Subaru Forester XT - Eagle's Nest Trail

The last weekend before Christmas greeted Krakusy with a truly winter atmosphere. Fresh snow, biting frost and plenty of sun evoked a variety of associations. Unfortunately, due to the prevailing aura, none of them reminded of Easter, the celebration of which was supposed to begin any day now. I decided to break up the monotony of preparations, which mainly consist of cleaning and shopping, with a short Subaru Forester out of town. The target fell on the village of Pilica, 75 km from Krakow. It contains a historical palace, which has probably been preserved in its current form since the second half of the century.

Before leaving, I decided to check the weather forecast for drivers. This indicated that the winter brought down on travelers its heaviest weapons. The entire route was supposed to be full of snow, ice and extremely low temperatures at the end of March. In short, perfect weather to thoroughly test the car, still waiting under the snow cover. It was the Subaru Forester XT version. This means that the tested unit was equipped with the most powerful engine currently on offer. Under the hood was a turbocharged, 4-cylinder, 2-liter boxer with a capacity of 240 hp. (350 Nm). All-wheel drive was transmitted via a continuously variable CVT transmission.

The route plan assumed movement from south to north from Krakow to the exit through Zielonki towards Skala.

Then I was going to go to the Ojców National Park to test the car's behavior on the snowy and winding roads that I had to get to Olkusz. From there I wanted to go towards Ogrodzienets, where a few kilometers beyond the village of Klyuchi there is a road leading directly to Pilica.

So it's time to reset the daily counter, remove the snow from the car and, most importantly, at a temperature of 8 degrees below zero, turn on the interior and seat heating. Already the first kilometers that I drove around Krakow allowed me to notice that the car behaves exceptionally well in corners and even large bumps are not able to knock it off the course chosen by the driver. This made me optimistic about the winding sections that were waiting for me between Skala and Olkusz. In overcoming them, in addition to excellent handling, a direct steering wheel and a sensational continuously variable transmission, one more function should have helped me. It was the Sport Sharp mode, which, according to the manufacturer, "offers an exciting level of engine performance and handling [...] It is ideal for navigating twisty roads ...". Indeed, after activating it, the car reacted much faster to my actions with the gas pedal, the “gears” switched faster and with less attention to comfort. The busy and empty, non-snowy road offered by Subarka quickly led me to the market square in Skala. It turned out to be a pass to the winter landscapes that the morning weather forecast warned me about. In Oitsovsky National Park, they searched in vain for a snow-covered asphalt belt. Every stretch of the road was covered with hard-packed snow, which, where the trees did not block the sunlight, turned into ice. Such conditions would force most cars to slow down significantly, but in the case of the Forester, this is not something to worry about too much. Even fairly fast cornering and sharp steering turns did not trigger the traction control system. Having overcome several sharp turns in such a landscape, I reached a parking lot located on the northern edge of the national park near the town of Wola-Kalinovska. From the thick layer of untouched snow, it was clear that no one had dared to go there for a long time. At first, all-wheel drive could cope with fairly deep and icy snow, but its combination with even a slight slope made the car stop almost immediately. After several such attempts, I decided to return to the road, fearing that another uneven ground would stop me in the parking lot until the thaw. So I got back on my planned route and headed to Olkusz on one of the most magnificent roads around Krakow. Due to the greater fuel consumption, I covered this distance with the Sport Sharp mode turned on. I was forced to turn it off only after the number of kilometers that, according to the computer, I could drive on the fuel remaining in the tank, sharply decreased.

As planned, I headed towards Ogrodzienets, turning right after the village of Klyuche onto a narrow road, completely icy and full of holes, like Swiss cheese, along which I reached the center of Pilica. It remains only to leave the car in the parking lot and walk through a large park, in the depths of which is the destination of the trip. There are no entry signs at the gate, but the caretaker I met in the park allowed me to enter the grounds to take a picture of the Forester. In a conversation with him, I also learned that the deplorable state of the building was caused by an unsettled ownership agreement from the 90s. It was the dispute about the rightful owner that stopped the general reconstruction of the castle, which began in the 80s.

While we were taking photos, it's time to briefly talk about the trip. To get from Krakow to the castle in Pilica is a distance of just over 92 km, during which the Subarka required an average of 11,4 l / 100 km. A number of accidents, during which the car was effectively immobilized by snow, and driving in Sport Sharp mode had a significant impact on fuel consumption. However, I was very pleasantly surprised by the interior. The dark instrument panel harmonizes perfectly with the light-coloured A-pillars and headlining, while the large sunroof brightens the interior and makes driving more enjoyable. Even though it didn't take long, my buttocks were saying otherwise. The seats are as hard as a church pew, and the lack of thigh support in the passenger seat makes it easy to slide off the equal seats. The return journey has been slightly modified to make the fuel consumption more realistic. Having reached Olkusz, I did not go towards Skala, but stopped on the main road, which led me to the Krakow ring road. All this time, I tried to drive as economically as possible by setting the engine mode to Intelligent Mode, which aims to strike a balance between vehicle dynamics and driving efficiency. Thanks to his help and following the rules of eco-driving on the way back, I managed to achieve fuel consumption of 8,5 l/100 km, improving the overall result by 10,4 l/100 km.

In just 4 days of using the car, I drove 283 km on it, reaching a result of 12 l / 100 km. But most importantly, all this time I was accompanied by incredible driving pleasure. The car turned out to be the perfect car for both the track and the city. The gearbox works decisively and every time a power injection is needed, it eliminates a big turbo hole that can be “fallen” into by self-selecting the gear ratio using the paddles on the steering wheel. The suspension is tuned quite hard, in line with the sporting aspirations of the Japanese brand. Thanks to this, the car drives confidently and does not lean too much when cornering, but due to strong shocks that reach the passengers. Despite some shortcomings, I sadly parted ways with the Forester. A few days during which I had the opportunity to talk with him convinced me that the design of the Subaru Forester is the quintessence of an SUV.