Subaru’s lineup of more rugged, off-road-ready Wilderness Editions has expanded with the first hybrid.
The Subaru Forester Wilderness Hybrid complements its gasoline-powered midsize SUV counterpart as well as the Wilderness versions of the large Outback SUV and small Crosstrek SUV. So far only Outback Wilderness has been confirmed for Australia, although the company has hinted at further expansion of the sub-brand.
We’ve contacted Subaru Australia to confirm whether this latest Wilderness model variant is heading down under.
With Daily Sparkz you can save thousands on a new car. Click Here to get a great deal.
Like the petrol-powered Forester Wilderness, the hybrid has a ground clearance of 236mm – compared to 221mm for the regular Forester – thanks to longer coil springs with different dampers.
This improves the approach angle compared to the regular Forester Hybrid from 19 degrees to 23.5 degrees, the breakover angle from 19.3 to 20.6 degrees and the departure angle from 24.6 to 25.5 degrees.
All-wheel drive maintains a mechanical connection between the front and rear axles.
It also uses 17-inch matte black wheels with Yokohama Geolandar all-terrain tires, as well as Subaru’s X-Mode off-road system with hill descent control and snow/dirt and deep snow/mud settings.
However, the Forester Wilderness’s standard 2.5-liter four-cylinder boxer engine is swapped for the Forester Hybrid’s 2.5-liter Atkinson/Miller cycle four-cylinder boxer engine and a series-parallel hybrid system with a lithium-ion battery and two electric motors.
This increases peak power from 134 kW to 145 kW compared to the regular Forester Wilderness.
The Wilderness Hybrid is largely indistinguishable from the regular Forester Wilderness. The only differences are orange accents, blackout panels and raised roof rails with a static load capacity of 800 lbs.
Inside, there’s a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster with navigation and Apple Maps integration as standard, as well as an 11.6-inch touchscreen infotainment system and an 11-speaker 576W Harman Kardon sound system.
The gray structured StarTex synthetic upholstery is standard, weather-resistant and easy to clean. In addition, all-weather floor mats and a cargo area protector are installed as standard.
Subaru launched its first Wilderness-badged vehicle back in 2021 in the US – the brand’s largest market.
These variants ushered in a series of conceptually similar editions from other brands, including Ford’s Explorer Timberline; XRT editions of Hyundai’s Tucson, Santa Fe, Palisade and Ioniq 5; Nissan’s Rogue Rock Creek and Honda’s Passport and Pilot TrailSport, all of which offer varying degrees of added ruggedness and capability.
MORE: Explore the Subaru Forester showroom
