Hello old friend Forester Sport

RELIABLE: CASE OF QUALITY VERSUS QUANTITY

- Jaco van der Merwe

Subaru is hardly visible on a map of South Africa's motoring landscape. But the Japanese carmaker's existence presents an excellent case of quality versus quantity.

The quantity is the relentless push for market share led by an ever-growing number of Chinese players. It has become an all-out price war. The more they sell, the lower the prices will stay.

The jury is still out on how reliable the tsunami of new offerings is, as most them haven't even been around long enough for their warranties to run out.

While Subaru's sales dwarf in comparison to the volume-movers, it has a huge quality ace up its sleeve. Subaru was ranked the world’s most reliable car of 2025 by Consumer Reports, an American nonprofit consumer organisation dedicated to independent product ratings.

This explains why the brand has such a staunchly loyal following, albeit a small one. Sadly, their small presence leaves them with a tiny footprint (when last did you see a Subaru dealership?) and not in a position for any kind of price war.

The Citizen Motoring has not driven a Subaru in many years, in which time we sampled dozens of offerings from new brands. When we finally got the chance to get into new Subaru Forester in Sport guise recently, it was almost like catching up with an old friend you have not seen for a long time.