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"         With the gracious cooperation of the Catalina Island Conservancy, I had the rare opportunity to sample the all-new third-generation Subaru Forester on some of the island&amp;#039;s remote dirt roads. Here&amp;#039;s a quick take on what I learned:   Well, this island off the Southern California coast is beautiful, almost reminiscent of Ireland when it&amp;#039;s made green for a couple of months each year by winter rains. More to the point, I learned that Subaru has done a good job of thoroughly revamping its compact all-wheel-drive crossover sport-utility vehicle, which has been pleasing outdoorsy types since it arrived in 1997. It was totally at home on the island&amp;#039;s relatively smooth dirt roads, and was even able to fight its way up hills I thought unclimbable.   Although it has lost some boxy distinctiveness, the 2009 Forester has been made significantly more spacious (especially in the back-seat area) without growing by much. Based on the new Impreza chassis, it&amp;#039;s 3.0 in. longer and 1.8 in. wider than before, on a wheelbase that&amp;#039;s grown by 3.6 in. New double A-arm rear suspension allows for a larger rear cargo hold, but the Forester remains small enough to park with ease in the city. And it continues to have more of a carlike feel than the Honda CR-V and Toyota RAV4, its chief competitors.   Two flat-4 engines are available, a naturally aspirated sohc 2.5-liter with 170 bhp, and a turbo with 224 bhp. Transmission offerings are a 5-speed manual and a 4-speed automatic with a lock-up torque converter. The engines have that familiar rumble, but the new Forester is much quieter inside, thanks in part to door windows that now have their own outer frames, a first for the Forester.   Base models start at just below $20,000, equipped with side-curtain airbags, electronic stability control and 4-wheel disc brakes with Brake Assist. Fully loaded turbocharged Foresters might touch 30.   Want to know more? Pick up a July 2008 copy of Road &amp;amp;amp; Track.   What&amp;#039;s Hot:   It&amp;#039;s a lot roomier It holds more cargo It&amp;#039;s quieter inside  What&amp;#039;s Not:   It&amp;#039;s less distinctive Its shift linkage has too much play It does not have a 5-speed automatic transmission  "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.roadandtrack.com/new-cars/first-drives/reviews/a13914/2009-subaru-forester/>