2021 Subaru Forester turbo detailed! Punchy new Mazda CX-5 and Toyota RAV4 rival gets turbocharged boost
The Subaru Forester has been turbocharged once more.
It has been years since Australia has seen a Subaru Forester turbo model - the current-generation Forester launched in September 2018 with only a 2.5-litre four-cylinder boxer engine available, and the popular XT model of the previous line-up went by the wayside.
But that could well be addressed soon, with Subaru's Japanese arm announcing a new 1.8-litre turbo-petrol four-cylinder engine for the Forester range in that country.
The new Forester Sport, as it's known, is different to the Forester Sport that is about to launch in Australia. Instead, Japan's Forester Sport scores the same new turbo engine seen in the new-generation Levorg. The 1.8-litre boxer turbo is apparently good for 132kW of power and 300Nm of torque, easily outmuscling the 2.5-litre naturally-aspirated engine in the regular Forester, which has marginally more power (136kW) but a huge torque disadvantage, with 239Nm.
The new turbocharged Forester model is only available with Subaru's Lineartronic continuously variable transmission (CVT) auto, and of course, it's all-wheel drive. The model you see in these images is the JDM Sport version, which unusually runs without roof rails and looks, well, not overly sporty.
Sadly, Subaru Australia has told us that the new turbo engine "is not on the horizon" for us.
In the meantime, the brand is soon to launch a sportier looking model, the Forester Sport, this month.
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