Coming off 2001 as its most successful year ever, the Subaru Forester has been completely redesigned and re-engineered for the 2003 model year. It will be in Subaru showrooms next month.

Debuting in 1997 as a 1998 model, the Forester has received numerous awards including Money Magazine’s “Best Buy,” AAA’s “Best buy priced under $25,000 and Consumer Reports Best Buy and the New England Automotive Press Association’s “Best Winter Vehicle” award.

Powered by a 165 horsepower, 2.5 liter, 16 valve, SOHC 4-cylinder, aluminum alloy engine, the Forester comes standard transmission with a 5-speed manual transmission. Optional is a gated 4-speed automatic. Subaru’s popular hydraulic clutch with “Hill Holder” feature is standard on manual transmission. The Forester is also rated as a l ow emission vehicle (LEV).

It offers high ground clearance (7.5 inches) as well as unique height and size that presents what Subaru terms a “command view” of the road, coupled with 100 percent, full time AWD.