Subaru Leone Reviews

The new Subaru Forester landing in Australia could finally open the gates for more proper hybrid models in the brand’s local line-up, as well as more electric cars to come after the lacklustre Toyota bZ4X-based Solterra EV.

After six generations the Subaru Outback looks set to be dropped in markets like the United Kingdom and the European Union because of emissions regulations.

It’s been over five years now since COVID lockdowns started and in some way it feels like a lifetime ago. For a lot of people buying new cars during this period, however, there were long wait times. COVID lockdowns were a key reason for this, but another major reason for delays was the global shortage of semiconductors.

Subaru Australia wanted to wait until the Forester’s hybrid variant was available before launching the new model locally, which means Subaru is introducing a car that could properly rival the Toyota RAV4. Has the cult car brand finally delivered a vehicle that feels like it belongs in the 2020s?

Subaru and Toyota continue to do the electric car waltz.The two Japanese brands are in-step with their rollout of co-developed electric cars.First was the bZ4X and Solterra twins and now it's the new Subaru Uncharted and Toyota C-HR+ duo.The Uncharted and C-HR+ are twins under the skin, but different styling and interior gear add a point of difference.Subaru breaks from tradition by offering the Uncharted in front- and all-wheel drive layouts. Only the BRZ sports car - which is also co-developed with Toyota - is the other non-all-wheel drive vehicle in its line-up.All Uncharted variants come with a circa-75kWh Nickel-Manganese-Cobalt (NMC) battery, which delivers a driving range of up to 466km in the all-wheel drive and 482km in the front-wheel drive. Toyota’s CH-R+ delivers a max range of 600km with its 77kWh battery. The CH-R+ can also be had with a cheaper and smaller 58kWh battery, unlike the Uncharted.Front-wheel drive versions of the Uncharted use a single electric motor to make 165kW and all-wheel drive examples use two electric motors to pump out a combined 252kW.Those outputs match the CH-R+ fitted with the 77kWh battery. All-wheel drive versions can hit 100km/h from a standstill in roughly the same 5.2 seconds.It can accept a max DC charge rate of 150kW and AC charging tops out at 11kW. Subaru said it can fill the battery from 10 to 80 per cent in 30 minutes when on a 150kW or more DC charger.All-wheel drive variants come with Subaru’s X-Mode, which enhances its ability to tackle tougher terrain and surfaces.Inside there is a 14-inch multimedia screen with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, dual wireless device chargers, USB-C charging ports and Subaru’s Eyesight safety kit.The Uncharted follows the CH-R+ with a sleek SUV-coupe silhouette.There is no word on if the Uncharted will make it to Australia, but the federal government’s New Vehicle Efficiency Standard (NVES) that is now in effect is designed to compel manufacturers to bring more low emissions and electric vehicles to Australia.It appears Subaru will need more no- and low-emissions vehicles if it wants to avoid fines under the scheme in the near future.

Subaru has teased what is potentially its most significant new model introduction of the year with a preview shot of its upcoming compact EV SUV, the Uncharted.

Australia’s independent crash testing authority, ANCAP, has just detailed its latest dump of safety ratings.

The Subaru WRX tS Spec B could well be the easiest performance car you can actually live with.

