Gravel. Bitumen. Dirt. Seize the surface and take a spontaneous detour knowing that Subaru’s award winning Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive system will keep you grounded. The on-board computer constantly optimises traction and grip on every wheel, giving you a rock-solid grip on the road.

Learn more about AWD vs 4WD

Forester’s Lineartronic^® CVT responds perfectly to every moment of your journey. Tweaked to react to every touch. Highway cruising or hill climbing, Forester’s engine operates in its optimal power range no matter where you drive.

Intelligent hybrid technology in action. Built around the e-Boxer, Subaru’s next generation power unit, Hybrid Forester delivers better low speed acceleration and torque, for a highly responsive drive with effortless efficiency and lower fuel consumption when compared to all petrol variants. Working in synergy with Subaru Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive, the e-Boxer captures excess engine power and braking energy to recharge the electric battery – so you need never plug it in.

_{Standard on Subaru Forester Hybrid L AWD and Hybrid  S AWD variants only}

_{Subaru Forester Hybrid S AWD shown}

It’s the weekend set closest to January 8 of each year that I pack up the family in our all-wheel drive Forester SUV and head to Central West NSW to the annual Parkes Elvis Festival. It’s traditionally a weekend where I don’t have to work, so every moment is a chance to do, right? It’s Now or Never as Elvis once said. 

Parkes was once best known for The Dish, the radio telescope that helped broadcast the moon landing. Today, this heritage town is famous for the hordes of Elvis fans who make the annual pilgrimage to honour the King. 

My wife and I are children of the 60’s, so on our first trip we weren’t quite sure how our two kids (one of the 90’s, the other of the Noughties) would cope. 

It’s around a 5 hour trip from Sydney, a lot longer than our usual weekenders. It never ceases to amaze me how the tech, safety and luxury features of the Forester 2.5i Premium AWD SUV allow us to peacefully enjoy our lengthy time together in the car. There is no Shake Rattle and Roll as we drive on the not so perfect roads past Bathurst and Orange. I have the Forester’s Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive to thank for that. 

As every father is entitled to, I find the chance to torment the kids. I connect immediately with the Apple CarPlay^® and start the soundtrack to the weekend. I play Elvis tunes for hours. Trying my hardest to brainwash the kids. You may say Don’t Be Cruel, yet my wife and I see just how long before they break. So far, they haven’t made it past Katoomba before that happens. They use the voice control and change it to Ariana Grande when we stop for a coffee reviver break. 

We never can remember the name of our Lodge, so let’s just say we pull up into our modest Heartbreak Hotel. It’s Thursday night and we attend the Miss Priscilla Lookalike Dinner at the Parkes Service Club Starlight Room. 

It’s another hot Friday, so we take it easy. We support all the Elvis buskers. Make an attempt at the Hound Dog (Hot Dog) Eating Contest. Head for an air-conditioned pub lunch and stand at the counter alongside a gaggle of Elvis’s as you order a schooner. If we have the strength, we catch an Elvis Impersonator Gala Show at the Leagues Club Lounge that night. 

Saturday is the big day. Elvis breakfasts, The Street Parade, the all-day concerts at Cooke Park, the Junior Elvis and Priscilla Lookalike Competitions, Elvis Bowls, Elvis Tribute shows and so, so much more. More Bossa Nova and Rock-A-Hula than you can imagine. Our Sunday is our day of rest. We attend the Elvis Gospel Service in the morning. No need to travel to a Las Vegas Chapel, this is the Outback chance to have your wedding vows renewed by an Elvis celebrant. 

All weekend we have sought air conditioning, and it’s no different as we drive out of Heartbreak Hotel’s car-park to begin our short drive out to The Dish. With dual-zone climate control and the rear vents on, there is Peace in the Valley for the four of us. After our last photo-op, I put the SUV on Return To Sender mode. On comes the Adaptive Cruise Control and we make the steady car safety trip back to Sydney. 

The kids use the voice control and ask for my Best Of Elvis playlist for our soundtrack going home. To our surprise, Elvis has made an impact on our two Gen-‘Whatevers’. They may not go out and buy some Blue Suede Shoes, but they always say yes when we ask if they still want to have an Elvis weekend away with Mum and Dad. 

  Delly Carr

Subaru Ambassador

19 May 2021

My obsession with cowboys goes back a long way. As a child in fact, sitting alongside Dad watching B&W John Wayne Westerns on the old TV. John Wayne’s name conjures up images of sunsets, cowboy hats, gunfighters and the tough heritage of the frontier. 

As I got older I longed to know if the cowboy still existed. Was the lifestyle just fables of the past? Was being a cowboy still a lifestyle or medium of expression? 

Ever since man rode a horse, there has been cowboy wisdom. One such saying is “If you climb in the saddle, be ready for the ride.” I was ready. I packed my cameras, put on my faded jeans and boots, climbed into the driver’s seat of the AWD SUV, and began the quest to discover my boyhood vision of what a true-blue Aussie Cowboy might be. 

