Auto News 5

Six years is the standard life span for a new car design, but the current Subaru Forester, which went on sale in early 2008, is being ushered off stage one year early. This is despite the fact that the departing Forester has sold much better than its gawky, wagonlike predecessors and even in its last year accounted for nearly a quarter of the brand's volume. The new Forester, wisely, does little to threaten that success, instead largely building on the previous car's strengths, the better to face the fleet of big-name competitors in this ever-more-popular segment.