YARK SUBARU.

The Forester is not about looks. It's not bad looking, but it's a pragmatic vehicle, not meant to be a pretty one.There are no touches that you could call especially lovely, as there are none you could call unattractive.Its shape is sporty enough, but it doesn't shout sport.It's squarish, but not blocky.It's slightly longer than a Honda CR-V, slightly shorter than a Toyota RAV4, and an inch narrower than both; slightly taller than the CR-V but not as tall as the RAV4.

The Forester's wing-shaped headlamps might be the snazziest feature, somewhat Saab-like in their appearance. Nice amber turn signals in the headlamp corners blend into fenders that are nicely wrapped around the car.The hood has sculpted edges, so subtle they're not noticed, but like the headlamps/eyes, the hood is a reminder that looks are not abandoned.

The front and rear fascia and rocker panels surround the car, and they're not very pretty in flat black plastic. They too have a function, being more rugged than shiny paint on sheetmetal, although no one does metal fascia any more anyhow.And at least the flat black plastic doesn't continue around the wheelwells, like on some SUVs.Also, those wheelwells are not overflared to attract attention.That would be unlike Subaru.

Along the sides, above the flat black rocker panels, there's a straight styling groove where once there were ding strips.