Vox Weather partner Subaru Southern Africa has upgraded Vox Weather Meteorologist, Annette Botha, from her branded Subaru Crosstrek, affectionately known as ‘Blitzy’, to a brand-new Subaru Forester!
The reason is simple: Annette is expecting a baby boy soon, and Subaru Southern Africa, a main sponsoring partner of Vox Weather, wanted to make sure there was a great family-friendly vehicle with loads of space for Annette, her husband Dewald, and both the little ones! We unpack some details of this good news story.
Not long after Annette discovered her family was growing again (her daughter, Lente, Afrikaans for ‘Spring’, was born in March 2024), Subaru Southern Africa stepped in with a thoughtful upgrade: a brand-new Forester to replace Blitzy, which she had been driving for the past seven months.
For Annette, the switch to a Forester was about space and practicality. The Forester’s larger boot and family‑friendly layout make it a sensible choice for parents and parents‑to‑be who need room for prams, groceries and weekend gear.
(The photo on the right shows Annette with her husband Dewald and little Lente)
Annette has already shared the news in a reel on the Vox Weather Facebook page, posted with Subaru Southern Africa. You can watch here as she says her emotional goodbye to Blitzy in a truly heartwarming ‘It’s not you, it’s me!’ moment, as she simultaneously embraces the sadness of saying goodbye to a lovely car that’s served her well, while excitedly welcoming a vehicle better suited to the needs of a growing family.
Says Annette: “This partnership has honestly been so fulfilling for us, and this has just taken things to another level. We are privileged to have a partner that looks after the people behind the brand as their lives change. I think I speak for all of us when I say we are so incredibly proud to be partnering with Subaru Southern Africa!”
From Blitzy to the Forester: A Partnership that Grows with the People Behind the Brand
Nteo Nkoli, the National Marketing Manager for Subaru Southern Africa, adds: “From Subaru’s perspective, the partnership has been valuable in positioning our vehicles as genuinely all-weather and all-road, while also demonstrating how naturally they can become part of people’s everyday lives. What has made the partnership particularly meaningful is the way the vehicles have accompanied the presenters through their different life stages.”
“Their stories help demonstrate that there is a Subaru suited to every stage of life as needs, priorities and lifestyles evolve over time, while customers can continue to expect the same core qualities of safety and capability across our entire range. This continuity is an important part of the Subaru story: a vehicle that can adapt to where life takes you, while remaining safe, dependable, capable and reassuring throughout the journey.”
A Practical Upgrade for Family Life
The new Vox Weather Forester is powered by Subaru’s 2.5-litre Boxer petrol engine and features Subaru’s standard Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive, strong practicality, generous safety equipment and a well-equipped cabin.
The vehicle’s confident SUV design showcases LED headlamps with auto-levelling, LED side lamps, automatic headlights, steering-responsive headlights, LED front fog lamps and LED rear fog lamps fitted as standard. It also has a roof spoiler with a high-mounted stop lamp, black front and rear under guards, rain-sensing windscreen wipers, UV protection glass for the windscreen and front side windows, and an exhaust tip. The Forester is additionally fitted with a double-volume power sliding sunroof with a sunshade cover, adding to the sense of space and light inside the cabin.
From a safety perspective, the vehicle features an Emergency Driving Stop System, Reverse Automatic Braking, a reverse camera, front camera, reverse-linked tilt-down door mirrors, Blind Spot Monitoring with Lane Change Assist, Subaru Rear Vehicle Detection, a side-view monitor and Auto Vehicle Hold.
Occupant protection is comprehensive, with front SRS airbags, front side airbags, curtain airbags, a driver’s knee airbag, a front passenger seat cushion airbag and a far-side airbag fitted as standard. ISOFIX child-seat anchors with tether anchors are also included.
In addition, the Subaru Forester is globally rated with 5 Stars by the NCAP, JNCAP and ANCAP, which are independent global bodies that test and evaluate vehicles to give consumers an easy-to-read safety score. It has also scored a Safety Pick+ with the IIHS (the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety). These are the highest ratings awarded by each entity.
“This lovely new car arrangement says a tremendous amount about Subaru Southern Africa and their partnership with Vox Weather overall, because it’s not merely a handover of keys, but also about how a commercial partnership can genuinely support the people who represent a brand as their lives change,” says Annette.
“The Forester makes sense for a growing family, as it offers significant space, safety and the kind of dependability you want when life continues moving forward. I am looking forward to a significant period of continued driving with both my family and Subaru Southern Africa, to whom we are all most grateful!” she concludes.
