SUBARU'S new Forester has won a top safety award in the United States, scoring the highest marks for side, rear and front impact-protection.
This has earned it the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety's '2008 Top Safety Pick' award.
To win, the vehicle must offer superior overall crash protection among the vehicles in its class, not only registering the highest marks in front, side and rear tests but be equipped with electronic stability control.
Institute President, Adrian Lund, says: 'You don't know what kind of crash you are going to be in. That's why it's important to choose a vehicle that will protect you in all kinds of crashes. The 'Top Safety Pick' designation is intended to help people find the safest vehicles.'
The Institute's frontal crashworthiness evaluations are based on the results of a 40mph offset accident, while the side impact is measured by a moving barrier colliding at 31mph. Rear crash protection tests a stationary vehicle's head-restraint and seat effectiveness at an impact of 20mph.
Subaru UK boss Lawrence Good, said: 'This is perfectly timed just as the new Forester is about to go on sale here in the UK."
Based on the platform of the new Impreza, the latest Forester is now closer in size to its Honda CR-V and Toyota RAV4 rivals, being 75mm longer, 45mm wider and 110mm higher than the model it replaces.
Rear legroom grows by 95mm, the driver's eye-line is 30mm higher while the load space is now 450 litres with the rear seat up, which is 63 litres more than the previous model.
On sale here this month, the newcomer will initially be available as a 2.0-litre petrol model with manual or automatic transmission costing from £17,995.
The company says it will be several months before it can introduce a version with the two-litre diesel engine that has just appeared in the Legacy range.