The M6 is a river, deep in standing water, thick spray filling the air. Not a problem.
The M62 is no better and there’s a Jaguar in the wall. He or she has obviously aquaplaned and that bodywork is now way beyond just a polish, in fact it looks a write-off. No problem.
Country roads are no better with expansive floods (there’s even a bloke over there water skiing in a field – really!), squashed leaves and about a million ball-bearing-like acorns around every bend ready to catch you out. No problem, honestly.
How come? Because I’m in a Subaru, in this instance the brand new Forester, and nothing is any problem.
Subarus have the best symmetrical all-wheel-drive systems known to man.
They just work and they do so in a way that you don’t even notice them doing their magic. Grip is beyond reproach no matter how wet, slimy or rolly the road conditions become.
The bruised and battered Jaguar shows just what can happen in these dreadful conditions but the Forester doesn’t miss a beat.
In fact, it is so limpet-like in the wet that it might as well be dry and very quickly you just drive the big SUV normally instead of tip-toeing around every bend.
Even plunging inadvertently into deep floodwater fails to upset the Forester and it parts the waters like Moses. It will go off road too, with great ground clearance and even hill descent control.
The 4WD system switches the power around automatically driving the wheel it thinks has the greatest grip.
Just as an aside, if the Subaru had in some way joined the Jaguar in the wall, it is one of the safest cars on the road for crash avoidance and impact absorption so we would have been ok regardless.
The sixth generation Forester is powered by Subaru’s 2.0-litre petrol e-BOXER powertrain. Foresters have always had a loyal following – five million have been sold in the past 27 years – and the latest variant I’m sure will continue to fly the flag.
This one is a hybrid, which seems to make an already turbine smooth flat four even silkier, but the miles per gallon struggles to make 40 so it’s not that economical.
The engine is happy to spin giving the Forester decent performance but if you do that MPG drops to 30.
New Forester gets a smart set of clothes and actually looks a lot different from the previous model and is all the better for it. It shares a similar silhouette but the front and back ends are radically different.
Inside is familiar Subaru and pleasant enough with a light, airy, spacious, comfortable cabin. It is beautifully screwed together and well equipped. The centre-dash is a touchscreen and easy to navigate, the clocks are conventional but clear and the ergonomics are spot on.
There are a couple of gripes. The sound system hurts my ears even with the bass, treble and mid-range turned down to -8 and the safety system that watches my every facial expression gets on my wick.
It constantly tells me to look out the windscreen when I already am and then flashes like the angry eye of Sauron when it thinks it is being ignored.
Ironically, it tells me not to be distracted when it is the only thing distracting me. I’m sure if you delve into the touchscreen gubbins there will be a way of turning it off. Perhaps ask the salesman because it’s not enough to stop you wanting to buy a Forester.
I’ve always had a soft spot for Subarus and the new Forester is as endearing as ever.
It’s a car for difficult conditions so perhaps, as global warning stirs our weather into a frenzy, we should all consider owning one.
Factfile
| Engine: 2.0 boxer hybrid petrol |
| Power: 136BHP |
| 0-62mph: 12.2 secs |
| Top speed: 116mph |
| Combined miles per gallon: 34.9 |
| Transmission: automatic CO2 g/km: 183 |
| Price: from £44,100 |
