2.5 XT 4 X 4

Q-car

19,000 miles in a 2.5 Forester (with added Prodrive Performance Pack upgrade at 9,000 miles - lifting power/torque from 230PS/260lbft to 260PS/300lbft) has been effortless with decent ride, composed on bends, phenomenal performance, and all-weather capability over the worst snowy roads.

The interior is very functional with wipe-clean style fabric seats and only a nod to tactile plastics. The stereo (6CD in dash unit) is let down by woeful speakers, including an all-but-useless 'subwoofer' in the boot which is really just an unpowered 6x9.

Rear seats are fine for kids/adults, but not far enough from the front seats to accommodate child-seats unless the fronts are forward a bit.

25-26mpg over mixed driving is better than I expected, with reasonable use of 'boost'.

Boot floor is quite high, but this is partly due to a welcome full size spare beneath it.

Ground clearance is 8", and has proven to be adequate over tracks and snow - no low-range ratios means it isn't suitable for serious mud-plugging.

Porsche Boxster levels of acceleration in a car that looks like a breadvan - no chavs trying to race off the lights in this one!

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