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Subaru announced the refreshed 2022 Forester in Japan last week and offered a Forester Sport trim with a 1.8-liter turbocharged Boxer engine. It's not coming to the U.S., and customers in North America have only one engine for the 2022 Forester regular trim and the all-new 2022 Forester Wilderness coming Sept 2, 2021.
The newly-refreshed 2022 Forester Sport features a Levorg-sourced 1.8-liter turbocharged direct-injection (DIT) four-cylinder, lean combustion Boxer engine. It produces 175 horsepower and 221 lb-ft of torque. The 2022 Subaru Forester 2.5-liter naturally aspirated Boxer engine produces 182 horsepower and 176 lb-ft of torque.
Subaru Corporation dropped the Forester 2.0XT turbocharged engine because the brand is focusing on global fuel-economy standards. Fuel economy in the 2.0XT with a CVT was 27/23 city/highway mpg. Subaru reports the new 2022 Forester Sport 1.8-liter turbocharged engine gets 24.2/35.7 city/highway mpg and 33.6 combined mpg (10.3km / liter) (15.2km / liter) (14.3km / liter).
Subaru enthusiasts have asked for a Forester turbocharged model since the Japanese automaker dropped the Forester 2.0XT in 2019. We know the U.S.-specification 2022 Forester, and Forester Wilderness only comes with a 2.5-liter naturally-aspirated Boxer because the EPA leaked the information early. They have since pulled it down from the website.
Why doesn't Subaru offer a Forester with a 2.4-liter turbocharged engine?
It would be easy for the Japanese automaker to drop in the new Ascent-sourced FA24 2.4-liter turbocharged engine that the 2022 Outback XT and Legacy XT have now, which would make a lot of customers happy. The sportier Forester Sport 2.4XT would be a hot model if Subaru would build it.
Subaru of America COO Tom Doll, in an interview at the Chicago Auto Show in 2018 said, the Japanese automaker won't be bringing a Forester turbo anytime soon. Doll says it's because the demand for the newly-redesigned Forester SUV is too high right out of the gate for them to offer a turbo version.
He's right because the 2021 Subaru Forester is Subaru of America's top-selling model, and customer demand for the compact SUV is high. A 2022 Subaru Forester Sport and the 2022 Forester Wilderness would be two trim levels that would be perfect with a 2.4-liter turbocharged Boxer engine. Unfortunately, Japan, Europe, and Australia are the only markets to get the 2022 Forester Sport turbo trim.
You Might Also Like: The All-New Rugged Subaru Forester Wilderness Will Premiere Online Sept 2 - 9 AM
Denis Flierl has invested over 30 years in the automotive industry in a consulting role working with every major car brand. He is an accredited member of the Rocky Mountain Automotive Press. Check out Subaru Report where he covers all of the Japanese automaker's models. More stories can be found on the Torque News Subaru page. Follow Denis on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
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Comments
Is the transmission any
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Is the transmission any better then previous years..please be truthful Subaru
No sense buying our third Subaru and having a transmission issue once again
We need truthful advertising about dependability, tell us…
Transmissions are good and
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In reply to Is the transmission any by Donna Larcy (not verified)
Transmissions are good and now warranted for 100,000 miles. I own an 18 Forrester but will not buy another until they put the 2.4 turbo or the 2.0 turbo in them. Nice cars but underpowered with that one flat four. Still don't know why Subaru dropped the Boxer 6 cylinder. Had a 11 Outback that got 28 mog or so but had a lot of zip
Subaru had to increase their
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In reply to Transmissions are good and by Bill (not verified)
Subaru had to increase their transmission warranty to 100,000 miles..7/7 2017 Forbes magazine interviewed Dominic. Infante -he explained because of complaints from customers they extended the original CVT warranty. In our case with our second Subaru vehicle our transmission failure was just over their cutoff. Realistically how many Subaru owners are blind sided by advertising that shows families passing on their vehicles to younger family members (are they mentioning it’s warrantied to a 100,000 mile cutoff?) Subaru then after getting an advocate allowed the parts expense to be refunded to us which was half the repair. It was expected for us to get the repair done at the dealership tho because of transmission failure the car could not make it to the dealership. Advertising is misleading.
We want to pass on our Subaru vehicle and we also want to take the trips they encourage but how can you if this is a problem among transmissions.
Thank you for explaining your experience and opinion about being underpowered
Good morning Denis
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Good morning Denis
Could you provide your thoughts in why do we get only a 2.0 liter Forester in Central America and in certain Asian countries?
What would be the strategy to justify al ess powered engine?
Thanks in advance.
This news is extremely
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This news is extremely disheartening. My heart has truly broken. I absolutely love Subaru. My wife and I have owned 4 Subarus between the two of us. I'm still driving my 09 Forester and my wife has a 2019 Crosstrek. We both want more power, space, towing capacity and ride height. We want a Forester with a turbo. The Crosstrek is too small, the Ascent is too big and the Outback is too much of a station wagon. The Forester is truly the Goldy Locks of the perfect Subaru if it came with the FA-24 turbo motor. I'm really getting sick of Subaru shoving station wagons down our throats and calling it an SUV. For the first time in 15 years I'm going to now consider other brands. I'm really disappointed. I'd love to hear anyone else's thoughts or opinions.
Shoving it down our throats
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In reply to This news is extremely by Reginald Sandiford (not verified)
Shoving it down our throats as it's what most buyers want...
Own a 2017 XV in Sweden
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Own a 2017 XV in Sweden
I would like to have a Subaru
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In reply to Own a 2017 XV in Sweden by Max***********… (not verified)
I would like to have a Subaru SUV that I can shift manually? Do I have a chance?
I'd like a Crosstrek STI with
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I'd like a Crosstrek STI with the 2.4T/6spd. A new Baja Turbo that tows at least 3500lbs would be great too. It could take on the upcoming Ford Maverick.
They'll never build those though.
I really hope the 1.8 is
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I really hope the 1.8 is available IF it improves emissions on top of fuel efficiency. I have an 06 NA Forester and it really gets me everywhere I need to go, even above 10,000' in altitude. But it would be nice to have better emissions. Hoping they make more hybrids available
Subaru needs to listen to
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Subaru needs to listen to their customers. We are on our 8th Subaru. The Forester Sport needs to have some distinction other then just color choices. I’m also confused as to why the Wilderness will not have more power. You made a model that allows people to take their vehicles further and higher into mountains with more gear but same power amount.
Citation needed for Australia
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Citation needed for Australia getting the turbo 2022
I finally gave up waiting for
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I finally gave up waiting for Subaru to listen to Forester fans and make the 2.4T or even a 2.0T available. After owning two turbos Forester (1998 & 2005), I bought a BMW X1in 2020.
I've got a 2017 Touring XT
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I've got a 2017 Touring XT and love it. Just started looking to update to a 2022XT
If there is no 2.4 T for the new Touring model I will be forced to look to Audi and Volvo. I'd much rather not do that.
ps the 2017 XT won me over from a Audi X5
Loved my funky silver
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Loved my funky silver Forester of yesteryear without any lumbar support in its thin upholstered seats. Used a small back cushion & had seats redone with more padding and added leather. Great little car, loathed by spouse for its lack of oomph. Want another one but husband will not consider it because of its poor acceleration and so-so handling. My current fun ride is a Miata RF manual and our joint SUV is a BMW Xi3. BMW performs great but leaves a driver dependent on its electronics having sacrificed reasonable visibility for style— the opposite of a Forester. If Subaru would just combine top of the line features with a reliable turbo option, zowie! Sigh.