Subaru to target BMW, Audi with new Forester

Subaru Australia expects the most highly specified Forester yet to poach sales from prestige German brands when it goes on sale here on February 1.

Managing Director Nick Senior told motoring.com.au that the fourth-generation Forester will bring a bigger leap in standard and optional equipment than ever before, allowing it to vie for sales with premium SUVs from BMW, Audi and Volvo.

"The specification and equipment levels on the car ... we've never seen such a big jump in Forester. It's the biggest jump in specification we've ever had ... there's a hell of a lot that's gone into this car."

Apart from stepping up considerably in terms of presentation and tactile quality, as we discovered during our first drive this week, all 2013 Foresters will be fitted as standard with a reversing camera, climate-control and Bluetooth streaming.

Meanwhile, top-grade models get an automatic tailgate, plus the EyeSight safety system that adds pre-collision braking, radar cruise control and a lane departure warning system.

While that will allow upstream Foresters to be pitched at buyers of the Volvo XC60, BMW X3 and Audi Q5, Mr Senior says the force-fed Forester XT, powered by a 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder petrol boxer engine, delivers “fast luxury” that will find favour with buyers of European performance SUVs.

"Certainly when you look at the XT, the driving of the XT and the spec of the XT, we feel that there is an opportunity to pinch some sales from the Europeans, not only from the Volvos, but the Audis and BMWs of that category."

Specific details of the high-performance Forester XT for the Australian market are still under wraps ahead of its official launch in January, but the top-shelf vehicle will launch alongside the rest of the Forester range on February 1.

Mr Senior said final specifications for the XT were yet to be locked in, but should include a high-end Harman/Kardon sound system and a more luxurious interior than its stablemates.
 
"We've still got a couple of months to go before we finalise everything in terms of pricing, but certainly from a Subaru point of view, premiumisation is something that we are pursuing," he said.

"But at the end of the day we've still got to be completive in the marketplace."

At the other end of the scale, entry-level Forester models will continue to target three of the most popular models in the medium SUV segment, the Nissan X-Trail, Mazda CX-5 and Toyota RAV4 - as well as brand-new mid-size SUVs like the Honda CR-V and Mitsubishi Outlander.

While a redesigned RAV4 will also be launched in February, the X-Trail’s unrivalled popularity is aided by its rugged, off-road look and feel - something that Subaru says it can rival with its new X-Mode transmission system for continuously variable automatic transmission (CVT) models.

"X-Mode is important for us because X-Trail is probably seen as a little bit tougher off-road, and I think for a lot of people who want to do a little bit more off-road, X-Mode solves that issue. And having it in a car as refined as Forester will give us a little bit of an opportunity there."

Subaru has ditched the dual-range transfer case previous offered in manual models due to the introduction of the automatic version’s new X-Mode system, which adjusts the centre differential to improve low-speed traction and features downhill descent control at the touch of a button.

Subaru predicts that four out of five Foresters sold in 2013 will have a CVT auto.

"The X-Mode is going to be on the automatic CVT cars, and we've seen a decreasing amount of manual transmissions not only in Forester but across the range," said Mr Senior when asked why there was no dual-range option for manual Foresters.

"CVTs will be upwards of 80 per cent (of sales) and X-Mode will cover most of that."

That means the manual-only Forester diesel will not be available with low-range gear ratios – or a CVT auto with X-Mode for quite some time.

"(There is) No timeline for that (diesel auto) as yet," said Mr Senior. "Obviously we're continuing with discussions for it but there's no timeline as yet."

The only automatic diesel confirmed for the Subaru line-up at present is the Outback. That's not scheduled to arrive until the first quarter of 2013, but is something Subaru will need if it wants to play ball with European diesel SUVs.

Read the latest news and reviews on your mobile, iPhone or PDA at carsales' mobile site…