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.)

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    Rear seatbelts (except rear center seatbelt)
    1. Sit well back in the seat. 2. Pick up the tongue plate and pull the belt out slowly. Do not let it get twisted. If the belt stops before reaching the buckle, return the belt slightly and pul ...

    Locking and unlocking from the outside
    To lock the driver’s door from the outside with the key, turn the key toward the rear. To unlock the door, turn the key toward the front. Pull the outside door handle to open an unlocked door. ...

    Manual transmission – 5 speeds (except STI)
    The manual transmission is a fully synchromeshed, 5-forward-speed and 1-reverse- speed transmission. The shift pattern is shown on the shift lever knob. When shifting from 5th gear to reverse gear, ...