Offroad Chops

The offroad portion of Subaru's press drive consisted of a lengthy course on California's Catalina Island, and I had a chance to tackle some fairly demolished dirt roads. I imagine a tiny fraction of Forester owners will take their SUVs to these lengths, but it performed well nonetheless, clawing up steep slopes and rutted pathways with well-controlled body motions. The wheels stayed well-connected to the dirt, allowing the nose or tail to swing wide only under the most sudden turns. (All deliberate, of course.)

    See also:

    Compass calibration
    1. If a “C” is displayed in the compass window, the compass needs to be calibrated. 2. Drive the vehicle in a circle at 5 mph (8 km/h) or less until the display reads a direction. 3. You can also ca ...

    Front passenger’s SRS frontal airbag
    The front passenger’s SRS frontal airbag uses a dual stage inflator. The inflator operates in different ways depending on the severity of impact. The total load on the seat is monitored by th ...

    Coolant temperature low indicator light (nonturbo models)/Coolant temperature high warning light (non-turbo models)
    • After turning the ignition switch to the “ON” position, if this indicator light/warning light behaves in any of the following ways, the electrical system may be malfunctioning. Contact your SU ...