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:

    While going down a hill
    When you are descending a hill or any other slope while braking with the “SPORT” mode selected, the transmission may downshift to 3rd or 2nd gear depending on how hard you depress the brake pedal, cau ...

    Immobilizer system
    This light blinks approximately 60 seconds after the ignition switch is turned from “ON” position to the “Acc” or “LOCK” position or immediately after the key is pulled out. Refer to “Immobilizer” ...

    Light control switch
    The light control switch only operates when the key is inserted into the ignition switch. Regardless of the position of the light control switch, the illuminated lights are turned off when the ke ...