My highway travels took me to Rodeos in Mt Isa, Wyong, Morriset, Nowra, and Picton. “ A good old rodeo never hurt anyone,” I kept thinking. Yet only a city boy would say something silly like that. I’m a city slicker from Sydney, I say no lie, but just to get me ‘being country’, a quick search of the DAB+ Digital Radio and I find two Country Radio Stations to get me more in tune with Rodeo living. Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, and Dolly Parton should do the trick. I’ll fool everyone. 

“When in doubt, let your horse do the thinkin’.” My Forester 2.5i Premium AWD SUV was indeed my thinking horse during the month-long photo commission. One of Subaru’s most impressive safety technologies, Vision Assist provided me with information and alerts to avoid any scratch, dents or collisions, front, side or rear during the quest. I don’t know how I used to drive without the Blind Spot Monitor light in the door mirror housing. Driver visibility in all directions allowed me to safely navigate all conditions of the journey, the highways through to the dusty country roads, the muddy country showgrounds, erratic horse and bull trailers, and enthusiastically driven pickup trucks. 

“Rodeo ain’t no ordinary life. But a cowboy ain’t no ordinary man.” 

Cowboy films often show cowboys who are handsome, clean shaven, young and fair-skinned. In real life the Aussie cowboys were far from that. They were covered in dust and it looked like some time since they washed or shaved. Usually their horses were more handsome than they were. 

“The only good reason to ride a bull is to meet a nurse”. 

Funny and true to a certain extent, but I saw and photographed so much more to rodeo. A cowboy is indeed a man with guts (and a horse). It is a lifestyle that offers heartbreak and rewards in equal measure. It may seem the embodiment of a fading American dream, but it is a tough shot at fame with many broken bones and long roads. Explosive action, danger, extraordinary skill and a refined talent. The most rugged individuals in sport. A life envied by many but experienced by few. 

Without complaint, the all-wheel drive Forester helped me to pursue the completion of a moody photography portfolio within the dust and mud of Rodeo arenas. I am so glad I took that journey, a moment that was my chance to do. I wiped the mud off my boots and bid farewell as I drove home from my last rodeo. But there was only silence. For “a cowboy never says goodbye, it’s not in his nature.”
 

Delly Carr

Subaru Ambassador

19 May 2021

The family and I spend a lot of time in the Forester SUV. Mostly on day trips and weekenders. There are a lot of clever features and small details I have discovered in the car since purchasing it. That keeps all four of us comfortable, calm, and content when on the freeways. 

That mood changes to the opposite end of the spectrum when I tell them that time is getting away and I ask that we leave country café cheese and crackers, the hot chocs and the banoffee pie behind and head for the nearest antiques and collectables stores. The kids will then almost always object to the dust and rust that I love scavenging through. 

I’m an old skool photographer. It hurts deep inside when I have to try and accept that the modern-day camera has changed in function, look and design. “It’s a phone” I complain, “not a camera”. I find it hard to accept the truth that things ultimately change. 

You see, I started as a 7yo with a plastic 99c supermarket camera and 2 rolls of black and white film. It stayed a hobby, a hobby that became my vocation after I finished my university degree. Then in my early years as a professional, I made the hesitant jump from film to digital cameras. Once again, I didn’t want to accept the truth. As challenging as it was, I loved using film. 

My wife calls it my mid-life crisis (it seems to have lasted for a lot longer than that though) but I do love the thrill of the hunt, to find as much of the old skool world of photography that I can lay my hands and spare dollars on. 

So the family come along with me, pretending that they are mildly interested in helping me look. Just to keep Dad happy. Yet they know I don’t want to be like everyone else. I’ll spend a lot of time to look for the unusual, the rustic, the unique, the rare, and the highly collectable. No Kodak Box Brownies for me, everyone has one of those in their dusty cupboards. 

I’ve cunningly spent the day softening them up with good food, good shopping, and great experiences. I’ve even played their music on Apple CarPlay^® through Subaru’s infotainment system to give them no excuse to complain about anything. For now it is my turn to get into as many Antique stores before the sun sets. 

Although in haste between stores, I drive carefully, safely and within the road rules. To shave those few minutes though, I’m constantly working alongside the clever features my Forester 2.5i Premium SUV has to offer me; with Subaru’s Vision Assist including the Blind Spot Warning Monitor, Front View Monitor and Rear Cross Traffic Alert. The safety technology and rear parking sensors could mean the difference in getting that rare camera in my hand, or that forlorn feeling as I see the front store closing as I approach. 

The kids I know don’t want to travel home with grumpy Dad. So they let Dad have his time impersonating Indiana Jones for a short while, for he just might let us all have a fast food burger dinner from the roadside restaurant on the way home. 

Say Cheese now takes on a different meaning when we order the burgers and extras at the Drive-Thru. 

Delly Carr

Subaru Ambassador

19 May 2021