Modern talking with the Forester

It's amazing how things change. Just like how Subaru has with its fourth iteration of the Forester - a crossover wagon that was born in 1997.

Looking at the third generation of the Forester - stereotyping, somehow, starts to set in and an ambiguous link is formed with a certain group of young Chinese men or teenagers who are uncouth or lack cultural refinement.

The main problem here was that it garnered a lot of interest from people who loved extensively modified cars. And with this status quo, the car was usually affiliated with ah bengs.

That aside, the Forester was one of the special cars in its segment at that time - with a clean, stylish look that could be zhng-ed, as well as certain features such as a full time Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive (AWD).

Yes, one may argue that old is still gold (we would be inclined to agree) but you can't deny the fact that there is a need for everything to keep up with the trend as well as technology. Every carmaker out there is introducing newer of the newest stuff in their cars from time to time, hence modernisation is inevitable in order to stay in the ring.

Fast forward - the new Forester comes with a slew of amazing features in a well rounded package including things like a more muscular look, a revamped interior that sports better quality and less tacky materials as well as a power tailgate that provides greater convenience.

Following the trend of downsizing engines, Subaru has also followed suit, and a new Direct Injection Turbo Boxer powers the new Forester. Though it's a smaller lump under the hood now, performance figures have been improved with the new Forester hitting the century mark 0.4 seconds faster than its predecessor.

Mated to a new Lineartronic CVT transmission - you can't really feel the sensation of a slipping clutch unlike the usual CVTs - driving experience isn't dulled in the new Forester. What's more, paddle shifters allow you to control these ratios in a sportier way.

And when you decide to take the Forester for some off-road adventure, the new X-Mode puts the full capability of the Symmetrical AWD to work and complements it with Hill Descent Control to instil greater confidence in tackling those hard terrains.

There's so much more stuff in the Forester which come standard now that enthusiasts may want to think thrice before modifying their car.

This time around, Subaru has, perhaps, a better chance of switching its target audience to non-ah bengs.