4am, Milton Keynes Snow Zone

It's the early hours of the morning and time to hit the Snow Zone slope in Milton Keynes, bleary-eyed eyed. Although it's closed there's still a hive of activity as the slope is prepared for the day's skiing.

After a few runs down the slope, the car's loaded with the all the kit for the drive to Scotland. One of the changes with the facelift is 'one-touch' folding rear seats. With just one pull of the lever on top of the seat, it folds flatly, allowing me to easily slide the snowboard in. They're 60:40 split, so I've kept the other half in place, which means that the bags, boots and coats in the boot shouldn't slide into the passenger area when we're on the move. The big boot swallows all the gear with room to spare. Reversing it out of the car park, I'm making full use of the new reversing camera - one of the changes on the 2010MY car.

5.13am ¦ Economy: - ¦ Mileage: 0m ¦ Range: 500 miles

With the car loaded, it's a short drive from the Snow Zone to Newport Pagnell Services, where the car is brimmed with diesel and the trip is zeroed. It's early March and the temperature is barely above freezing, so the heated seats, on the driver's left-hand side, are turned up to full.  

On start-up the needles spin round before returning to rest; the soothing blue backlighting on the dials is much appreciated at this time of the morning.

5.40am ¦ Economy: 41.7mpg ¦ Mileage: 27.2m ¦ Range: 510 miles

Cruise control on, set to 70mph, which is keeping the 2.0-litre flat boxer engine at a steady 2100 revs. Driver's seat is comfortable so far. It needs to be - I've got almost eight hours of quality sitting time ahead. 

5.53am ¦ Economy: 42.9mpg ¦ Mileage: 41.5m ¦ Range: 500 miles

Range starts to drop - could end up being a close-run thing.

6.32am ¦ Economy: 43.8mpg ¦ Mileage: 82.4m ¦ Range: 510 miles

Reached the other side of the M6 toll, which always seems to be clear no matter what time of day it is. It's a smooth and well-maintained piece of road, too. 50mph roadworks just the other side have kept speed down revs down to 1500rpm, mpg up to an average of 43.8mph - almost 1mpg more than half an hour ago. It also means that that there's now 510 miles of range.

6.54am ¦ Economy: 44.7mpg ¦ Mileage: 102.9m ¦ Range: 510 miles

Broken the 100 miles barrier as we pass Stoke-on-Trent on the M6. Range is still showing 510 miles. Feeling more comfortable, cocky even, about reaching Aviemore. Maybe it's the improving fuel economy, maybe it's the Red Bull high kicking-in, but either way it looks more likely that we're going to make it.

7.27am ¦ Economy: 44.7mpg ¦ Mileage: 138.4m ¦ Range: 500 miles

Sun's up and we're passing Manchester. It's 7.20am and I've snowboarded in Milton Keynes and covered nearly 140 miles of M1 and M6 motorway - all before most people have had their corn flakes.

8.14 ¦ Economy: 45.6mpg ¦ Mileage: 185.8m ¦ Range: 440 miles

Services and time for a break. Fuel consumption is dropping, so I'm planning to do the next stint at 65mpg, rather than 70mph. Hopefully taking it easy will eek out the range and provide a bit of cushion for later.

9.13am ¦ Economy: 45mpg ¦ Mileage: 228m ¦ Range: 360 miles

Climbing Shap summit in the Lake District. Working the car harder and as result economy has suffered. My earlier cockiness has turned has worn off and with the fuel gauge getting ever closer to showing just half a tank, I'm starting to think I won't make it. Aviemore is still more than 250 miles way and, if all goes to plan, we'll be coming off the motorway at around lunchtime and onto roads that won't be as good for cruising and keeping fuel consumption down.

9.35am ¦ Economy: 46.5mpg ¦ Mileage: 248m ¦ Range: 390 miles

Just starting to notice how quiet the Forester is on these longer trips. The flat boxer engine sounds the part under acceleration, but it's very subdued on the motorway. There's a little tyre noise, expected on this kind of motorway surface, but otherwise the interior is very hushed. The biggest hills are behind us now, so fuel economy has picked up a bit and the range is stretching out. We're well on target to reach Aviemore on a tank ... but the trip computer assumes I'll be driving like this all the way there.

9.54am ¦ Economy: 47.4mpg ¦ Mileage: 268.8m ¦ Range: 440 miles

As we pass over Scottish Border, MPG continues to improve. 

10.20am ¦ Economy: 47.7mpg ¦ Mileage: 293.4m ¦ Range: 400 miles

A stop at the services gives me a chance to reflect on the Forester's motorway performance, which has been good. At 70mph, the engine is showing around 2000 revs, so it's not strained. There's also been plenty of power on-tap when needed for overtaking.

11.11am ¦ Economy: 46.8mpg ¦ Mileage: 324.8m ¦ Range: 300 miles

The mpg figures take a battering as we climb up into the mountains.

11.35am ¦ Economy: 47.4mpg ¦ Mileage: 354.7m ¦ Range: 280 miles

With 130 miles to go, I'm driving as smoothly as possible and avoiding anything that has a negative effect on fuel consumption. I'm keeping an eye on the fuel guage, too. Although it looks as though I've got plenty of leeway, mpg has been tumbling and I know that there are some more climbs ahead.

12.09pm ¦ Economy: 47.4mpg ¦ Mileage: 381.8m ¦ Range: 250 miles

Continuing to climb into the highlands on the A9 and fuel economy isn't improving. It's getting chilly again and I've spotted the first snow on the ground. As the temperature is barely above freezing, it's back on with the heated seats.

12.38pm ¦ Economy: 47.1mpg ¦ Mileage: 407m ¦ Range: 200 miles

Perth services and a stop for a coffee. The needle is edging ever closer to a quarter of a tank, but taking it easier earlier on the M6 is starting to pay off. There's 200 miles of range, but only 100 miles to go.

1.26pm ¦ Economy: 47.5mpg ¦ Mileage: 434m ¦ Range: 160 miles

The scenery is stunning and it's a crisp, bright day, so I've pulled the sunroof blind back to make the most of it with the large sunroof. The seats continue to be supportive and comfortable. They seem to be up to the job of hours at the wheel, with plenty of adjustment and no sign of back ache ... at least not yet.

2.05pm ¦ Economy: 46.6mpg ¦ Mileage: 491m ¦ Range: 110 miles

Icy roads, plenty of snow and a chance to make the most of symmetrical all-wheel drive. Although it's early March, there's still a remarkable amount of snow up here at the sides of the road and plenty of opportunities to be caught out by ice. Thankfully, the all-wheel drive set-up means that the Forester never feels anything other than sure-footed - one of the car's key strengths and the reason why Subarus are so popular in this part of the world and this sort of terrain. 

2.25pm ¦ Economy: 45.9mpg ¦ Mileage: 498.6m ¦ Range: 80 miles 

Cairngorm Mountain

Made it. Left Milton Keynes just after 5.15 am in the morning and the clock's showing 2.25pm as we pull into the car park. It's a clear, bright day and there's enough time left for a couple of hours of skiing. It's taken just over eight hours and we've averaged a respectable 62 miles per hour and 45mpg. The fuel gauge shows that we've got about an eighth of a tank of fuel left. That's enough to get from here to Inverness if needed. 

So what's the verdict on the Forester on such a long trip? On the motorway, I got close to the urban fuel consumption figure of 47.9mpg and overall I got more than the quoted 44mpg on the combined cycle. The Forester was also comfortable, quiet and provided a useful turn of speed when needed. The boot and easy-fold seats made light work of lugging all the kit, too.

Full Subaru Forester Review on Honestjohn.co.uk

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