cool, I love the addition of adaptive LED headlights across the board which is super nice especially at night best all wheel drive system in La stock, of course, it also has really good steering feel, that's something that really surprised me when I started driving it. It's great of course, it has excellent resale value, it's pretty much a Subaru thing and as far as room for improvement goes, this one, as I mentioned before, is a bit slow, I wouldn't mind, an engine turbocharged would be great.

They actually dropped the Wrx engine here. They put in a top mount intercooler with a hood scoop which would be quite nice. and of course cvt transmissions aren't always my favorite, but that being said, i like that they put the seven speed manual mode in there, but anyway, how often do people actually use those pedal shifters, so I don't know how often it will be like this? It can be used, but I like that it's there and of course you can also use it for engine braking in the snow if you want, but that's it for this.

Thank you very much for watching, feel free to follow me. on social media at the bottom of the screen, if you like, be sure to hit the subscribe and bell notification button if you like new car reviews, that's what we do here on this channel, after all , I appreciate you seeing more of You know, I'll see you all in the next video. Stay, gold.