All Foresters are powered by Subaru's biggest engine, a 2.5-liter 4-cylinder boxer that produces 165 horsepower. As Subaru points out, torque is the force that gets the car rolling and provides acceleration. Horsepower merely helps the vehicle sustain its speed. Torque has increased for 1999 to 166 pounds-feet at 4,000 rpm. While horsepower figures help sell cars, Subaru says it prefers to engineer its cars to perform well in real-world conditions. In those conditions, the Forester accelerates quicker than the Toyota RAV4 or Honda CR-V.

With horizontally opposed pistons, Subaru's 2.5-liter 4-cylinder is much shorter than a traditional inline-4 engine. That leaves more room for people and cargo. This design allowed Subaru's engineers to mount the engine farther forward in the car and use equal-length driveshafts that are aligned directly with the front wheels, which eliminates torque steer and reduces driveline friction. The boxer engine is also not nearly as tall, which permits a low hood line for excellent visibility out front and a low center of gravity for improved handling balance in corners.

All Subarus sold today are equipped with all-wheel drive. It happens to be one of the best systems in the world, rivaled only by Porsche and Audi all-wheel-drive systems. The beauty of Subaru's system is that it works full time and operates seamlessly, redirecting power to whichever tire offers the best grip.

About the size of a grapefruit, the transfer system takes up little space and adds little weight. Designed for blasting through snow and mud, the system does not have a low-range set of gears, so it isn't suitable for creeping up steep rocky faces. The RAV4 or the Jeep Wrangler are better suited for rock climbing. The Forester, however, is quite capable of carrying a trout fisherman to a remote stream and it's perfect for heading to the ski slopes.

Because it isn't nearly as tall as a sport-utility, it's much easier to load a kayak, a set of skis and other car-top gear onto the roof of the Forester.

For 1999, the Forester has a thicker roof panel, roof stiffeners, front and rear center pillar reinforcements and reinforced side sills and rails-all designed to increase side-impact protection. The seats and seat belts have been modified for improved safety and the airbag system has been revised.

Forester is available with either a 5-speed manual or 4-speed automatic. The automatic has been extensively modified for 1999; friction has been reduced and it works more closely with the engine management system for improved efficiency. It's a good system. A new 5-speed manual gearbox offers smoother shifting and easier engagement into reverse. It shifts like a compact sedan and the clutch is light and easy to use.

Three trim levels are available: Forester, L and S. All three are mechanically identical and the base Forester comes with a high level of standard equipment, including air conditioning, power windows, fog lights, roof rack, rear window defogger, trailer harness connector, reclining front bucket seats with adjustable lumbar support, tilt steering, and an AM/FM/cassette stereo. The L model adds antilock brakes (ABS), power locks and a cargo tray.

We opted for Forester S, which adds rear disc brakes, a chrome grille, big power mirrors, deluxe cloth interior, cruise control and vanity mirrors. The S model's wider, lower profile 215/60HR16 tires on alloy wheels provide better cornering performance on wet and dry pavement than the 205/70SR15 tires on steel wheels that come on the other two models.