I've waited 6months before writing this review as I wanted to get to know the car as well as I could. I nearly gave my Forester 5stars but it's not quite perfect so I've opted for 4stars, though it's really a 4.5star car.

I previously owned a 2006 Subaru Outback which I kept for 10yrs and it was practical and never let me down, so I was more than happy to buy another Subaru. The new Outback only comes with either a diesel (which I didn't want or need, covering less than 12k miles per year) or a non-turbo 2.5 petrol - basically the same engine that was in my old Outback and I fancied a change, so the 2.0 turbo XT it was.

First off, it's a great car to drive and more than fast enough for my needs. After driving like a banshee for the first couple of months I calmed down a bit and decided I wanted to keep my license after all and generally only hoof it when overtaking caravans on A roads. No more extensive planning needed to overtake HGVs single carriageways - you just see a gap and floor it, doesn't matter what mode you're in (intelligent, Sport etc). Convinced my wife this was a necessary safety feature thus making the Forester much safer than the old Outback.

Inside the cabin it's like a Tardis - huge, lots of room for passengers - rear seat leg room is limo-like. Also, it has just about every piece of equipment you could ever use including sat nav, DAB radio, reversing camera, heated seats and a huge sunroof.

The CVT gearbox has come in for a lot of stick but I reckon it's pretty good. It's not quite as smooth or satisfying as a really good torque converter auto but you don't really notice it's there. When you start off and the engine's cold it can feel a bit noisy and gutless for the first couple of miles but once the engine warms up it just does it's job with little fuss. Using 'Sport' mode gives you stepped changes and the paddles work great but who actually uses paddles? I did use them to vary engine speed while running in but haven't touched them since...

So why not 5 stars?

The first thing is the powered tailgate. Sounds luxurious but, in reality, a royal pain in the backside. It takes forever to open, which is annoying when it's raining and you just want to chuck stuff in and get going. What's wrong with a manual tailgate? It doesn't exactly require much effort. But that's not the worst. No, because the tailgate is powered it cannot raise as far as a manual one so, if you're 6ft or over (and a bit of a forgetful i**** like me) you'll constantly bang your head (quite painfully in some cases). It should have some warning tape around it because it blooming dangerous, and hitting my head all the time is making me even more forgetful - it's a vicious circle.

Also, because the rear seats have been pushed so far back for space and legroom, the boot's not exactly cavernous, though it is upright and 'boxy' which helps. The old Outback, which had more or less the same external dimensions, had a much bigger boot - used to get 2 dogs PLUS some luggage in the Outback, whereas there's no extra room in the Forester once the dogs are in. It wouldn't hurt to lose a few inches of rear legroom or add a few inches to the car's length.

What else? The suspension is too hard for our potholed roads. It only has 18inch wheels - not big by today's standards - and fairly 'deep' tyres but it bangs and crashes around on broken surfaces. A friend's Audi A5 on 19s is far smoother (I hate that because I don't like Audis). I know Subaru doesn't sell enough cars in the UK to merit tuning the suspension for British roads but they have to do better than this.

I've had a bit of a problem with my Forester's alarm. It's got a microwave sensor, positioned under the storage box between the front seats. The microwave sensor kept triggering the alarm - usually at 3am - for no apparent reason. When I contacted the dealer, they said this was being caused by my iPhone interfering with the sensor (sorry about that - didn't realise it was my fault) and that I shouldn't keep my phone in my left trouser pocket. How ridiculous is that and what if I want to charge my phone from the USB in the centre console? Obviously I can't. I duly moved my phone to my right pocket and the alarm stopped triggering. I assume Subaru must have a fix for this - surely?

Finally, the one thing I hated about the Outback was the puny stereo and guess what? Yes, things haven't moved on much in the new Forester. It is better but still weedy and with only 6 speakers - it's 2016 for heaven's sake! This is a top-of-the-range model and it's got a c*** stereo. In other countries you can spec, I think, a Harmon Kardon system with 10 speakers, so why not here in the UK?

However, it's still a great car and it has some rarity value which is nice. It's very practical. If you buy one you won't regret it because it's good points more than make up for the bad. You'll get 25mpg if you put the foot down and 35mpg if you drive like the Archbishop of Canterbury.