2026 Subaru Forester Wilderness outed

The most capable version yet of the new-generation Subaru Forester has been caught out in the open ahead of its imminent North American debut, and it’s likely it will be on sale in Australia from next year.

Mirroring what Jeep does with its Trailhawk sub-brand, exact timings for the 2026 Subaru Forester Wilderness are yet to be revealed, but the latest pic reveals it will follow in the tyre tracks of the last model with more clearance and all-terrain rolling stock.

Other enhancements include the introduction of more protective black plastic cladding, a heavily redesigned front bumper, huge bash plate and a redesigned rear bumper that combined with the reprofiled nose improve approach and departure angles.

Finally, the Forester Wilderness is set to get a heavy-duty roof rack that should be able to carry more than 320kg and help it cater to those who carry extra spare wheels, fuel cans, need auxiliary LED lighting or use roof tents.

There’s no word yet what’s happened under the bonnet for the more rugged take on Subaru’s RAV4 rival, but it’s tipped that engineers will have added more sophisticated driving modes designed to use electronics to boost traction off road.

That means the regular car’s 2.5-litre flat four-cylinder petrol engine is likely to still produce 134kW/241Nm and be paired with a CVT transmission with permanent all-wheel drive.

The previous version also had a shorter final drive ratio to help it scamper up steep inclines and better deal with slow terrain.

The Wilderness sub-brand was launched back in 2022 by the Outback wagon and has long been green lit for an introduction in Australia, however plans were pushed back early last year.

It’s now thought we might have to wait for the next generation of Forester – due later this year – and Outback to arrive before we can get our hands on the off-road heroes.

Posing a potential problem is the fact the Wilderness versions of the Forester, Outback and smaller Crosstrek are all built in the US as opposed to Japan, meaning there aren’t currently any right-hook versions.

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