• Subaru was the first company that made all-wheel drive available throughout its entire lineup. When Subaru introduced the all-wheel drive Forester, a compact crossover SUV, in 1998, the vehicle was the first new model introduced by Subaru since 1992. The 1998 Forester, which shares a platform with the Impreza, comes in Base, L and S trim levels.
  
  

Engine Specifications

• The 1998 Forester has a 2.5-liter H4 engine with 165 horsepower, 166 foot-pounds of torque, four valves per cylinder, single overhead cam, 3.92 inch bore and 3.11 inch stroke. The compression ratio is 10 to one. The Forester comes with a base five-speed manual overdrive transmission and a four-speed automatic overdrive transmission as an optional feature on the L and S models.
  
  

Fuel Economy

• The 1998 Forester's fuel tank holds up to 15.9 gallons of gasoline. The four-speed transmission gets 21 miles per gallon in the city and 25 miles per gallon on the highway. The five-speed transmission gets 21 miles per gallon in the city and 27 miles per gallon on the highway.
  
  

Dimensions

• The Forester has four doors and stands 65 inches tall. It is 175.2 inches long and 66.3 inches wide with a 99.4 inch wheel base and 7.5 inches of ground clearance. It offers 33.2 cubic feet of cargo space and a 95.1 cubic feet passenger compartment. The base model weighs 3,020 pounds. The manual transmission L and S weighs 3,040 pounds, while the automatic version weighs 3,120 pounds.
  
  

Passenger Room

• The 1998 Forester seats up to five people. Front passengers have 40.6 inches of headroom, 43 inches of legroom and 53.3 inches of shoulder room. Rear passengers get 39.6 inches of headroom, 33.4 inches of legroom, and 53.6 inches of shoulder room.
  
  

Safety Specifications

• The Forester features standard child safety locks. It does not offer anti-lock brakes, but driver and passenger airbags are standard.
  
  

Amenities

• The Forester came standard with air conditioning and a tilt steering wheel and a stereo with cassette player.