Subaru Forester Touring Interior Driveway Test | Long-term Test

Subaru Forester Touring Interior Driveway Test | Long-Term test

Our long-term 2019 Subaru Forester Touring's interior is one area we wanted to really hone in on over a number of months with it. Though Subaru's interior functionality and space have long been key reasons people choose the brand, interior design and quality have been reasons they've looked elsewhere. A compromise needed to be made.

Subaru is trying to lift itself out of this rut with the higher trims of its latest models. The upmarket interiors of the Outback and Legacy are swathed in decent-feeling leather (or leather-substitute), contrast stitching, attractive trim and piano black accents. However, Subaru's best seller, the Forester, is a mixed bag of new, premium Subaru and old, sensible-shoes Subaru.

2019 Subaru Forester Touring Long-term Update: Repairing A Leak

2019 Subaru Forester Touring Long-Term Update: Repairing a leak

I hadn't been doing much driving, so the Forester had spent a good chunk of the rainy/snowy spring week relaxing in my driveway. Finally, it came time to pick up a birthday dinner — Indian food, curbside to-go. As soon as I sat down, I noticed something new: a small crack in the windshield. That fix will have to wait until more businesses reopen. As I eased out of my driveway, another issue emerged. I heard what sounded like water sloshing. Braking for the stop sign at the end of my street … yep, definitely liquid. It sounded like it was below or in front of me.

Later, I was parked in the alley behind the restaurant waiting for my order, and I accidentally dropped my phone down into the black hole on the righthand side of my seat. I reached down and groped for it, but instead of a rectangular personal computer, my fingers found nothing but carpet, seemingly soaked to capacity. My first instinct was to use a disinfectant wipe on my wet digits, but then I got out to inspect the underside of my seat from the second row. There was my phone, sitting in a fabric swamp under the seat.

2020 Honda Cr-v Touring Road Trip Drive | Checking Out The Changes For 2020

2020 Honda CR-V Touring Road Trip Drive | Checking out the changes for 2020

Over the past two decades, the Honda CR-V has embodied Honda's reputation for building durable, comfortable and user-friendly family cars that don't require a ton of unscheduled attention (aside from a brief hiccup with transmission reliability). As it has slowly become the automaker's bread-and-butter model, Honda's product planners have put correspondingly increased effort and resources toward keeping the CR-V fresh and competitive.

For the 2020 Honda CR-V, Honda tweaked the styling, added features and simplified its engine offerings in what is the first significant update since this generation dawned for the 2017 model year. There's also a new hybrid offering for those OK paying a Honda a bit more so they can pay oil companies less.