Subaru Forester STI Sport revealed

The Subaru Forester STI Sport has broken cover in Japan, joining a growing number of unique Forester model grades that are being looked at for the Aussie market.

Japan’s newest version of the popular mid-size SUV adopts STI-tuned dampers to deliver sharper on-road handling, making it the complete opposite of the more rugged Forester Wilderness, which is looking very likely to make its Australian debut soon.

Designed for sealed-road corner carving rather than an off-road exploring, the new Forester STI Sport also brings a set of racy 18-inch wheels and a handful of bodywork mods such as STI badges, a black roof spoiler, black side skirts and black accents in the front and rear bumpers.

The street-savvy Forester STI Sport’s cabin gets a few extra niceties too, including black and red nappa leather seat and cabin upholstery with plenty of overt red stitching.

To remind drivers of the car’s upgraded dynamics, there’s a smattering of STI logos embossed on the head restraints and integrated into the driver’s instrument cluster.

Engine mods? There’s nothing to report.

The tizzied-up Forester runs the same 1.8-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol boxer engine (130kW/300Nm) and other Japanese-market vehicles. That engine delivers slightly less power but a lot more torque than the Forester’s mainstay engine in Australia – a 2.5-litre non-turbo boxer (136kW/239Nm).

Aussie Foresters are also available with a fuel-saving 2.0-litre mild-hybrid powertrain (110kW/196Nm) and the JDM 1.8 turbo is unlikely to be offered locally.

But there’s a chance the high-performance Forester XT variant could return, powered by the same 2.4-litre turbo-petrol engine (195kW/375Nm) as the Outback Turbo, which has been confirmed for Australia release in early 2023.

In conversation with carsales, Subaru Australia boss Blair Read wouldn’t rule out the idea of a muscled-up Forester flagship but pulled short of confirming it.

“XT Outback will be the first focus. Nothing I can share on Forester XT at this point, but it’s good to see the expansion of that turbo engine,” he said.

The Forester is Subaru’s top-selling vehicle in Australia and it’s understood the local importer wants to add a special flagship model to the range, but it’s likely to be the Forester Wilderness model with its all-terrain tyres and jacked-up suspension.

The facelifted Subaru Forester only recently arrived in Australia, bringing with it a sizeable price hike of around $2000 on all grades, and customer waiting times are currently sitting at around six months.

Join the conversation at 

our Facebook page

Or email us at 

editor@carsales.com.au