The latest Australian new-car sales figures show one clear leader among Chinese brands. GWM could be the first one to crack the top five for year-to-date sales in Australia as it overtakes MG and Isuzu.Japanese and Korean brands along with Ford have dominated for the past decade with their range of utes and SUVs drawing in plenty of buyers.Now manufacturers from China are storming up the sales charts. The original success story was MG, which rapidly fought its way to the top 10 off the back of an appealing array of cars at price points now abandoned by rivals, and a steady supply of new vehicles during COVID-era shortages.MG has now been surpassed by one of the longest-serving Chinese automakers in Australia, GWM.GWM has sold 25,189 new vehicles in Australia through the first six months of this year, which places it just ahead of both MG (21,674) and Isuzu (21,883).This puts it in a solid seventh position in Australia, with something of a gap between it and Mitsubishi in sixth (33,379).Mitsubishi will be looking over its shoulder in the second half of this year with stock of its ASX, Eclipse Cross and Pajero Sport SUVs runs dry, as the Japanese brand awaits new generation vehicles.GWM itself is rapidly being chased down by BYD (23,335), with its rate of growth at 144.6 per cent year-on-year much higher than that of GWM, which is up what would normally be an impressive 17 per cent.The rise of both GWM and BYD is thanks to a rapidly expanded or updated model line-up, which includes in-demand vehicles not being fulfilled by big name players.Both GWM and BYD now offer a plug-in hybrid (PHEV) ute, as well as a range of sharply priced PHEV SUVs (BYD), hybrid SUVs and off-roaders (GWM), and affordable electric cars.MG has languished slightly off the loss of its bargain-basement previous-generation MG3 hatch, ZS small SUV, and HS mid-sizer, which have all been replaced by more expensive new-generation offerings.MG is no doubt hoping its Kluger-rivalling QS large SUV and incoming U9 ute will be major volume additions in the latter part of the year. They will also be joined by the Camry-rivalling MG7 sedan.The next-biggest Chinese challenger, Chery, is also leaping up the sales charts, up an unprecedented 228.8 per cent so far in 2025 thanks to its bargain Tiggo 7 and Tiggo 8 mid-size SUV pair, and the Tiggo 4 small SUV which seems to have replaced the MG ZS as the bargain entry-level SUV of choice. It is still several thousand units away from a top-10 entry, but will almost certainly be within striking distance in 2026 if its growth continues.The rise of MG, GWM, and BYD has seen Nissan join Subaru as top-10 has-beens.The biggest gap remains between Toyota and the rest, with the 'Big T' still having moved a steady 120,978 units in 2025.

Subaru, we love you but you're missing a few things.Where is your ute? Your retro-revived Brumby? And while we’re at it there are so many other models you should be making and selling in Australia. Here’s our shopping list of what Subaru needs to doOK, well it does look like the Brumby might happen, with CarsGuide reporting recently that Subaru and Toyota were teaming up to produce a small electric ute. And that’s exciting even if it’s only taken 31 years to bring the Brumby back. We’re not saying Subaru doesn't have any good cars in Australia - it absolutely does. The family favourite Forester is probably the best off-the beaten track capable mid sized SUV and the WRX is a superb rally car for the road, but there are more than a few missing models from Subaru’s line-up.The most obvious is a seven seater SUV, which would be able to compete with Mitsubishi's Outlander, Kia’s Sorento and Hyundai’s Santa Fe. Imagine a Forester XL — a three row, seven-seat SUV that’s about 200mm longer than the standard Forester at 4840mm length. It’d have Subaru’s symmetrical SUV and 215mm of ground clearance and be one of the most adept light-off roaders on sale. Price it from $50,990 to $73,000. It’d sell like cakes that are hot.You actually don't have to imagine a Forester XL, because it really exists in the United States and it's called the Ascent. It's  a three-row seven- or eight-seat SUV that's basically a big Forester.What about a Toyota LandCruiser or Nissan Patrol rival? Could Subaru build one of these? Not on its own, but it is very buddy-buddy with Toyota. In the same way Subaru’s BRZ sports car and Solterra electric SUV were both born out of joint ventures with Toyota, a LandCruiser Prado or 300 Series version could be entirely possible.Oh, and while we’re at it, a HiLux-based ute would also see Subaru go head-to-head with Ford’s Ranger, Nissan’s Navara and Isuzu D-Max.I’d like to think Subaru could come up with amazing names for these two new vehicles but history says coming up with a names isn’t really the brand’s strength. So the ute would likely be something like the Subaru Muster and the big hardcore off-road SUV would be the Subaru Longitude. Terrible names, great cars. And finally, a people-mover and you can thank the Kia Carnival for changing everybody’s mind about these vans being uncool and making them kind of desirable again. Subaru actually sold a seven-seater people-mover called the Exiga in 2012. It was based on the Liberty wagon, but it was discontinued in 2015 from Australia.Despite people mover sales only representing about one per cent of the total market share Kia still managed to sell 10,080 Carnivals in 2024 — that's a quarter of Subaru's total sales for the same year. Will any of these imaginary Subarus actually happen? Probably not. Well the Brumby small ute is likely. Subaru plans to make more joint venture EVs with Toyota, which also makes sense. Still a Forester XL would be nice.