Forester to be first ‘Strong Hybrid’ for Aus
BY MIKE STEVENS | 4th Nov 2024
SUBARU has announced its next-generation hybrid system, borrowing technology from partner and petrol-electric pioneer Toyota, with the Forester medium SUV first to get the driveline in Australia.
Combining a Toyota-sourced electric motor and battery with Subaru’s staple boxer engine, the new ‘Strong Hybrid’ system will debut with the Crosstrek small SUV in Japan this December.
Although the Crosstrek is also sold in Australia, the first model to feature the new hybrid powertrain here will be the new-generation Forester, unveiled in late 2023 with a local launch expected sometime next year but not yet confirmed.
The Forester first gained a hybrid option in early 2020, albeit in a less impressive ‘mild hybrid’ configuration than the efficient systems that have made Toyota so successful in the electrification market.
Where the outgoing Forester Hybrid featured only a 12kW/66Nm electric motor and a 188V battery with around 0.6kWh capacity, the new series-parallel system boosts those numbers to 88kW/270Nm with a 260V 1.1kWh battery.
The new-generation, Toyota-donated system also gains a second electric motor, devoted to brake energy recuperation.
On the petrol side is Subaru’s 2.5-litre four-cylinder boxer petrol engine, producing 118kW and 209Nm in the updated Crosstrek. This replaces the 110kW/196Nm 2.0-litre engine used in current Crosstrek and Forester hybrids.
Subaru’s all-wheel-drive system will again feature, retaining a mechanical link between the front and rear wheels in contrast to the Toyota layout in which an electric motor exclusively runs the rear axle.
Fuel consumption for the Crosstrek Strong Hybrid is expected to improve by around 20 percent, which would work out to a claim of just over 5.0L/100km compared to the current model’s 6.5L/100km.
Combined with a new larger 63-litre tank (up from 48), Subaru says the new model should be capable of travelling beyond 1000 kilometres on a single tank of fuel.
Whether Subaru will use the Strong Hybrid name in Australia, or continue with the existing e-boxer badge, remains to be seen. However, images accompanying the Crosstrek announcement do include one of an e-boxer nameplate.
The company has also registered the trademark ‘e-Outback’, which, if it hints at an upcoming Outback hybrid, suggest we will also see e-Forester and e-Crosstrek badges – although the trademark could instead be a preview of more Toyota-borrowed tech in the form of a plug-in hybrid.
