The Beatles 1967 hit, “Getting Better” was one of the last songs created from scratch by John Lennon and Paul McCartney, and was included on the album “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band”. Its production on March 23^rd, 1967, had been delayed two days when Lennon mistakenly ingested LSD instead of an intended upper – something he typically did to get the recording work completed. Provenance of the song goes back to 1964 when session drummer Jimmy Nicol subbed for an ailing Ringo Starr on tour and when asked about his extreme case of nerves would reply that he was “getting better’. He made that response so often that it became a joke phrase amongst members of the biggest band in the world.

The song’s lyrics include the line “I have to admit it’s getting better”, and relative to the Subaru Forester, I do. In the spring of 2011, I tested the then-current Forester, so therefore had a point of reference for analyzing this 2014 model. And I’ll have to admit, well, that this new Venetian Red Pearl Forester was impressive. Greeley Subaru, a division of Weld County Garage, loaned me such a car to test recently. It had an M.S.R.P. of $34,949.00, somewhat north of thirty thousand dollars just like the Subaru that I drove three years ago. This 2014 Forester had a base of $32,995.00 with mirror and protection packages for $1,129.00 and freight charges of $825.00. Standard on the Touring Forester was dual zone climate control, GPS navigation (6.1” screen), satellite radio, Harman/kardon 440 watt stereo, Bluetooth technology, 10-way power driver bucket, heated front seats, power windows/locks/mirrors/tailgate, power moon roof, tilt/telescope, and black leather upholstery.

Subaru sedans and SUV’s all have “boxer”, horizontally opposed engines, and this one was a four cylinder, 2.0 liter turbocharged model with 250 horsepower and 258 lb. ft. of torque. The all-wheel drive power train obtained its motion through a Lineartronic CVT transmission – another superb one with manual eight-speed operation like other Subarus have. X-Mode is included on the XT, enhancing engine, transmission, and traction control functions. Fuel economy ratings for the Subaru are 23 and 28, with a combined rating of 25. Zero to sixty acceleration of this vehicle is reportedly 7 seconds with a top speed of 120 mph. Handling and guidance of the Forester was an improvement over the 2011 model.

Styling of the 2014 Forester was slightly updated and aerodynamics are improved as is cargo space inside the five passenger vehicle. Wheels are 18” ten-spoke alloys fitted with Bridgestone 225/55R18 Dueler H/L 400 all season radials. Weight comes in at 3,651 lbs., length is 180.9”, width is 70.7”, height is 68.4”, and ground clearance is 8.7”.

I enjoyed testing the new 2014 Forester and feel the company has managed to improve a top seller (123,592 in 2013). Regarding the 2011/2012 model, it’s a good thing that Subaru didn’t “Let it Be”.