New Models / 29 August 2025 / Michael Taylor

New Subaru Forester launched in South Africa – Pricing and features

The new Subaru Forester has officially gone on sale in South Africa.

Now in its sixth generation, the Subaru is available in four specifications with prices starting at R699,000.

The Forester is the brand’s most popular vehicle, having sold more than 4.5 million units worldwide since its introduction in 1997.

It also accounts for over 50% of all Subaru sales in South Africa.

Engine

The Forester is powered by a 2.5-litre naturally aspirated petrol engine, which produces 136kW and 247Nm.

This is connected to a Lineartronic CVT with an eight-step manual mode, which users can operate via the paddle shifters on the steering wheel.

It also has a Symmetrical all-wheel-drive system and 220mm of ground clearance, making it well-suited to go off-road.

Additionally, the Subaru has a 20.3-degree approach angle, a 21.2-degree break-over angle, and a 25.8-degree departure angle.

It comes with hill descent control, and the brand’s “X Mode” for driving on rutted or slippery terrain.

Features

Visually, the Subaru is sporting a new grille with compact LED headlights and the brand’s latest star-cluster emblem.

The wheel arches are more muscular than before, helping to frame the 17 or 18-inch alloy rims (depending on the trim level).

Roof rails are standard across the range, and customers can choose one of several paint colours, including River Rock Pearl, Crystal White Pearl, Ice Silver Metallic, Magnetite Grey Metallic, Sapphire Blue Pearl, Crystal Black Silica, Brilliant Bronze Metallic, Autumn Green Metallic, Cashmere Gold Opal and Daybreak Blue Pearl.

The windshield is larger than before, providing better visibility, and the wide-opening doors make it easy to install ISOFIX child seats in the back.

By default, the boot can take 496 litres of luggage, but this increases all the way to 1,174 litres when the rear seats are folded.

The Field and Touring trim levels come with durable fabric seats, while the Sport uses spill-proof polyurethane.

The range-topping Premium, on the other hand, has Alcantara and leather seats.

The Forester also has a leather steering wheel with a stitching pattern that changes colour based on the model (silver for Touring, green for Sport, and brown for Premium).

Other features include a 10-way electric driver’s seat, a panoramic sunroof, automatic climate control with rear vents, and USB Type A and Type C ports.

The Field has a dual 7-inch touchscreen on the dashboard, while the other units have a larger 11.6-inch display with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

The Premium also has a 10-speaker Harman Kardon stereo.

Additionally, the Subaru uses a Driver Recognition system that uses facial recognition to save up to seven users and automatically adjusts the driver’s seat and mirrors to suit their profile.

Assistance functions include pre-collision braking, adaptive cruise control, lane-keep assist, autonomous emergency steering, lead vehicle start alert, pre-collision throttle management, blind-spot detection with lane change assist, rear cross-traffic alert, reverse automatic braking, and a 360-degree camera.