Subaru’s range of more rugged, off-road-ready Wilderness editions has been expanded to include its first hybrid.
The Subaru Forester Wilderness Hybrid joins its petrol-powered mid-size SUV counterpart, as well as Wilderness versions of the Outback large SUV and Crosstrek small SUV. Thus far, only the Outback Wilderness has been confirmed for Australia, though the company has hinted at a further expansion of the sub-brand.
We’ve contacted Subaru Australia to confirm if this latest Wilderness model variant is bound for Down Under.
CarExpert can save you thousands on a new car. Click here to get a great deal.
Like the petrol-powered Forester Wilderness, the hybrid has 236mm of ground clearance – up from 221mm in the regular Forester – thanks to longer coil springs with different dampers.
This sees its approach angle improved over the regular Forester Hybrid from 19 degrees to 23.5 degrees, the breakover angle from 19.3 to 20.6 degrees, and the departure angle from 24.6 to 25.5 degrees.
The all-wheel drive system retains a mechanical connection between the front and rear axles.
It also uses 17-inch matte-black wheels with Yokohama Geolandar all-terrain tyres as well as Subaru’s X-Mode off-road system, with hill descent control and settings for Snow/Dirt and Deep Snow/Mud.
However, it swaps the Forester Wilderness’ standard 2.5-litre flat four-cylinder engine for the Forester Hybrid’s 2.5-litre Atkinson/Miller-cycle flat four-cylinder engine and a series-parallel hybrid system incorporating a lithium-ion battery and a pair of electric motors.
That gives it a bump in peak power over the regular Forester Wilderness, from 134kW to 145kW.
The Wilderness Hybrid is largely indistinguishable from the regular Forester Wilderness, with the only differences being orange accents, blackout trim, and raised roof rails with a 363kg static load capacity.
Inside, there’s a standard 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster with navigation and Apple Maps integration, plus an 11.6-inch touchscreen infotainment system and an 11-speaker 576W Harman Kardon sound system.
Grey textured StarTex synthetic upholstery is standard, designed to be weather-resistant and easy to clean. All-weather floor mats and a cargo area protector are also fitted as standard.
Subaru launched its first Wilderness-badged vehicle in the US – the brand’s largest market – back in 2021.
These variants kicked off a chain of conceptually similar editions from other brands, including Ford’s Explorer Timberline; XRT editions of Hyundai’s Tucson, Santa Fe, Palisade and Ioniq 5; Nissan’s Rogue Rock Creek, and Honda’s Passport and Pilot TrailSport, all adding varying degrees of extra ruggedness and capability.