Six Star Magazine Six Star Magazine Fall 2016 | Page 46

subaru star customer

Daily driver , weekly workhorse

BY CYNTHIA ROSE
An independent sheep farmer who hails from Kelowna , BC , is single -handedly redefining our definition of “ Subaru versatility .” Janice Casling is now on her fourth Subaru , her first was a 1994 Subaru Loyale Wagon with 4WD on demand — or “ the magic button ” as she liked to call it .
Living a busy farmer ’ s life , she needed a daily drive capable of keeping pace , so the versatility of the Loyale was put to the test from day one . Did it house a huge dog crate ? Haul fence posts ? Drive up Big White for a day of skiing ? Provide a roomy ride for Border Collies , live sheep and itsy-bitsy lambs ? The answer to these question is : yes , yes , yes , yes and yes . But this was just the start .
In 2003 , during a rash of wildfires in the area , Janice evacuated her home with a moment ’ s notice and lived for a week in her trusty Subaru , carting all her precious belongings away from the flames — including two dogs and a cat .
For close to 15 years , this unstoppable machine rolled around her beautiful , five-acre sheep farm either , “ hauling something behind it , inside of it or on top of it .” And when Janice says “ something ,” we believe she means “ just about everything .” When it came time to upgrade from the Loyale , Janice moved straight into a preloved 2006 Subaru Forester .
“ When I first sat in my Forester ,” she says , “ I felt like a queen ”. She continued to rule her grassy kingdom from behind the wheel of a Subaru , moving easily from towing three tonnes of hay in a trailer to venturing around the countryside to train her Border Collies to herd sheep .
“ Why would I ever want a huge truck and waste all that gas ?” she says . “ I can do everything I need to on the farm with my Subaru and then just as easily roll into town .” When I asked if others in the town were impressed with her Subaru , Janice laughed : “ Sure — because about 50 % of the drivers up here own Subarus , too !”
Her latest upgrade was to another Forester , a 2010 model , purchased in March of this year : “ I know it has a bigger interior because now I can stack eight 2x4 ’ s of lumber in there , no problem .”
The other feature Janice is taking full advantage of is the real-time fuel efficiency gage . “ It ’ s amazing to see the difference in fuel efficiency between hauling a heavy trailer of hay and just going for a drive . I can adjust my speed and instantly see and control how much I spend on fuel .”
There ’ s another reason why Janice is so taken with her latest Subaru and , in listening to her many colourful stories , it makes perfect sense to us : “ The other thing I love about my new Forester is that , somehow , it just feels like home .”
TOP PHOTO COURTESY OF ANDREA BLAIR ; MIDDLE AND BOTTOM PHOTOS COURTESY OF JANICE CASLING .
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