2022 Subaru Forester price and features: New look, higher safety and enhanced off-road capability for Toyota RAV4 Hybrid and Mazda CX-5 rival

Subaru has revealed updated pricing and specification for its facelifted Subaru Forester.

The all-wheel-drive mid-size SUV receives a new face with reshaped light clusters it will share with the incoming new-generation Levorg and WRX next year, as well as a slew of new or updated features across its line-up, which will remain at seven variants.

Pricing now ranges from $35,990 plus on-road costs for the base 2.5i AWD to $47,190 for the Hybrid S.

All variants in the range score an updated front suspension tune much like the XV’s latest update, a software tweak for the X-Mode all-terrain system that will automatically reactivate the system at speeds below 35km/h, and the descent control function has also been tweaked for better performance.

On the safety front, the brand’s signature EyeSight dual-camera system has been augmented for the Forester’s update to now also include lane centring functionality, lane departure prevention and autonomous emergency steering.

Inside, the base 2.5i, 2.5i-L, and Hybrid L have been upgraded to now have the larger 8.0-inch multimedia screen as standard that continues to host wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity, and the instrument panel has a new look in higher variants. Orange highlights have been added to the Sport grade, while various other aesthetic tweaks have been added to the high-grade 2.5i-Premium and 2.5i-S variants.

The Sport grade gets more aesthetic tweaks for the 2022 model year.

For the first time in a Subaru product, variants fitted with driver monitoring safety tech will add gesture controls for climate functions.

The Forester is also now available in two new shades of green and one new shade of bronze on all variants bar the Sport.

There are no engine updates to the Forester which will persist with a 136kW/239Nm non-turbo 2.5-litre four-cylinder ‘boxer’ engine in the 2.5i variants, or a 110kW/196Nm non-turbo 2.0-litre engine mated to a 12kW/66Nm electric motor in the hybrid variants.

Both the hybrid and non-hybrid variants drive all four wheels permanently via a continuously variable automatic transmission. Non-hybrids have an official/combined fuel consumption of 7.4L/100km, while hybrids are officially rated at 6.7L/100km.

Forester buyers are faced with an approximately three-month long waiting list.

Like many other brands, Subaru is currently facing stock issues in Australia, with the brand’s representatives telling us there is approximately a three-month backlog of Forester orders. Customers who are at the tail-end of the queue may miss out on the remaining MY21 stock and will be contacted by their dealer about receiving the MY22 version instead.

The new Forester is slated to hit dealerships in October.

2022 Subaru Forester price (MSRP)