Subaru reveals facelifted Forester pricing

THE facelifted Subaru Forester medium SUV is expected to hit Australian showrooms in October with numerous upgrades to go with its updated looks, in return for modest price rises of between $700 and $950 depending on variant.

Its arrival comes as Subaru celebrates the production milestone of 20 million all-wheel-drive models, a lineage that goes back to the Leone 4WD Estate Van that became Japan's first mass-produced AWD passenger car in September 1972.

Back in the present, a more comprehensive EyeSight safety and driver assist technology suite is standard on the facelifted Forester and bigger touchscreens have been added to lower-spec variants – features that buyers of the pioneering Leone 4WD would have struggled to imagine when it launched 49 years ago.

Middle and higher Forester grades gain adaptive headlights, gesture-controlled air-conditioning and a redesigned instrument cluster is fitted to mid- and high-spec petrol variants.

Subaru has also updated the X-Mode off-road drive calibration so that it automatically re-engages when speeds drop below 35km/h – eliminating a bugbear for owners who regularly take their Foresters off bitumen – and the hill descent control function has also been re-worked for improved speed control.

The company claims suspension tweaks including retuned front springs and dampers improve the facelifted Forester’s ride comfort, steering response and handling characteristics.

Engine vibration and noise is also said to have been reduced by the switch to new aluminium engine mount brackets – but apart from that, GoAuto understands the 2.5-litre petrol and 2.0-litre hybrid engine line-up remains unchanged.

These consist of a 136kW/239Nm 2.5-litre flat-four petrol engine and 110kW/196Nm 2.0L petrol boxer that is supplemented by a 12.3kW/66Nm electric motor and lithium-ion battery pack. Respective Combined fuel consumption ratings are 7.4 litres per 100km and 6.7L/100km.

All variants will get the upgraded EyeSight suite as standard, which adds lane-keeping, lane departure prevention and autonomous emergency steering to the comprehensive list of pre-existing features.

Only the base 2.5i model – now $35,990 before on-road costs – is expected to go without the new gesture-controlled temperature adjustment function for the air-con and heater.

Base, 2.5i-L ($38,390) and Hybrid L ($41,390) variants all upgrade to an 8.0-inch touchscreen – previously 6.5 inches – and are likely to join higher grades in having two USB sockets instead of one.

The 2.5i Sport ($42,690) will return among the same seven-variant line-up as before, sitting between the mid-spec 2.5i Premium ($41,140) and flagship S variants ($44,190 petrol, $47,190 hybrid) in the range.

A new Cascade Green Silica colour option will be added, with other paint changes comprising the replacement of Sepia Bronze with Brilliant Bronze Metallic and Autumn Green Metallic supplanting Jasper Green.

The 2.5i Sport remains available in white and black only, gaining cabin trim highlights in gunmetal and orange as well as ‘geometric’ black door mirror scalps and a special six-LED front foglight design.

Headlining the Forester’s new look are new headlights with a staggered design and bigger, reshaped grille, with eyebrow-like LED daytime running lights creating an almost unbroken line between the headlights by linking the bonnet shutline and wing-like grille motif.

The front bumper has also been tweaked, with a new lower cladding design as well as redesigned foglight bezels, joined at the rear by new lower cladding on higher trim levels.

Silver roof rails replace black with silver inserts on both hybrids and the top-spec S petrol, as shown in the reveal images published last month and both S flagships have a new allot wheel design, with the petrol also getting platinum-coloured interior trims under the door armrests.

GoAuto understands the Forester has lengthened 15mm as part of the update to 4640mm, while weight has increased by up to 3.0kg depending on variant – but this is not expected to affect the upgraded 1800kg braked towing capacity introduced last September on petrol models (1200kg for hybrids).

Subaru sales are up 34.3 per cent to the end of June this year, with the Forester by far the brand’s most popular model on 7086 deliveries, an increase of 23.1 per cent.

“We’ve never had greater demand for Subaru SUVs and current-generation Forester is leading the charge,” said Subaru Australia general manager Blair Read.

“These latest subtle changes to the Forester range will add to its appeal, which has already attracted new audiences with the introduction of hybrid variants and the Sport over the last 18 months.”

2022 Subaru Forester pricing*

*Excludes on-road costs